In 2015 we were given a place at St Edmund Campion for our eldest child. We had applied for three other schools locally and were in fact in another school’s catchment area, but it was a boom year and weren’t offered a place. At the time our children were not baptised, and we weren’t sure of how we felt about them attending a Catholic school.
It didn’t take long for us to realise that we had in fact been very lucky to receive our place at St Edmund Campion. The standard of education, the care of the staff and the extracurricular opportunities that were available to them were excellent. We met many new friends who were Catholic and who then after a few years started to think what we would do with regards to a secondary school. This feels a long way off when your child is in primary school, but it soon comes around. Both boys were now in SEC and fully engaged in a Catholic education and we wanted this to continue. We spoke to them about Baptism, and they were keen to follow this path. We spoke to Father John who listened to our story and put us in touch with a member of the Parish who spent time with the boys to discuss it with them and prepare them for their Baptism, at the time the boys were 10 and 8. Their Baptism took place in the autumn of 2019 in front of a small group of family and friends.
When it came to applying for a secondary school place, we knew that The Becket was where they wanted to go, to continue their education and be with the friends from Edmund Campion. Now they were baptised we were confident that they would be successful in receiving a place. They are both now at The Becket, doing well, enjoying all it has to offer and continuing their Catholic education.
I can’t now imagine a different journey for our boys, we have all met some wonderful friends from the school and feel privileged that the boys got to be part of the SEC community. I continue to be a Governor at the school and enjoy being able to give something back to a school that has given us so much.
Wendy Riley
