Page 129 - White Lives The Interplay of 'Race', Class, and Gender in Everyday Life

122 In search of a ‘good mix’
children road sense, it is also possible that the idea of walking to school
conjured up a romantic village-like image (like the old advertisement for
Clark’s shoes of children walking along a country lane hand-in-hand). This
can be seen in Teresa’s reference to village schools, and their contrast with
inner-city schools, in the following extract:

It’s funny ’cos one of the schools he’s down for is a church school but
we’ve got a long church application to it. It’s a bit like a village school,
it’s small, it’s . . . and it really appeals to me, you know, it’s a small
school and at aged four, I just want somewhere that looks warm and
friendly, I mean, it’s what I’m looking for really. You know, nice feel to
it. But Heathcote, which is the other option, which he’s got more chance
of getting into ’cos it’s not a church school, and it’s bigger, it’s got three
reception classes as opposed to one, so it’s three times the size, it’s your
typical inner city big school, big Victorian building, and part of me hates
it.
(Interview 35)

Alongside this warm, cosy and potentially creative image, there was also
a desire for moral order and control as Teresa outlined in the following
extract:

I mean, I’m looking for a strong moral code in a school, a strong sense
of community. I mean, I went to . . . Catholic schools but my primary
school in particular was wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. And there
was a very strong moral code, a very strong sense of, you know, respect
for your neighbour – you know, the other children, the teachers, the
wider community, and I want that. [. . .] [On a visit to a prospective
school] I would just look for, I’d look for work on the walls, the quality
of that which should be a indicator of standards, I guess, developmental
standards. Look for interest in the class, that they’re happy. That it’s
controlled.
(Interview 18, italics Teresa’s emphasis, bold mine)

The desire for control and a moral code might also have been part of
the attraction of Church of England schools for some of the women in this
group, despite their own non-practice of religion. Grant-maintained schools,
with their different source of funding and relative independence from local
authority control, often have the reputation for better academic standards.
But with their religious basis, Church of England schools are also reputed to
offer a different atmosphere, which may be part of the attraction. Deborah
explained why she would like her son to go to a Church of England school:

I would like him to go to the church school across the common but
I am not a churchgoer – which is one of the problems. There are 21