If you don’t want to impoverish yourself with astronomical private-school fees, then the rule of thumb among aspirant Londoners is that you should apply to a Catholic school. When I first arrived in London, I applied to enrol my daughter in the local Catholic primary school. It might be easier to get into heaven than a Catholic primary school in a pleasant neighbourhood within reach of inner London. London parents – usually middle class – who apply to get their children into sought-after Catholic schools queue up each week to sign attendance sheets proving they were at Mass. Each time Keir Starmer’s government hikes VAT on private schools (which, bizarrely, they call public schools), it sends middle-class London ever closer to God.

Source: The Irish Times April 01, 2026 10:11 UTC