Parents perspectives please on WGSB, DGS and GGS

[hanaF]

Interesting, DS1 in DGS y8 and so far I haven't come across the "no snitching" culture, that said, my boy doesn't really talk much about school. I guess it could be a teenage boy thing? I know who to contact if they have a problem.

One thing I like about DGS is that they are very serious with attendance and contributing to the class. There isn't any scope for "coasting". When DS was ill and his dad forgot to ring the school, the school rang us numerous times to see what was happening - so I presume they take safeguarding very seriously.

Hoping DS2 will join his bro next year, but I have heard that WGSB and Gravesend are good too, so it is down to ease of commute and boys' personal preference I think.

[fawn]

Hi hanaF, good to know that you're sending your second son to Dartford too, it's reassuring to hear all the positives from DGS parents about the school.

Am quite concerned about earlier WBGS post (Muggle, many thanks for the info; hope you don't mind but have sent you a PM) but appreciate everyone has different experiences of each school.

As per my OP, my husband and I really liked GGS too; if there are any GGS parents willing to share their experiences of the school, I would be really interested to hear their views.


Also thanks to everyone who's contributed to this thread so far, it's initiated some lively discussion at home!!


Fawn

[salsa]

It seems that they are all good school, but you need to find one that is the most suitable for your son.

I think it's crucial to decide whether your son will be going the IB or A levels route. I know that this is a decision for the 6th form, however, children do get to like their school and would like to continue with their friends. The IB requires full time education as they take 6 subjects, a project and have to do community work. My eldest is an all rounder and definitely suited for it, my youngest is more of a specialist and may not be suited for the IB. However, he just wanted to be with his big brother. So, we'll see when it comes to the 6th form.

The other issue is the flexibility of GCSEs that they can take as they all must take 2 languages GCSEs, 3 sciences, etc. This leaves room for only 1 choice from PE, Art, Drama, Music, Computer Science and Design and Technology. Some people may want to do more than 1 of these subjects.

My son's favourite subjects are in that list, but he will be able to choose one of them when he does the IB even though he didn't take them at GCSE level.

Salsa

[hanaF]

DGS is quite restrictive in terms of GCSE subject choices, although DS1 is fine (not an arty person anyway), he possibly can't wait to get rid of drama next year. I guess a creative boy would be quite frustrated. Furthermore, some boys would be much better off focusing on 1 foreign language than 2. And, not sure about the other schools, but DS1 has been getting some sort of homework (project, vocab, essay research, etc.) every holiday including a Chinese booklet over the summer!

[salsa]

DGS is quite restrictive in terms of GCSE subject choices, although DS1 is fine (not an arty person anyway), he possibly can't wait to get rid of drama next year. I guess a creative boy would be quite frustrated. Furthermore, some boys would be much better off focusing on 1 foreign language than 2. And, not sure about the other schools, but DS1 has been getting some sort of homework (project, vocab, essay research, etc.) every holiday including a Chinese booklet over the summer!

I agree. With regards to homework, most grammars and independent schools I know off, are setting a lot of homework even during the holidays. Not so in the earlier years, but the workload increases from year 9.

Salsa

[fawn]

Good to know in advance about potential restrictions on the number of creative GSCS subjects that can be studied at DGS. Is there a push for the boys to take some of their GCSEs early in order to take on extra subjects/ spread the revision load later?

Re: DGS and their IB programme; do the vast majority of students stay on in the 6th form to continue studying the IB or is there a significant number that transfer to another sixth form for A levels instead?

Also how well does an IB middle years/iGSCE programme then translate if switching to study that subject at A level instead? I appreciate this a very general question rather than subject specific but would be interested to know if any parents out there have experience of switching from IB middle years to A levels? (or indeed, vice versa).

Many thanks for all the info to date.

Fawn

[salsa]

Good to know in advance about potential restrictions on the number of creative GSCS subjects that can be studied at DGS. Is there a push for the boys to take some of their GCSEs early in order to take on extra subjects/ spread the revision load later?

Re: DGS and their IB programme; do the vast majority of students stay on in the 6th form to continue studying the IB or is there a significant number that transfer to another sixth form for A levels instead?

Also how well does an IB middle years/iGSCE programme then translate if switching to study that subject at A level instead? I appreciate this a very general question rather than subject specific but would be interested to know if any parents out there have experience of switching from IB middle years to A levels? (or indeed, vice versa).

Many thanks for all the info to date.

Fawn

The school does not promote early GCSEs. This with the exception of Japanese and Mandarin which can be taken a year early for those who enter the excellence programme. Something new they are trying.
Most children stay on for the 6th form.
The school’s 6th form has capacity for children from other schools and most of them would not have followed the middle years programme. I guess most of them do well as the students obtain high IB scores.

