Not sure if 11+ and grammar schools will suit our daughter

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sherry_d
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Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 4:38 pm
Location: Maidstone

Re: Not sure if 11+ and grammar schools will suit our daught

Post by sherry_d »

mystery wrote:
Oh, must end with a question. Does anyone know a real person who struggled at grammar school and definitely got worse results than they would have done at a less selective school?
There is a college in Rochester I went to see not too long ago and they certainly seem like a refuge for ex grammar pupils and a handful from other Indies in the area too. Quite a few kids from West Kent too - Judd, Tonbridge and TWGGS. They give a prospectus of which schools there kids came from :?. About 70% are ex grammar pupils.

I don't think you can have a school where all children will thrive. What I happen to think is Horlicks is when people assume a child tutored will struggle at a grammar. It may just be teachers assuming strugglers are over tutored kids. Who really knows for sure and how do they come to such conclusions?
Impossible is Nothing.
khanj010
Posts: 239
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2011 12:01 am

Re: Not sure if 11+ and grammar schools will suit our daught

Post by khanj010 »

can some one please help! my ds is a talented child who loves maths and loves solving problems but his cons are that he does not like reading , nor his vocabulary up to scratch. i am worried he will struggle in the grammer school (if he gets through) as most those kids would be more knowledgeable and not only that not being rude but also snobby, he is more boystourise (if i got the spelling right) loves rapping etc. has any one had the same problem like mine.
Also can any one advise me that is it better for ds to go to a gs struggle but still get better grades then if there were going to a upper school and struggle with the peer pressure and get low grades, what im trying to say is that the enviroment of a gs to an upper school is completely diffrent and its better for them to be around children who would like to do well then to be around children who dont care much! or am i wrong
sherry_d
Posts: 2083
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 4:38 pm
Location: Maidstone

Re: Not sure if 11+ and grammar schools will suit our daught

Post by sherry_d »

khanj010 wrote:i am worried he will struggle in the grammer school (if he gets through) as most those kids would be more knowledgeable
How do you know there are more knowledgeable, it may just be your perception. If he passes then he is equally good too.

As for being snobby, I think you may find more of these at middle class infested comps. Its not as black and white. Comparing my local grammars that I saw and a comp in nice leafy area, my impression was the comp had more well heeled kids and families.
Impossible is Nothing.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Not sure if 11+ and grammar schools will suit our daught

Post by mystery »

Give it a go. I'm sure there are plenty of kids at grammar schools who are great at maths but not English and vice versa. Just be sure he can do whatever is needed to pass the entrance tests. Are you in Bucks?
mum of five 2
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2011 2:58 pm

Re: Not sure if 11+ and grammar schools will suit our daught

Post by mum of five 2 »

khanj010 wrote:can some one please help! my ds is a talented child who loves maths and loves solving problems but his cons are that he does not like reading , nor his vocabulary up to scratch. i am worried he will struggle in the grammer school (if he gets through) as most those kids would be more knowledgeable and not only that not being rude but also snobby, he is more boystourise (if i got the spelling right) loves rapping etc. has any one had the same problem like mine.
Also can any one advise me that is it better for ds to go to a gs struggle but still get better grades then if there were going to a upper school and struggle with the peer pressure and get low grades, what im trying to say is that the enviroment of a gs to an upper school is completely diffrent and its better for them to be around children who would like to do well then to be around children who dont care much! or am i wrong
Just wantd to say a freind of mine has a son who was exactly like what you are describing and he went ot grammar school last year and is loving every minute of it .Still isnt a big fan of reading but is defianatly not struggling and is brilliant at maths so relly dnt worry and good luck!
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Not sure if 11+ and grammar schools will suit our daught

Post by mystery »

Twinkles have read your PM (see my reply) and looked at the website of the school you named. A recent letter from the head makes it sound as though they have a number of children at GCSE who get a string of at least 6 A*/A. Is this the case or is it two children, and no A*s?

If there are a string of children getting a string of at least 6A*/A including some A* then I think that your mind could be set at rest about the school itself, and the intake?

The location of the school you named makes it more likely that it gets a more truly comprehensive intake than some of the non-selectives buried in mid-Kent away from a county boundary or with a very small catchment area and a lot of grammars nearby.

When the children select their GCSEs and get into their option groups (and sets?) and commence the GCSE syllabus you might find that the nature of things changes? You could find out now if the inability to view classwork except for 5 mins at parents' evening (what moron thinks this is good enough at all these schools that inflict that on parents) changes higher up the school? If not I'd be cheeky and write to the head and explain why (in a positive way) you think it would be a good thing for parents to see classwork and see what she says.

Is there some covert streaming there via the houses?

In the meantime can you keep his maths and english up to scratch at home? Many years ago many areas had middle schools and children did not go to high school until year 9, and middle school was a bit of a halfway house between first schools and high schools. I don't think it had a detrimental effect on results at 16 for the high achievers. In many cases children benefitted from it (middle and bottom end I guess). Some comps run years 7 and 8 a bit more like this, and then get serious in year 9. There might be some hope if this is what yours is like?

Do you have an Open Day coming up for new Year 7s? There's nothing to stop you going along and asking questions about things higher up the school, and having a deco at the year 10 and 11 work to see what you think. It's a chance to ask loads of questions of teachers you will not otherwise easily access.

We did this at one of my stepchildren's schools and we got some problems resolved that we would have spent ages with otherwise.

I'm sure if you were determined you could get to grammar if your son is in the top 25% of the population by some measure or other but it could be a long drawn out affair which you would not want to involve your son (apart from sitting any tests) until you had got him a place. I'm pretty sure there is someone on this site who did this and put their story on here.
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