Great Marlow School

[Sally-Anne]

As Rob says. These are the preference numbers:

Code: Select all

                                   2012   2013   2014   
Tested                             7496   7437   8431
First preference for a Bucks GS    2241   2339   2113

A massive increase in the numbers taking the test for 2014 entry, the first year of CEM, but no corresponding increase in the numbers wanting to attend a Bucks GS.

[Kata girl]

Looks like a huge number. Apart from the effect of impacting on the scoring and therefore more than likely on Bucks children qualifying, I've wonder what the financial cost is to Bucks CC in terms of providing this annual mock test for free to those out of county who use it as a practice session ? Is this expenditure sustainable ?

[Guest55]

It's the GS who pay for it now - not Bucks CC

[Kata girl]

Ahh thanks G55, good to hear that Bucks CC don't bear that cost..

[Guest55]

Bucks used to fund the 11+ but when all the GS became Academies they took over the cost - something I don't think they realised they'd need to do.

[southbucks3]

Who pays is extremely complex, some elements are paid by county, some such as the design and formulation and contract management of the paper is paid by the schools, some is paid by inter departmental and inter county council invoicing.
At the end of the day it's a huge cost and also one of the reasons why cost cutting exercises like separate answer sheets (easier to scan, much harder to complete for the children) are employed by the administrators.
Unfortunately the more children who dit the test, the more phenomenal the task of marking and processing results, the longer is needed, so the bucks test will always fall on a date earlier than surrounding areas.
The system won't be changed whilst schools are driven and judged by gcse results and so keen to accommodate the brightest, or most parentally pushed children. Both grammars and uppers have been producing excellent results in latter years, the individual results of the their pupils count for little. Those high achieving local children who could have got amazing results, in some subjects not even offered to them in the top stream of upper, if they had made it to their local grammar are just collateral damage, as are the very lower streams in uppers who's children are in some schools neglected, due to understaffing and limited facilities to accommodate the needs of children with less academic ability than their peers.
Our education system is a mess, I am thankfully that my boys all secured places in great schools, but extremely sad that they all have peers who have been adversely affected by the system in recent years.

[Guest55]

SB3 - actually the progress for lower ability children in Uppers is very good, again above national.

I agree about choices of GCSEs - some don't offer music or triple science.

[Lillie]

It's not only triple science that's a problem. The biggest issue with many of the uppers is very poor choice in languages and / or where languages are not seen as important. This is a very big weakness, as a lot of them only offer French and nothing else. Even then, French is seen as an unpopular or hard choice. Even in the paperwork for choosing GCSE choices at our local upper it was introduced as an option that is "not everyone's cup of tea." ! Hardly likely to inspire anyone to choose it.

Just because a child doesn't achieve a magic mark at the age of 10, they have their options effectively cut off for them and that is totally unacceptable.

So many children with a clean sweep of level 5s or even level 6s are at these schools and have been for years, but often enter an environment where just doing OK is seen as acceptable.

[Booklady]

It's not only triple science that's a problem. The biggest issue with many of the uppers is very poor choice in languages and / or where languages are not seen as important. This is a very big weakness, as a lot of them only offer French and nothing else.

Agree wholeheartedly - Burnham eACT Upper has this issue - and its just one of the various reasons it was off our list! A glass ceiling is set at 11 for kids who enter this Upper - which is caused by the restricted choice. Other Uppers - like Great Marlow - do not have this issue. They seem to be catering very well for higher level ability kids.

That's why the Maidenhead comps were our fallbacks - no glass ceiling in most of them as they cater for all abilities.

[Lillie]

That's why the Maidenhead comps were our fallbacks - no glass ceiling in most of them as they cater for all abilities.

I don't blame you, Booklady. This sort of limited provision is the problem. As I said, so are attitudes so that just coasting along is seen as acceptable. And yet, these schools are described by the county as "all ability" schools!

Yes, they should exactly be that and do have children of all abilities, and yet the children are so let down by the limited choice of subjects. I don't know why Ofsted does not pick up on this issue.