ABSTRACT
Admissions policies adopted by church schools highlight points of tension for both church and county schools. Tension manifests itself in different ways. County headteachers talked about areas which give rise to feelings of frustration and despondency — educational cuts, falling pupil rolls, teacher redundancies, curriculum contractions, school closures and amalgamations were all pressures that were being experienced by schools at the time of our research. In isolation these occurrences may be seen by many as inevitable, others will find them difficult to justify. However, what is significant is the way these changes are linked to the view that church schools are shielded from many of their effects. Church schools are seen in general as having far more control in shaping their own destinies.While some of the areas of tension listed do display certain local elements especially where church schools are over-subscribed and the local county schools are under-subscribed schools that were distanced from such trends felt it was only a matter of time before the same pattern would start to emerge and they too would experience some of the pressures.It is worth recalling that in the Inner London Education Authority where ten church schools in the study were not matched because of county school closures, amalgamations or pending amalgamations, not one Church of England voluntary-aided school had closed although one church secondary school had changed its voluntary-aided status to a voluntary-controlled status. In this case the governors retained control over religious education and all other powers rested with the local education authority.The same local education authority compiled projected figures up to 1990 giving the pupil rolls for church and county secondary schools. In 1981 Church of England voluntary-aided secondary schools provided
for 17 per cent of the pupil population and county schools provided for 52 per cent. Unless Church of England schools share the effects of falling rolls, by 1990 the pupils in county schools would be reduced to 29 per cent while pupils in Church of England schools would account for 22 per cent of the pupil population. It is within this context that teachers in county schools argue that the effects of falling rolls must be shared by county and church schools alike.In other areas where church and county schools are together experiencing the effects of falling rolls and educational cuts there is evidence of pulls and tensions. These schools in general, see themselves in competition for survival. Energies are channelled towards a search for survival strategies rather than being involved in a collective endeavour and responding as partners in education to the underlying changes in society.Despite the tensions that exist between some church and county schools, seventeen (60 per cent) county headteachers considered their relationship with their local church schools as satisfactory while eleven (40 per cent) said their relationship was either unsatisfactory or ‘nonexistent. The main reasons given for unsatisfactory relationships are highlighted in the following sets of comments made by headteachers.
