An American mother living in the UK has revealed three things that she finds shocking about the British school system.
Molly, who goes by @strangecapers on TikTok, where she has almost 50,000 followers, moved to Birmingham, England, from Texas, US, and frequently posts about the cultural differences between the two countries.
In a recent post, the mother identified three features of UK schooling that she finds ‘wild’ as an American.
Taking to TikTok, the US-born mother was shocked that ‘free’ schools in the UK might be religious, expressed surprise at the ‘formal’ uniforms worn by children and noted that far more pupils are able to walk to school than in the States.
Molly’s first ‘shock’ was that, in the UK, ‘schools the public can attend for free can be religious’.
Clarifying that ‘state schools’ in the UK are the equivalent of ‘public schools’ in the US, she said: ‘A school that’s designated for the public – not a private school – can give priority to students based on religion.’
She added: ‘The idea that If you want to go to school in your neighbourhood but you can’t get in because kids from further away will have priority because they belong to the faith of the school blows my American mind.’
Branding faith schools ‘fascinating’, Molly appeared to believe that such institutions ‘discriminate on the basis of religion’, something that would never happen in her home country.
Molly (pictured) goes by @strangecapers on TikTok, where she has almost 50,000 followers
The mother took to the platform to share three things that she found ‘wild’ about the British school system
The American mother was also surprised by the prevalence of school uniforms in the UK.
She acknowledged: ‘I know the statistics are overwhelming – like 95 per cent of schools in the UK wear school uniforms – and it’s so embedded in the culture to wear school uniform.’
Yet, it’s ‘much less normalised’ to wear a uniform in the US, she added.
Laughing, she joked: ‘Smart shoes… the very formal nature of going to school is new to me.’
The third thing in Molly’s list was, however, something that she said she’s ‘really excited’ about.
She elaborated: ‘The number of children in the UK that can walk to school is just so much higher than in the US.
‘The idea that you could walk to school is just, like, so exciting to me.’
Adding that she was genuinely ‘thrilled’ that her child will have the opportunity to walk to school, Molly ended the video on a positive note.
For the most part, TikTok users failed to share in the American mother’s excitement, instead focusing on her two previous points.
TikTokers largely disagreed with Molly’s characterisation of faith schools in the UK
A number of TikTokers took the opportunity to share their own experience of attending faith schools, defending this particular feature of the British school system.
One commenter said: ‘Don’t worry Mrs American, if you’re in a religious school they will still accept people not of that faith.
‘I went to a Christian school and only around 20 per cent of the students were Christian.’
Another said: ‘When we see US kids pledging allegiance every morning, that blows our UK minds.’
A third person sought to give further insight into the British school system, adding: ‘They can be religious. They aren’t really, though. There is a school near me called the “Church” in “place name”. Not a single person who attends is religious.’
A fourth said: ‘They don’t really discriminate based on religion though – you will see children of all faiths at a Christian-based school. Sometimes, it’s the only choice in the catchment area.’
A fifth recalled: ‘I went to a Christian school while not being religious. Most of my friends weren’t religious. I’d say it was 50/50.’
Someone else sought to reassure Molly by writing: ‘My kids both went to a Catholic school. We are atheist – no issue getting either [child] into this school’.
Molly’s post has opened up debate about the differences between UK and US school systems (stock image)
Other people were more sympathetic to Molly’s critique of the UK school system
Others, however, appeared to share the American mother’s dismay that some state schools in the UK have a religious leaning.
One person said: ‘Really hate how they’re allowed to indoctrinate children. Even state schools in Scotland have mandatory religious observance that has to be opted out of.’
While a second agreed: ‘I completely agree that it’s insane that in a basically secular country, we have state-funded religious schools. Religion has no place in education full stop.’
A third person was more lighthearted when they commented: ‘Also, many non-Church schools still have hymn practice at assembly in the morning – which I’ve never thought of as weird but upon reflection, it probably is a little!’
Others still sought to defend the UK’s uniform policy, with one person explaining: ‘Uniform stops kids with less money standing out from kids that have expensive designer clothes, so they’re less likely to be made fun of.’
The same TikTok user added: ‘Also good for discipline and standards’.
A second person agreed: ‘I was always told that one of the reasons we had to wear uniforms was to stop discrimination against people who are poorer based on their clothes’.
