The WA parents joining Catholic churches to get children into ‘ideal’ schools

West Australian parents hoping to send their children to a Catholic school don’t need to be practicing the religion to enrol them, but it does help.

Some parents have quietly admitted on social media they have either joined the local church, changed churches to the one affiliated with a particular school, or baptised their children to increase the chances of being offered a place.

Many Catholic schools have long waiting lists.

University of Western Australia school of social sciences head and demographer Amanda Davies said there was considerable evidence regarding the ‘urban myth’ families have their children baptised or christened primarily due to school choice.

While no official study has been done, Davies has looked at data obtained through the Census, alongside discussions she has had with the community.

“Some may also change churches and join one affiliated with their preferred school to maximise the likelihood of their child securing enrolment,” she said.

“While many private schools of Christian faith emphasise that students do not need to be of the faith for enrolment, parents have noted that the competition for places in some schools is so high, particularly in rapidly growing newer suburbs and inner-city suburbs, that schools prioritise the enrolment of those students who are members of affiliated churches.

“It is this competition for places that drives some parents to either re-engage with their religion, or subscribe to a new religion.”

The Catholic Education WA website states schools within the metropolitan region need to have between 0 and 20 per cent of non-catholic students enrolled, and 0 to 33 per cent in country regions.

But there is no guarantee outside those numbers.

It also states to process an application schools will need to request a copy of the candidate’s baptism certificate, and that “Catholic students will be given enrolment preference wherever possible and practicable.”

One parent wrote on social media they were a ‘retired’ Catholic, who chose to get their child baptised for potential schooling choices while another replied saying if you didn’t, you ended up further down the waitlist.

A third said they lived in the catchment area of a public school with a poor reputation and felt they had no choice but to maximise their chances of getting into a Catholic school.

Another admitted their children were baptised, but they were not religious at all and did not attend church or practice the religion.

A spokesman for Catholic Education WA admitted its enrolment policy did give priority to students who had a reference from their parish priest, as well as siblings of current students.

“However, there are a significant number of children who attend our schools who are not Catholic and these students are welcomed into our communities,” he said.

“Catholic schools provide families with the choice of an affordable, quality, faith-based education regardless of location or socio-economic status.”

Overall, the number of people practising religion in WA dropped considerably between the 2016 and 2021 Census, but demand for Catholic schools has increased.

There were 81,736 students enrolled at the 162 Catholic schools in WA, according to the latest data released in March – a 1.8 per cent increase compared to February 2023.

CEWA Executive Director Wayne Bull said at the time he was encouraged by the continued strength of enrolments as “more parents than ever before are benefitting from the choice of a quality, faith-based education.”

“This is the largest increase in students since 2015 and is a sign of sustained growth in our system, with a 6.3 per cent increase in enrolments over the last five years,” he said.

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