Diocese reports top Catholic school for breaking admissions code
by Ed West

8 January 2009

One of the country's most illustrious Catholic comprehensive schools has been ordered to change its "unlawful" and "unfair" admissions procedures by the Schools Adjudicator after being reported to the authorities by its own diocese.

The surprise announcement came after the Archdiocese of Westminster made an unprecedented complaint about the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Kensington, west London, the first time an English diocese has ever made a complaint against one of its schools.

The Vaughan is heavily oversubscribed, by up to six times its capacity of 120 boys per year, has been in the top two comprehensives in inner London for most of the past decade and sends many sixth formers to Oxford and Cambridge.

But last week Alan Parker, the Schools Adjudicator, found that it used "unfair" criteria by taking account of when pupils received First Holy Communion, meaning that those from other parts of the world might be penalised.

The school was also told it should use a diocesan reference form rather than the word of the local priest, who could apply "inappropriate" criteria.

Mr Parker also concluded that the school contravened the admissions code by demanding more than Mass attendance and giving priority to pupils or parents who can prove involvement in Church-related activities, saying this was "having an unfair discriminatory effect and that insufficient attention has been given to promoting equity".

The Schools Adjudicator made his ruling after the school was reported by the diocese, which argued that admissions arrangements are not "clear, objective and fair". The diocese says the school's religious practice test excludes children who are Catholics and distorts the social and ethnic demographic of the intake. The school, meanwhile, is said to fear that the ruling will dilute its Catholic ethos.

The Archdiocese of Westminster had complained that Cardinal Vaughan's complex points system and criteria "inappropriately give priority according to the applicant's, or his parent's, involvement in Church-related activities".

The diocese's guidelines define practising Catholics by their observance of "the Church's precept of attending Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation". It argues that "a school should not impose a higher requirement of practice than that laid down by the Church itself".

Mr Parker ruled that "in order to have proper regard to diocesan guidance the points system should be dropped in favour of the determination of membership and practice of the Catholic faith as defined by the diocese."

In a 26-page report Mr Parker concluded the effect of the school's current arrangements was "undoubtedly to 'select' only the most devout Catholic boys with equally devout and supportive parents".

The philosophy of the diocese "and indeed the Catholic Church itself" was to involve all baptised children regardless of their level of observance and encourage lapsed Catholics back into the faith.

Mr Parker said: "The position adopted by the school seems to betray a lack of confidence in the strength of its own character, that it fears recruitment of anyone but the most devout will ‘undermine’ its ethos.”

The diocese said it “welcomed” the ruling but Paul Barber, director of education, said it was with “great regret” that the diocese had turned to an outside body for intervention. “It was a last resort as far as we were concerned,” Mr Barber said. “We are disappointed it went to the schools adjudicator. But it was a fairly fundamental point that the admissions code recognised that a bishop was the religious authority in a diocese. It is the Church who defines who is Catholic, not the individual school. It was the Church’s mission that was being harmed by the arrangements being put forward. All our schools serve all of the Catholic community. If one school doesn’t do that in a fair way, it makes it more difficult for other schools to do that.”

He added: “I don’t believe there was any intention of the school governors to have any form of discrimination in its admission, but there was a danger that might be the case, of skewing the intake. Our starting point as the diocese is that our schools should work together, distribute them all together, so that all the Catholic community can benefit.”

He said many parents had a genuine grievance against the school’s admission policy.

“The bishop has to deal with many letters from disappointed parents, some of them have a really justified sense of disappointment with the Church. Why should a parent in, say, north Kensington, who are applying to their nearest school and who have done everything right, find their child is turned down in favour of someone from Hillingdon, who has ignored several schools close? The other two Catholic schools in the borough both better reflect the local communities.”

Bishop George Stack, chairman of Westminster Diocese’s Education Commission, said: “It is important that Catholic schools’ admissions arrangements allow the Catholic communities they serve access to those places on an equitable basis, and are seen to comply with the Schools Admissions Code.”

The school has declined to comment while the legal process in ongoing but Sir Adrian Fitzgerald, the former chair of governors, called the diocese’s victory a “betrayal” of committed Catholics. “We are duty bound to make sure that we are getting the right people in, not fair-weather or occasional Catholics,” he said. “The adjudicator has made the assumption that the Church does not mind if lapsed Catholics come in. I am very angry and disappointed.”