ColonelMustard

Just to get back to the original point (and apologies for my poor spelling, Eagle!) My point was, the fact that when the Carnival committee invited Croft children to enter the draw to become Carnival royalty by direct mail shot to their homes, this was never an issue. The children from outside the immediate area (and their parents too, in fairness) didn't feel that this was anything to do with school. But this year, they requested that the school do it's leg work and sent the invitation home with ALL the pupils at the school. This caused excitement and then disappointment amongst many little girls who not only come from Birchwood but Culcheth, Winnick, Glazebury and Leigh (and a good job too, as many schools like Croft, without these extra pupils would be unsustainable and would face closure). (As for why children end up in schools outside their catchment area - the reasons are varied. My own children could have gone to the now excellent Locking Stumps Primary School (under the most exellent Headship of Mr. Littler,) but at the time of entry, the old headteacher was being investigated for his involvement (and has subsequently been arrested and imprisoned) in child pornography.)

What is a school if not it's pupils? A school is part of the local community. Therefore the children who attend that school are, by default also part of that local community irrespective of the geography of their home. With this in mind, how then, can The Croft Carnival Committee see fit to exclude 42% of the children who attend Croft Primary School and quite probably a similar, if not higher figure, from St. Lewis's Catholic Primary School from entering the draw to be the Carnival Rosebud, Princess and Queen? Without these children, the village would struggle to keep it's schools open. I also think it should be pointed out that this is the 21st Century, and equal opportunities is a concept that most of us are familiar with, so why not open the competition up further and introduce Carnival Kings, Princes and Paiges? By my calculations (and my maths is fairly good!) only 27% of children attending schools in Croft are eligible because of exclusion by gender or geography. The fact that Croft Primary School management appeared to endorse this parochialism by forwarding a letter to ALL the children at the school which stated clearly that if they lived outside the village they were to be excluded. How hateful! Have they never read "The Sneetches" by Dr. Suess? They are busy nurturing a "them and us" culture within the classroom and at the school gate. Unpleasant? I should say so!!