St Olave's students petition to Nicky Morgan

[PurpleDuck]

For parents of the lower years I would say this; we came to STOGS in awe of this HM and had enormous respect for him and what he was trying to achieve. As we have gone through the years our loyalty and love for STOGS has diminished.
This is no longer just about changes to the sixth form entrance requirements, but about the modus operandi of the HM on many issues.

It is such good news parents have come together on this, for their boys' and all younger years' benefit. I hope St. Olavians' action to get themselves heard will help bring about positive changes. You should be proud of your boys. I keep fingers crossed and wish you all luck.

[mumsdarling2]

Hello mumsdarling2,

I can see you are very concerned for your son.
Let me reassure you that the parents of year 10 are planning a robust reply to this issue. A letter is going out soon to all the parents of year 10 for their approvel and signatures. I will keep you informed, via this site on the developments.
For parents of the lower years I would say this; we came to STOGS in awe of this HM and had enormous respect for him and what he was trying to achieve. As we have gone through the years our loyalty and love for STOGS has diminished.
This is no longer just about changes to the sixth form entrance requirements, but about the modus operandi of the HM on many issues.
Hopefully the contents of the letter will be made available to all to read soon, so you can see how this important change was implemented.

Layla22

I am so glad to hear that the parents are fighting back. I have pm'd you my details to add to the thread. Thank you so much.

[margomgm]

It's great to see the parents uniting to apply pressure though I agree with others that the whole school needs to get behind this to force the Governors to take radical action on all the issues. A vote of no confidence in the Head from the parents would make his position untenable. He is a liability and his reputation is putting off many prospective parents and leaving students disillusioned as they take their talents elsewhere at 6th form. As the parents help support the school financially, they are entitled to question the methods employed and the direction the school is being taken in. If all the issues are robustly outlined, the Governors cannot continue to put their heads in the sand. Students' metal wellbeing must be their priority and they must address the lack of pastoral care. As for the pressure for results, the best way of achieving and maintaining top results would be to provide a nurturing environment with a more balanced and respected leader. I hope this will be a turning point for the school.

[salsa]

It's great to see the parents uniting to apply pressure though I agree with others that the whole school needs to get behind this to force the Governors to take radical action on all the issues. A vote of no confidence in the Head from the parents would make his position untenable. He is a liability and his reputation is putting off many prospective parents and leaving students disillusioned as they take their talents elsewhere at 6th form. As the parents help support the school financially, they are entitled to question the methods employed and the direction the school is being taken in. If all the issues are robustly outlined, the Governors cannot continue to put their heads in the sand. Students' metal wellbeing must be their priority and they must address the lack of pastoral care. As for the pressure for results, the best way of achieving and maintaining top results would be to provide a nurturing environment with a more balanced and respected leader. I hope this will be a turning point for the school.

Welcome to the forum. I agree with your post, but aren't the governors who approved the new requirements?

[MerlinFromCamelot]

I have not read all the posts and I agree that standards to be able to remain at the school are high but on the other hand, aren’t students in a super selective expected to get all A/A* at GCSE level in any event. If not then why are people falling over themselves to get in to those schools?

DD is going to a GS which is not supper selective. DD and her pals, who are top set for most subjects, are all predicted 11 A/A* grades. I’m not dissing St O. in any way I’m just a bit surprised that’s all. I appreciate that regardless the level of teaching, preparation etc.. students may miss out on A grades here and there. There is always that "on the day element" and perhaps a bit of luck with the questions that come up but considering that they are supper selective I would not really expect C grades?

Sorry if this comes across the wrong way. This post is not intended to be provocative, I'm just curious that's all.

[Muggle]

Possibly it comes back to the argument of intensive tutoring to gain access to super selective schools? I suspect most children could pass the 11+ test with a high score given a large amount of tutoring. Having read about the vast amounts of preparation many children are doing for the entrance exams, perhaps the school is selecting the most highly tutored children and not the most able, hence having to reselect students for Sixth Form?

[salsa]

Most of them will get As or A*, however, youngsters go through adolescence and can have mental health issues. From the petition it has transpired that pastoral care is lacking at the school and that children feel unsupported and stressed. This is hardly a conducive environment for learning for most, let alone someone experiencing depression or too much stress.

Children are not robots nor are they all rounders. Picture the child who is very good at Maths and Science related topics, but does not do very well with languages. That child may not get the required entrance requirements. I believe the school is a Maths and IT specialist school which would attract mathematicians who may not do very well at other subjects. Should they not have a place at the school?
Remember that 9 As for them is 63 points and thus not good enough for the 6th form. Moreover, if they did get the new level 9, it would count as an 8. As it has been mentioned up thread, the new level 9 will be capped, resulting in only 5% getting the grade. Therefore, even if you did get it, the school would not recognise it as it would count as an 8.
A child may be predicted to get anything and half way their schooling, "life happens" and they would not be able to "deliver". Is it fair to kick them out?

[Sun&Sky88]

May be the discussion should be about whether a school should be allowed to reselect for 6th Form having joined the school from year 7?
At St O's are there over 400 places for 6th Form? I know boys who are local to Orpington who did not get in in year 7 would defintely apply for their 6th Form. So there must be fierce competition for 6th Form places considering there is no catchment for their 6th Form either. The school is highly superselective on all counts at year 7 and again at 6th Form. Perhaps this should be a fact that should be thoroughly explained for those wishing to join St Olaves in year 7? Does anyone have stats for how many are chasing the 400 so places for St Olaves. For year 7 entry over 1000 boys chase 124 places? Maybe the school doesn't need to concern itself over whether their "own boys" stay at 6th Form or not because they don't have to. And if that is the case, then pressure needs to be placed upon the school to ensure all their boys meet any new entry requirements levied way before the boy reaches year 10 or GCSE year. If a change is put into effect, all existing parents & pupils must be completely aware by way of signing a letter stating they understand the new policiy (something along those lines)? This is beneficial for both the school and its own pupils so everyone reads on the same page? Putting new entry requirements in tiny writing on their website and expecting parents to be looking and searching for this is too much of an ask considering as parents we all have so many varied and wide committments (that's if this is true). Or could it be that the school has always only ever admitted their top pupils (that's those who get the 10A*) into their 6th Form (selection behind the back doors) and only now parents have cottoned onto the fact? That's just looking at the whole thing from the dark side.

[Sun&Sky88]

I say 10 A* but what is the maximum GCSE's that can be sat at Olaves? Are some boys allowed to do more? If so, that would skew everything surely?

[Goodheart]

I say 10 A* but what is the maximum GCSE's that can be sat at Olaves? Are some boys allowed to do more? If so, that would skew everything surely?

According to http://www.saintolaves.net/uploads/cked ... d_2015.pdf the "Average number of GCSEs A*-C was 10.6" in 2015, so it's clear that they're allowed to take a least 11.

However, as has previously been mentioned, it's only the best 9 which count in terms of this new policy (see http://www.saintolaves.net/uploads/admi ... h_2016.pdf).