Daughter is August birthday, what will this mean exactly?

[doodles]

I have a summer born DS (in fact he was 3 1/2 weeks early) and he is now at a super selective GS and doing very well. He's a very grounded and focussed young man and being young in the year doesn't seem to affect him at all.


Hopefully your dd's experience will be similar. There's nothing to be done about the situation, we can't change their birthdays, so all we as parents can do is encourage and support them.

[Eccentric]

My Dd is also very grounded and and doing very well at GS too but maturity has definitely been a problem for her since she started school at just 4 years old. She was simply too young and that theme has carried through for her, throughout her school career. I didn't mean to suggest that this would be the case for everyone. Just that it can be a problem.

[FortyNinePence]

I don’t doubt that there are many many summer borns at superselectives (see my earlier post)

What’s for sure is that there are way less summer borns at normal grammars.

I’m not convinced there’s “nothing to be done”. I will certainly keep banging on about it, forever, as it’s unfair and unjust. ( KCC just LOVE me ! )

[Sorrel]

I don’t doubt that there are many many summer borns at superselectives (see my earlier post)

What’s for sure is that there are way less summer borns at normal grammars.

I’m not convinced there’s “nothing to be done”. I will certainly keep banging on about it, forever, as it’s unfair and unjust. ( KCC just LOVE me ! )

It's tricky, isn't it, if the issue is that they lose confidence and/ or fall behind early in their school careers. It applies to sport as well; far more footballers are Sep-Nov born, because they're bigger in their school years, get chosen for teams and just feel that they're good.

The school situation might improve in future as from my son's year (current Yr 6), primary schools are no longer allowed to insist children born in the second half of the year don't start Reception till January. That compounded the disadvantage; the older children had an extra term of schooling with a much higher teacher-pupil ratio.

[ToadMum]

What’s for sure is that there are way less summer borns at normal grammars.

Over 160 grammar schools, most of which are not super-selective, certainly not as in, applicants ranked on score only

Could you cite the source of your assertion, please? Not doubting you. (Just because our June-born DS1 had plenty of summer term peers at his non-super-selective, entry on non age standardised exam grammar school, doesn't mean that our experience isn't a complete anomaly ).

[kenyancowgirl]

Agreed, TM....I seem to recall someone (possibly Amber or Guest55) who had their finger on the pulse, who debunked that myth with stats....?

The point about age standardising is that it compares children born in the same months and standardises to take out any perceived disadvantages.

Playing devils advocate....Anyone wanting to affect any additional age related changes to the 11+ would do as well to tackle the big exam boards, as there is absolutely no standardisation for age done at GCSE/A level and, surely, if you are arguing that someone, through no fault of their own, is effectively 11 months older, at 11 then by 16 they have had that advantage for a further 5 years.....and, yet, the exam boards which examine everything to the nth degree don't rate this argument! Possibly because the evidence shows that the bigger picture doesn't support the belief?

[stroudydad]

According to the ONS autumn is when most babies are born(all those long winter nights...)
Therefore it's not much. Of an assumption that that would be reflected in the demographic of students in any school, not just GS.

[Sorrel]

What’s for sure is that there are way less summer borns at normal grammars.

Over 160 grammar schools, most of which are not super-selective, certainly not as in, applicants ranked on score only

Could you cite the source of your assertion, please? Not doubting you. (Just because our June-born DS1 had plenty of summer term peers at his non-super-selective, entry on non age standardised exam grammar school, doesn't mean that our experience isn't a complete anomaly ).

Just to say the embedded quote in your post is showing me as the source but it's a quote from FortyNinePence's post - not sure what happened?

[ToadMum]

What’s for sure is that there are way less summer borns at normal grammars.

Over 160 grammar schools, most of which are not super-selective, certainly not as in, applicants ranked on score only

Could you cite the source of your assertion, please? Not doubting you. (Just because our June-born DS1 had plenty of summer term peers at his non-super-selective, entry on non age standardised exam grammar school, doesn't mean that our experience isn't a complete anomaly ).

Just to say the embedded quote in your post is showing me as the source but it's a quote from FortyNinePence's post - not sure what happened?

Okay, trying again

What’s for sure is that there are way less summer borns at normal grammars.

[mystery]

I don’t doubt that there are many many summer borns at superselectives (see my earlier post)

What’s for sure is that there are way less summer borns at normal grammars.

I’m not convinced there’s “nothing to be done”. I will certainly keep banging on about it, forever, as it’s unfair and unjust. ( KCC just LOVE me ! )

It's tricky, isn't it, if the issue is that they lose confidence and/ or fall behind early in their school careers. It applies to sport as well; far more footballers are Sep-Nov born, because they're bigger in their school years, get chosen for teams and just feel that they're good.

The school situation might improve in future as from my son's year (current Yr 6), primary schools are no longer allowed to insist children born in the second half of the year don't start Reception till January. That compounded the disadvantage; the older children had an extra term of schooling with a much higher teacher-pupil ratio.

I am not sure that schools were ever allowed to insist on this. Pretty sure it is your right to start school at the start of the school year of your 5th birthday and that you legally have to be in school in the term following your 5th birthday. But heads and local authorities are forever making stuff up for themselves so I've lost the plot.

The other thing that can be a disadvantage for the younger ones is the difjferent ways that schools interpret the national curriculum documents for maths. Kent puts stuff in the 11 plus which could be seen as year 6 work so if you're child is in a group which is not allowed to do "year 6" work in year 5 if this is the way your school reads it, then it makes the maths test feel harder so the pressure (although you don't have to get that many right to apss) feels worse. And younger kids are more likely to be in the groups not allowed to do year 6 work - at our school you had to be viewed as one of their little geniuses from day 2 of reception for that to happen.