100s of non-Catholic children on Catholic school waiting lists

Expectant parents are registering their unborn children with Waikato church-run schools in a bid to ensure a place for them when they turn five.

Hundreds of non-Catholic children are already registered on Catholic school waiting lists in Hamilton city alone and this has Hamilton Diocese planning a new primary school north of the city.

The surge in popularity of Catholic schools among non Catholics seems to be at odds with a 6.7 per cent decline in the number of Christians the 2013 New Zealand Census recorded.

The Bishop of Hamilton, Stephen Lowe, said non-Catholics were looking for different things in Catholic schools.

“For some it is a really strong faith based education programme, lots of other Christians from other churches want to come to the Catholic school system because of what we offer.

“For others it’s just because they perceive the school as being a good school,” Lowe said.

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