Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’ precocious five-year-old is getting an education like no other.

Ever since the day Suri Cruise was born, her superstar dad Tom has dreamed of making her the poster child for his controversial religion. Suri, 5, took a huge step towards making that dream come true last week. Despite totally unfounded reports that Tom and his wife Katie Holmes have turned their backs on the faith, their little girl spent herfirst day at a special “Scientology” school in Los Angeles – and it offers an education that is nothing short of bizarre.

At the New Village Leadership Academy – founded by Tom’s close friend, actor Will Smith, and his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith – normal favourites of young students such as finger painting, counting and reciting the alphabet have been replaced by a wide range of lessons based on Scientology. There’s no time to waste. On her first day, Suri was introduced to Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s mantra of “Affinity, Reality and Communication” – even though she is far too young to understand any of these concepts.

One former Scientologist, who attended the religion’s controversial Delphi Academy schools, tells Woman’s Day that Suri will have many more unusual lessons to wrap her head around in the coming weeks. “Instead of learning basic words and maths, Suri and the other children will learn how to rid themselves of engrams – that is, past memories that block learning and understanding,” our source says.

“Everything is so different. The kids are on a special diet that includes low-carb lunches and even days of fasting, and the lessons are steps towards the eventual ‘revelation’ that we are all descended from aliens.” The science fiction doesn’t stop there. One of the cornerstone subjects of Suri’s education at the $30,000-a-year school is robotics, where the children learn to build and interact with robots!

Read more about Suri's first day of school and why her mum Katie Holmes is feeling on edge in this week's Woman's Day, on sale September 12, 2011.