Salsa

[fawn]

Thanks Salsa. Between years 7-11, is it rare for students to leave DGS?


Also regarding the IB, I've been trying to look into whether universities and certain courses tend to prefer it over A levels (or vv) but it appears that most have no genuine preference. Does anyone have any views about this? What are the perceived advantages of an IB education over conventional secondary education? From what I can find, the IB seems to look at a subject in a more global context but I would be interested to know what other parents think.

Only 2 days until all this over-thinking the school choices is finished, CAF submitted and then just a waiting game for the next 5 months!!!

Btw, does anyone know when the schools get their first inkling of how many applications they're getting and also when they start to formalise what the 2019 distance and score cut-offs will be? Sorry for going off thread a bit but would be handy to get an idea.


Many thanks

[PerpetualStudent]

Hi fawn,

If you do a search on the IB you will get many years' worth of debate on the relative merits of IB vs A Level. Off the top of my head I will try and give you a summary though.

The IB is felt to be good for an all-rounder who would like to keep options open. With 3 subjects at higher level and 3 at std level there is less need to be ruthless in narrowing down to just 3 essential subjects for a preferred tertiary option. An article in the latest TES argued the advantages of having more subject slots since maths is often given up prematurely if only 3 subjects are allowed.

Conversely, a DC who loathes some of the previously required GCSE topics and knows exactly what to do next will welcome the chance to focus on just 3 favourite subjects.

The IB is more prescriptive about subject areas e.g. One from six categories: English (home language), maths (several flavours), science,individuals & society (incl history and geography),language acquisition (modern or classical), arts (optional and can be swapped out for another from other categories). Some may struggle with having to give up one option to add, for instance, another science. Theoretically it is possible to get a waiver on some of the requirements to allow greater subject freedom but I think that may be at the school's discretion.

Some have argued that A levels are better for STEM because of their greater depth and some IB graduates doing science degrees have been said to have had a lot of catching up to do. Alternatively IB can be seen as better in a multidisciplinary environment and is often seen as especially good preparation for independent study at university.

Have a look at the UCAS site to see how the IB is officially compared to A levels. The Which site gives quick reference tables to compare the various UK qualifications in terms of UCAS points.

https://qips.ucas.com/qip/international ... ib-diploma" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://university.which.co.uk/advice/u ... ed-to-know" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are some who feel the IB is undervalued by U.K. universities I.e. DCs have to do better than they would if they were doing A levels. US universities seem to appreciate the IB more but the more modular degrees in the US allow/require greater variety in undergraduate courses taken.

The IB requires extra elements that would be considered extra-curricular for A level students. Some object to mandatory 'volunteering' but students don't have to choose the IB option and they can choose their own type of volunteering as well. So the volunteering, while required for the IB, is really voluntary.

Another thing to consider is the timing and number of exams. The IB exams are much earlier than A levels (with a brief overlap in May) and results are out in early July. Also, there may be fewer exams to be taken per subject (or not) though there are more subjects in the IB overall. Some of the work is internally assessed and then moderated by the IBO. It's probably best to compare the IB and A Level specifications at subject level to work out the balance of assessments. All elements have to be passed to get the IB diploma whereas you still have 2 A-Levels if your 3rd doesn't go so well.

Finally it might be worth considering the relative stability and lack of political interference in the IB as compared to A Levels. However by the time your DC might be making the choice between IB and A Levels the linear A Levels may be well and truly bedded down and running smoothly without any interference at all.

HTH
PS

Edited a few times for precision

[salsa]

Very well put PerpetualStudent. I agree, especially with the fact that some universities demand grades in the 3 higher subjects which should be comparable to those in 3 A levels. It seems that they completely disregard the fact that the students also completed 3 standard level subjects; that English and maths have to be included; that they did a project and voluntary work. All that takes a lot of time and effort and should be valued.

To answer the question about children leaving the school, this is very rare, but it does happen.


People can move into the area until some day in Dec, usually the first week, but this information would be on KCC’s site or booklet. Those who move after 31st Oct, need to send proof of address, etc to KCC by a deadline. After that, KCC sends the requests to the schools sometime in January. In the case of DGS, the school would ask for the relevant documents to those who moved and this also has a deadline. The school do their checks and rank the children, then respond to KCC around February with a list of those they would offer. KCC then would input this information and produce offers by 1st March. Quite an involved process. I know it is a long time to wait, but at each step of the process, parents are given time to provide the required documents.

Salsa