I’ve had a look at the thread you mentioned elsewhere. One of the posts is from a parent of the cohort that complained in writing to the SLT about pressure. That happened before the current head teacher’s time (and may even have been a catalyst for the regime change - who knows), and before “our” time, so I cannot comment on what the school was like back then. In case it matters, we have not needed to access formal pastoral care, so I can’t comment on that either, but as a current parent, I can tell you honestly that my daughter is very happy, loves her friends and her school.
As gently as I can put this, every secondary school has some young people whose mental well-being would plot closer to wobbly than resilient. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, any time. I’m sure lots of things can tip the balance: Sometimes it will be an underlying mental illness manifesting itself for the first time. Sometimes it will be a combination of experiences at school. Sometimes it will be a combination of experiences at home. Sometimes it will be a combination of all of the above.
TGS is a selective school. The teachers cover ground at a fair pace, homework isn’t overwhelming, the school really encourages art, music, drama and sport. There are regular trips: local, national and international. Of course school as a whole plays an important role, but how happy your daughter will be is also significantly influenced by how comfortable she is in her own skin in general, the other girls in her year group (some years are better than others, but that’s also true in every school) and how much she participates in life-beyond-lessons, both inside and outside school. When parents put children under extreme pressure to deliver X results to ensure access to Y course/university and become a Z, the burden of expectation can become overwhelming. What if that goal is pursued to the exclusion of everything else, what does the child have to fall back on? Is their sense of self built on shaky grounds?
I don’t doubt that they exist, but I have not come across parents with the experiences described on the other site. For additional colour, the kind of occasional parental grumbles I hear are: “Teacher X gave a homework exercise that needed to be completed over a half term.” [unusual, discouraged, shouldn’t really happen] “There’s not much happening with <insert co-curricular activity of your choice>, is there?” [yes, actually, there’s loads, but your young person just doesn’t want to do it anymore/prefers something else/dashes home before it starts] “<Some facility> should be better.” [well, perhaps -have you thought about how YOU can contribute or get involved with fundraising to help make that possible?] “Why isn’t there a private bus from where I live (far away)?” [well, the school hasn’t moved recently, but perhaps you could/should?] None of these caused me much surprise or concern.
In my experience, most parents seem to be happy with the school in general and the number of school places cropping up over the years is minuscule, suggesting that few move for any reason. Should your experience be less satisfactory, it would be far easier to find a space at another school in due course than vice versa.
The usual caveat: Your mileage may vary.
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