University 2 Grade Head Start offers for poor Pupils

mike1880 · Post by **mike1880** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:07 am

CM, my point (as Tolstoy recognises) is that anyone going to our local comp will have an uphill struggle to get any A levels, let alone grades they will need to get into a Russell group university or the As and Bs they will still need to get into Oxbridge. Something a good deal more imaginative and fundamental than this half-baked scheme is needed to make any impression on the problem. [edit] All this scheme will do is make sure that middle class kids from comps in non-grammar areas will be given a boost; which is not necessarily a bad thing in itself, but it will do squat for siocial mobility. [end of edit]

[edited to take account of Tolstoy's previous response but Tolstoy is still posting faster than me so I'm giving up...]

Mike

Tolstoy · Post by **Tolstoy** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:08 am

I think you are missing the point CM. Letting one or two children get on to a uni course because they are a couple of grades off is going to do very little for the social mobilty of the truly disadvantaged.

They don't get any A'levels that is the traversty with todays system.

Tolstoy · Post by **Tolstoy** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:11 am

Sorry slow typing so my posts keep crossing.

edit I meant my slow typing not Mikes which has now been edited. Each time I was atleast one quote behind.

mike1880 · Post by **mike1880** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:16 am

No, it's me typing slowly! I'm not used to dialogue at this time of night, I usually have time to think about my posts and go back and fix my grammatical infelicities before someone else turns up in the morning...

Mike

Tolstoy · Post by **Tolstoy** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:21 am

At least you know how to edit I am now left with the word ' acaddemic'

on one of mine.

mike1880 · Post by **mike1880** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:26 am

"Acaddemia" being where disadvantaged intelllectuals may aspire to end up after achieving the "siocial mobility" I referred to?

Mike

Tolstoy · Post by **Tolstoy** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:28 am

them pesky 'intelllectials'. Whoops intelllectuals

mike1880 · Post by **mike1880** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:33 am

Happy with the spelllling now?

Tolstoy · Post by **Tolstoy** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 1:38 am

Spelling is perfect it's just my typing

. I wish

.

Chelmsford mum · Post by **Chelmsford mum** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:26 am

Morning

I gave up long before you two did and went to bed.

I agree with you both that the vast majority of the disadvantaged are in danger of dropping out long before A levels.In fact I work in the post 16 sector teaching exactly those that left without gaining a single qualification.It is a constant source of dismay to me that they can go through the whole system in this day and age, be capable but come out without a qualification to their name.They usually only return when they are very young because the job centre encourages it or probation.

I suppose I am guity of reading my own experience into this.I went to school in a borough with one of the poorest records in the country for education.I went to a failing school.I stumbled fairly blindly through the education system.I am not having a " get the violins" moment out at all here.My point is that there are always a few children that succeed in spite of their circumstances and put these same kids in a grammar school and they would have AAAA as their results.

There may well only be few in this category but they do exist.

Overall of course I believe more should be done to raise standards overall.No Govt so far seems to have solved that one though.