Choices, Choices and even more choices .... Thank you

[JaneEyre]

Why would anyone choose a school that far away when there is a comparable school so close

I was asking myself the same question around eight years ago when my DD was so happy at SCGSG whilst I could observe the big sister of my DS’ classmate commuting each day to go KE Handsworth despite her having had an offer at SCGSG (the exams were different at that time).

Since then, having experienced two different GS, I have opened my eyes and realised that the GS which are in the West Midlands are not the same, even if they all offer an environment which has high behavioural and academic expectations.

Furthermore, each pupil is different and lives in different circumstances (in term of train or bus or lift possibly given by parents, or future capability to move into another part of the city). His/her drive to succeed and/or make sacrifices and/or resistance to fatigue will also be different from his/her classmates's… Nothing is written in stone.

There are no right or wrong outcomes as a lot is still dependent on the child and his family in whatever school they attend. if you want to succeed if you have ability you will get so far,if you work hard you will get so far,if you have ability and work hard you will go far and beyond most people.

+ 1

Moreover, I am not sure any of us parents can swear that - when we fill in the form determing the school choice for our DC- we can be sure our child will be happy in the chosen school or will be happy with the bus travel, or will not be bullied, etc. There are so many parameters!

But once a choice has been made, we all go with the flow and all of us react the best we can with the issues which rise during the schooling of our child. As a personal anecdote, I will never forget that the girl who bullied my DD in year 7 was her best studying buddy in year 11 for her GCSE revision sessions!!!! If someone had told me so 4 years earlier that, I would have scoffed!

Sometimes, life reserves many surprises! Imho, it is just great to embrace them!

[DIY Mum]

Moreover, I am not sure any of us parents can swear that - when we fill in the form determing the school choice for our DC- we can be sure our child will be happy in the chosen school or will be happy with the bus travel, or will not be bullied, etc. There are so many parameters!

But once a choice has been made, we all go with the flow and all of us react the best we can with the issues which rise during the schooling of our child. As a personal anecdote, I will never forget that the girl who bullied my DD in year 7 was her best studying buddy in year 11 for her GCSE revision sessions!!!! If someone had told me so 4 years earlier that, I would have scoffed!

Sometimes, life reserves many surprises! Imho, it is just great to embrace them!

The grammar schools are not the same, and nor are our children. You can work out travel issue but pastoral issues etc, vary on individuals experience. I'm still experiencing the good and 'could be improved' points of the 4 different grammar schools my dc attend And I've been surprised at how well some of the unpopular gs deal with issues just as well as the more fashionable ones. And you will experience the unexpected. The worst I've seen so far was an ugly incident involving a KE teacher asking some of her pupils who were of a religious group to stand up in class. And when they did, the teacher remarked how they were 'statistically more likely to fail than their peers' who were seated.
Now I would never have expected that incident to occur in this day and age, when I filled out my ds' CAF.

[JaneEyre]

The worst I've seen so far was an ugly incident involving a KE teacher asking some of her pupils who were of a religious group to stand up in class. And when they did, the teacher remarked how they were 'statistically more likely to fail than their peers' who were seated.
Now I would never have expected that incident to occur in this day and age, when I filled out my ds' CAF.

Has the reaction of the headmaster been appropriate and in relation to the gravity of the situation? This is a very serious matter!
I remember one of my DD's classmate being picked on by her form tutor because she was Roman catholic (and I do not know if the parents raised the issue with the school) and I felt uneasy and sorry for this girl on several occasions. However, what happened in your DS's school is totally out of bounds!

[DIY Mum]

Teacher has been suspended as far as we are aware.
It is a horrible incident and reminds me of the ' blue eyes- brown eyes' experiment carried out by Jane Elliot in the 70's. This kind of discrimination does have long term repercussions.
The school is 'good' but the fact that she's suspended and inevitably, students will have to be subjected to her again makes me question the head leadership.