QE A level cull

[qebmum]

Hi all. I haven't been on here for a while but noticed this thread and asked my DS for his opinion (who's in Yr 13). He feels that they are fair in the selection of A level candidates. All the boys are clearly told when they are given what they call 'Essential Skills' questions or exam papers (in yr 10 & 11 I think). The boys know that QE will compile data from their results on these particular questions with a view to offering A level courses to them. They have to get over a certain percentage in a set number of tests to qualify. Whoever asked about whether these results are made available to parents, my DS's reply is - ask your son as he will have had all his results given to him! I think it's fair to say that in a school where so many boys want to proceed with sciences and maths, there isn't room (or teaching hours available) for all of them to take the same subjects. For example, to do Further maths, the boy needs to show that he can cope with the rigours of doing A Level maths in one year (Yr 12) and Further Maths in one year (Yr 13). In a school where nearly all of the boys get A's or A*'s for GCSEs they need to have another way of selecting them for courses which will be overwhelmingly popular. With regard to proceeding from AS to A level in Yr 13, a boy who has a poor AS result (ie a C for instance) will be offered the chance to repeat the year or move on. Of course QE want the best possible A Level and university places statistics - isn't that why the school is so popular? It's certainly one of the things that attracted me! But they also genuinely want all the boys to be able to present themselves to the best universities with A* or A predictions on their UCAS forms, in the process of applying for a uni course that they will have the best chance to shine in. I truly believe the QE system supports the boys in this aim, promoting the A level choices that will best reflect their individual strengths. I have to say, in all the years I've been going to meetings, they have always said that the job of the school is to prepare our sons for the best universities and job prospects. What more can you ask?

[WP]

It does seem that the criteria are objective and transparent (at least from year 10), but they are severe. The case described here isn't someone getting a C at AS, but suggests that Further Maths (a very useful subject for many uni courses) is offered only to a few students almost certain to get an A*.

[Mindset]

Of course QE want the best possible A Level and university places statistics - isn't that why the school is so popular? It's certainly one of the things that attracted me! But they also genuinely want all the boys to be able to present themselves to the best universities with A* or A predictions on their UCAS forms, in the process of applying for a uni course that they will have the best chance to shine in. I truly believe the QE system supports the boys in this aim, promoting the A level choices that will best reflect their individual strengths. I have to say, in all the years I've been going to meetings, they have always said that the job of the school is to prepare our sons for the best universities and job prospects. What more can you ask?

I agree, I would want my child's school to be achieving the best possible results and preparing them for the top universities. But I'd like them to do it through outstanding teaching, enabling learning, teaching resilience, and that if you change what isn't working and take a new approach you might get a different result. Not by culling!

I'm afraid I feel it's no measure of a school that they take the very brightest from an infinite area, and then turf out ones that are doing extremely well but not quite well enough in certain questions. If the issue here is that too many boys want to do maths and sciences, build more labs/employ more mathematicians/get creative with the timetable. But resign boys who have served the school well and are performing in the top 5% nationally because they're not good enough in the quest for artificially massaged university destinations data? That's not what I'd want from a school.

[Jean.Brodie]

qebmum,

The point is that, whatever the ins and outs, there is REselection for Year 12. So QE Boys should state this plainly and clearly and loudly in their brochure, on their web site and on their Open Days.

Would you, as a QE parent, ask them to?

[qebmum]

Jean Brodie.. I am always keen to have as much information as possible in order to make an informed decision, but the specifics of the 6th form policy was not something I expected to be told about at the start as there is an expectation that they can and will stay. Every boy will be given A level offers - there is no cull - only the possibility that your opinion of the offers will be different from the school's resulting in you making an informed decision on whether it's right for your son. The school will make it's offers based on wide ranging knowledge of your DS by then and his performance on the essential skills tests. Everything before that is about having a wide ranging mix of academic and enrichment opportunities to help the boys narrow their choices later. QE encourages the boys to think about career choices early on with lots of careers guidance opportunities (mentioned in the prospectus by the way). He will be told if triple science is necessary to do medicine or further maths to do engineering well in time for a game plan to be thought out, teachers consulted and extra revision/prep to be done by the boys if needed. He may be competing for a place on a course but life is all about competition - especially at QE. You will know this from visiting the school, reading their prospectus and looking at their website.

[tiffinboys]

I think all JB was after that QE should be transparent about its policies about 6th form admissions for its pupils from the start. If only 140 pupils are to be moved to 6th form from 180 intake, then 40 would be leaving or forced to leave. If they don't let A grade students read for Further Maths, then QE is only caring about grades (& league ranking) and not about learning. If the boy has the apptitude for maths, what's wrong for him to take on with the challenge of studying further maths. And so what if he gets B. He would be studying what interest him - not what School wants him to appear for - for the sake of better grades.

What wonders me is that QE doesn't realize the folly of its policies even after looking at the results of the boys who are made to leave or take further maths at other schools.

[Daogroupie]

Well said. I am puzzled as to why QE would think that internal exam results would be better predictors of future A level grades than the actual GCSE grade in the subject? If a boy can get an A or A* in the subject at GCSE the only thing that would be stopping them from doing the same at AS and A2 would be application and poor teaching! DG

[loulou]

The school internal tests are more like A level in style. Much much tougher than GCSE - at least that what was I was told by one of the science teachers recently. I think the school is very wrong in this and they should go by GCSE results like the other schools do. Latymer and DAO both have large numbers of students (including externals) wishing to persue maths and science at A level and their solution is to put on extra classes to cope with demand rather than deny high performing students the opportunity to persue their dreams. I agree that QE should be transparent about this from the outset and I think its wrong that they don't give parents and boys this information until year 10 when its too late to move to another good school without difficulty. There are currently some year 11 students that do not have 3 A level offers from QE but I don't know if that will change in February when final A level offers are made. As there is now an obligation for all students to stay in some form of education until they are 18 I will be interested to see what the school is going to do with students who don't meet their high standards.
Loulou

[WP]

Well said. I am puzzled as to why QE would think that internal exam results would be better predictors of future A level grades than the actual GCSE grade in the subject? If a boy can get an A or A* in the subject at GCSE the only thing that would be stopping them from doing the same at AS and A2 would be application and poor teaching! DG

140-160 boys get A* in GCSE Maths each year at QE (all but one or two of the rest get A). They can't be sure they'll all get A* or A in A-level Maths, let alone Further Maths. To reduce the risk of Bs, they need their own, more stringent, testing, and it seems to produce the desired results.

[WP]

As there is now an obligation for all students to stay in some form of education until they are 18 I will be interested to see what the school is going to do with students who don't meet their high standards.

That is an obligation for the students, not the school. All schools are allowed to set standards for their sixth form and eject students who don't meet them, and many do. It's just that QE's requirements are stricter.