Life at a grammar school and child suitability

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Hopefuldad7
Posts: 125
Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2013 3:35 pm

Re: Life at a grammar school and child suitability

Post by Hopefuldad7 »

kenyancowgirl wrote:I can only comment on KES which is just out of your area - in Year 7 they have a maximum of 1 hour homework a night (usually made of 2-3 subjects). Sometimes the work set is a larger project that may take them a couple of weeks to complete. Inevitably, some nights it appears as if there is no homework and other days it seems like they have a lot but there is a strict homework subject timetable for each night and most of the teachers adhere to it. In year 8 the amount goes up to 1.5 hours a night and in Year 9 to 2 hours. It sounds like, for a young for the year child, your boy is doing well - generally speaking, the boys we know who have gone to KES are all L6 or 5A maths and certainly 5A/B English - nothing lower than a high 5 however - but it is an exceptionally competitive school to get into so that is not surprising. The question to ask is, is your son motivated to try hard - HE needs to be the one to apply himself to the homework/study/revision etc and as long as he is putting the effort in, he should be OK with the level of work (both amount and difficulty). Also, how will he cope if he suddenly finds himself the bottom of a bright pond? As a young for the year child, he is doing well and is probably ahead of his peers in his primary, but he may find he is right near the bottom in a GS - will he cope emotionally? Certainly, my son's school is full of very competitive boys (some of the parents are ten times worse!!) who excel in everything music, sport, academia....and it takes a fairly strong character, who has been one of the best at primary to suddenly realise they are one of the average. But schools are so much more than a the sum of their parts - look at each one for pastoral support, extra curricular activities, community links, facilities...the list goes on. All I would say is, however, don't always be put off by "poorer" facilities if everything else seems right. We have a very prestigious private school here, with facilities that make most parents gasp - but if your son is not the sort of boy to want to play rugby on one of hundreds of pitches, or isn't a budding international swimmer/fencer/army cadet/etc, etc, etc...maybe it is worth considering a school that has less facilities but more that are in tune with him. Good luck!

Thanks for this. As you say we have to try and find the best fit. My son is fairly bright but I wouldnt say that he is highly motivated or studious and we will certainly take this in to account when selecting a school for him.

So far I think if he makes the grade for the above mentioned grammar schools then hreat, if not I think he would fit in at somewhere like Priory where the academic life isn't as intense or competitive. Failing that we have no choice but the local comprehensive!!
Gbarr
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri Mar 01, 2013 12:29 am

Re: Life at a grammar school and child suitability

Post by Gbarr »

Hi I have two boys currently in year 7 - 1 at HGS, 1 at QMGS. Both settled in well and both get plenty of homework but this is because primary school homework was once a week, whereas now they get 2-3 Subjects a day. I do think HGS give more homework but some say this is because it is part of consortium. HGS do give regular tests so we can see how well DS is doing, although we are keen to get reports from both schools to find out how well they are both doing.

FYI....DS at HGS got level 5s in sats with a level 6 in maths, DS in QMGS got all level 5s. I'm sure your DS will be fine in grammar school
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Life at a grammar school and child suitability

Post by mystery »

How many children who pass grammar school entrance tests are highly motivated and studious I wonder?
yoyo123
Posts: 8099
Joined: Mon Jun 18, 2007 3:32 pm
Location: East Kent

Re: Life at a grammar school and child suitability

Post by yoyo123 »

mystery wrote:How many children who pass grammar school entrance tests are highly motivated and studious I wonder?
My boy certainly wasn't!

:roll:
push-pull-mum
Posts: 737
Joined: Thu Nov 11, 2010 2:52 pm

Re: Life at a grammar school and child suitability

Post by push-pull-mum »

mystery wrote:How many children who pass grammar school entrance tests are highly motivated and studious I wonder?
I was kind of hoping that my DS would go to grammar school because he ISN'T highly motivated and studious .... :oops:
Hopefuldad7
Posts: 125
Joined: Mon Sep 23, 2013 3:35 pm

Re: Life at a grammar school and child suitability

Post by Hopefuldad7 »

push-pull-mum wrote:
mystery wrote:How many children who pass grammar school entrance tests are highly motivated and studious I wonder?
I was kind of hoping that my DS would go to grammar school because he ISN'T highly motivated and studious .... :oops:
I am thinking the same, perhaps by being in the company (and school environment) that encourages high academic motivation, they will become more studious and interested in learning??????

Are we not forcing them to be something they are not? or are we constructing their environments to give them the best chance for their futures?

The jury is still out!
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Life at a grammar school and child suitability

Post by mystery »

I would hope that the top sets at a non-selective school would be just the same. I really wouldn't worry about it Hopefuldad. He sounds extremely able. Maybe it's over to the teachers at the next school to try and inspire him if his primary school hasn't? You say your son is in year 5 now and already has 4s and high 5s. Which grades in which subjects?

How can a child of that age have those NC levels and not be motivated and "studious" at some point in time I wonder? They are very high. What are you hoping that he will do that he is not doing which would make you think he was studious and motivated?
ginx
Posts: 2151
Joined: Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:47 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Re: Life at a grammar school and child suitability

Post by ginx »

My dd2, in year 7 at gs in East Warks, was not competitive at junior school.

Now, however, she is very keen to at least "keep up" with everyone else, and is very proud she is doing very well in some subjects, maths, science, Latin, geography and history - but most of all, art.

She knows she will never be top, but also doesn't want to be "below target" and that keeps her motivated - at school, I still don't think she does much homework.

I think if she'd gone to our comp - which is excellent - she wouldn't worry about keeping up with everyone else, which would show in her results.

And she didn't get a level 6 in English, Maths or Spag - but now she is sailing high in Maths, whilst some dc who achieved a level 6 have, to their dismay, gone "down" to a level 5. It's all beyond me. :roll:

I think if your ds gets into a gs, he will be ok and go with the flow. Dd2's gs has support groups for any areas students are struggling in.
DC17C
Posts: 1197
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:34 pm

Re: Life at a grammar school and child suitability

Post by DC17C »

I have to say my DS shows very little studiousness/motivation for homework etc at home but his teachers are always very surprised when I tell them them this and his school reports generally seem to reflect this - so I can only assume he is very different in school.
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Life at a grammar school and child suitability

Post by um »

Oh yes, my 4 year old is an absolute angel at school :wink: .

I nearly fell off my chair when his teacher said at parents evening that she held him up as an example of good behaviour to the other boys in the class.
Trust me, he is a monster :lol: My eldest two don't believe it as they are constantly getting beaten up by him :oops: .
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