East Belfast? Safe?

alisara

I have just moved house to the sydenham area of belfast, more at the top end of holywood road direction.

Long story but i had to move - family problems. My house is rented, beautiful and near all the transport links (learning to drive) shops, parks everything i really like it and do not want to leave at all.

Only problem is my daughter is a catholic - she does not practice etc if you know what i mean.

she is due to start secondary school in september, she did badly in her transfer tests both aqe and gl. so as i lived in an area near a good secondary school - mixed ability takes kids through to a-level with a good choice of subjects if she wants to do law medicine or even be a hairdresser! only problem is it is catholic orientated.

i have tried the selb and belb but as my dd has failed her transfer tests i cannot get her into a more mixed grammar and the integrated schools are over-subscribed and to top it all off ashfield another good secondary school is over subscribed, so i am a bit worried about my dd being bullied about her uniform.

maybe my worries are unfounded i have talked to a lot of people and the psni and they all said where i live is becoming more mixed (i am also mixed race) and to relax and enjoy my new home, (the area is quiet at night and residential)

what do you all think?

katie_cat_2

I think any where you move will bring with it worries, but it shouldn't stop you moving somewhere you think you'd enjoy living. I can't comment on the school issue but thought I'd share my experience of living in an area I wasn't originally from. I'm a Catholic (but not practising) and a few years ago I moved in with my Catholic friend not far from Ballybeen. My friend had lived there a few years and never once had any trouble. She went to mass every Sunday in Ballyhackamore and also during Lent. Her parents also live in that general direction (both of whom are practising Catholics). When I moved in I was a bit cautious and a bit nervous. I lived there for around 18 months and I haven't got a bad word to say about the area. Didn't have any trouble and got on great with my neighbours.

I moved back home and my friend moved further down towards Holywood Road, she's been there about 3 years now and loves it. She hasn't had any problems in the new house either and still goes to Mass every Sunday. If it feels right then it should be fine for you.

Hope this helps

alisara

Thank you Katie-Cat.

That was a good reply, it is quiet and residential where I live, buts its awful in this day and age feeling like that, i really dont want to move

Ex-Spendaholic

Maybe I'm a bit naive but I can tell you that my 11 year old (also changing schools) wouldn't know a catholic uniform from any other uniform. Likewise he wouldn't know which schools were predominantly made up of which religion. That said he wouldn't really even know about the difference. We have never made an issue of these things in our house and perhaps if more people took the same approach then there wouldn't be people like you worrying.

I hope everything works out for you.

alisara

Never an issue for me either, as i said my daughter is a catholic, i am not!

I was not worried about where we had moved to recently until a colleague said "oh what about your childs uniform" and then i went into a panic!!!!!!

good luck with your child changing schools spendaholic

cocoloco

I wouldn't worry about your daughter's school- my daughter goes to a catholic secondary school and nobody is forced in her class to practise religion or even to take RE class. Funny enough even her school supposed to be 'catholic orinetated' it turnes out that a very few of her classmates are either catholic or want to take part in any sort of RE stuff. She had never had any problems about her uniform even that we live in a predominatly protestant town.
Good luck with the new school, hope your daughter will get all the support she requires.

alisara

thank you coco!

drew2k9

it depends where abouts in sydenham you are really, as sydenham is still considered a paramilitary estate, though it is a lot better these days.

seatzie

lol drew2k9 - in laws live down there, I'm there 5 days a week, while you call it a paramilitary estate, I would find it hard to agree with you, yes there are elements living in its streets as there are everywhere, but like everywhere else its becoming very mixed culture, with lots of non native Norn Irelanders, I certainly wouldn't use the term paramilitary estate in this day and age for it

alisara

thank you Seatzie, it doesnt look like a housing estate where i am, its private housing in the street i am in with gardens and apartments.......

drew2k9

yeah its not as much of what it used to be, but when the bonfires come around all of sydenham is down at the two big ones near there.