I'm surprised and disappointed that you choose to fall back on God to make your argument, Kevin ;-). By the way, I come to BS Mudcat to vent my spleen. exercise my poor brain and try to state my opinions as articulately and in as unprejudiced a manner as I can muster. I never expect to change anyone's opinions.

As for the perception of schools, I've tried to explain that what may be perceived is seldom in touch with the reality of what goes on. Not only that, the alleged perception is strongly coloured by self-interest. Every area I've ever lived in or worked in (greater Manchester, Loughton, Walthamstow, Poplar, Stepney, Bude, west Devon) has had those schools that have been seen as ultra-desirable. As an insider in the teaching profession for many years, I see reputations that are ill-deserved, both good ones and bad ones, and in very few cases have I seen reputations or perceptions that match the reality. That's my anecdotal stuff, but at least I know I'm honest, even if YOU don't think so! And the elephant in the room is the parental pushiness that chucks any semblance of objectivity right out of the window. If there's one thing that many schools are quite good at, it's putting a gloss on what they get up to that is designed to deliberately confuse parents. And governors and Ofsted come to think of it. Why, when I contemplate that, I wonder what chance parents have got!