MikeUK

yep.. they still do sing hyms

The UK still seems to expect the parent to parent, and it does the education bit..
Not night and day.. and not everybodies choice either

Gozit

But what if the child(ren) are non-religious? Do they still have to sing hymns? That's almost worse than the national anthem thing

Sally Redux

They did when we left. In fact it had got worse.
Yup and it's Christian only. Vivid image of a little Sikh boy belting out "There is only one God, Jesus is his name".

burks

I had to sing hymns.. but it was a C of E primary school.

Sally Redux

This was a regular state school.

burks

Mine was a state school too.. wasn't private or anything like that.

Sally Redux

Yes but some of them are specifically C of E, my point was that even the ones that aren't have a Christian slant and daily act of worship.

Siouxie

The parent of a pupil at a community, foundation or voluntary school has the right to request that the pupil be excused from all or part of the RE provided. They do not have to provide a reason and the school must comply with their request. See ‘The right of withdrawal.

https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...00114-2010.pdf

phr1

It is a very good question. I think you absolutely nailed it. We are making these critical decisions mostly to secure our children's future. Is if fundamentally different raising kids in Toronto or in London? I would like to focus the discussion on these two cities if that is ok as this is the starting point of this thread.

On the questions of safety, education, exposure, life experiences, liberalism, stress and anxiety, competition, well being, future, cultural diversity, health aware... how do we compare Toronto to London from raising kids point of view and IS it really that huge of a difference???

Sally Redux

I suppose so. It was only the Jehovah's Witness kids who seemed to be withdrawn by their parents.

dbd33

I had some children in Toronto. They went to high school at Jarvis and Gerrard. One now lives in Limehouse (except that she's in Bangui for a few months), one in Vancouver, one in Switzerland. Their classmates were from all over the world and now live all over the world. I'd say that, in terms of cosmopolitanism, they did as well from their education in Toronto as they could have from being educated in London. They took the same, ib, courses here as they would have there. The only clear failing here is that Canada doesn't have history so none is taught, one must make up for that at home.

iaink's right though, well funded children will be fine anywhere.

Gozit

What about the atheist boy yelling "You are all full of ****" !

Gozit

Novocastrian

No, there's no difference at all. What they will need in either city is supportive, engaged, relaxed, confident parents who are not biting their finger nails because they're worrying if they made the right choices for the little darlings, (who'll become what they will be whatever you do).

DollyDee

What an interesting post! I really do hope you go back to London....! If you can afford it places like Kew, Chiswick, Richmond and Barnes are wonderful family places with very good local schools!

Something to also consider about the education system in UK vs Canada is that Canada requires a young person to specialize a lot sooner than the UK and the job market here reflects that. I have just moved to Canada after graduating with a BA degree from the UK and it's so different! What I mean exactly is that in the UK you are encouraged to do a degree that you enjoy (With the exception of those who want professional jobs to a certain extent) as long as you have a reasonable degree i.e not golf studies you can do anything! I have a friend who did a design/arts degree and is in banking, a friend who is an accountant who has a psychology degree. In Canada there isn't that openness and mobility. Every single person I have met has asked why I have an arts degree....in England it's understood that the transferable skills are far more valuable than the degree itself if that makes sense.

Just something I have noticed!