Scholarships at age 7?

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

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Fingerscrossedmum
Posts: 133
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2012 10:39 am

Scholarships at age 7?

Post by Fingerscrossedmum »

DS2 is in Year 2 (will be 7 next month) and although we know he is good at Maths, at Parents Evening we have been told he is working at level 4b already (His literacy etc is above average, but not at that level).

His state primary school have been very positive, and are giving him Year 5 and 6 worksheets to work from, but obviously the teacher has 29 other children in the class and isn't really able to support him. He says he still finds maths 'easy' and often finishes the sheets. The schools only other suggestion is for him to go into the higher classes for Maths, but I'm not sure having a 7 year old with a class of 10 or 11 year olds is really going to work.

We are not financially in a position to pay for private but wondered if schools give scholarships in situations like this? I will, of course, call our local independent school but wanted to canvass opinion first please.

Thanks
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Scholarships at age 7?

Post by Guest55 »

All the research shows acceleration is not a good idea.
http://www.acme-uk.org/news/news-items- ... ematicians" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The school can extend him by offering NRICH problems and widening his experience. In Bucks all KS1 level 4 pupils have to be moderated by the LA to ensure they are working at level 4 across all four strands.

You are right to resist him working with higher year groups as that is not a good idea socially.
Kingfisher
Posts: 416
Joined: Wed Sep 05, 2012 7:08 pm

Re: Scholarships at age 7?

Post by Kingfisher »

Most don't offer scholarships until age 11 which is when they have more students applying and they are under obligation to offer them.

I should keep his Maths going - he is always going to find Maths easy, to be honest, but focus MUCH more on his English and ALL his other subjects. He will need to show strength across the board in order to qualify for the scholarships when he tries for the best independents or grammars in Year 6. If he likes Maths so much he might begin to explore astronomy or physics, so there are other areas he might find of interest.

When you ring up the schools, I hope you have some luck. I did not when I was in a similar position a few years ago but we kept things ticking over in other areas until DD was old enough to move.
Last edited by Kingfisher on Sun Nov 10, 2013 5:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DC17C
Posts: 1197
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2011 9:34 pm

Re: Scholarships at age 7?

Post by DC17C »

My DC were both put up 1 year in maths from yr 4 and it worked fine as there were a number of children who moved around in the maths groups to get the level of work they could cope with. The results for all children were very good for maths by yr6. All children achieved level 4 and the majority level 5. A small group did level 6 work in yr 6 and did the level 6 papers. My DD did not do the L6 papers in her year but was assessed as such in yr7 early on. DS was the year behind and passed the papers. It has not really made much difference either way other than both are happy and coping with the level /pace of maths at GS. I am not sure it is worth accelerating too much but enriching with other subjects and activities sounds good.
MedievalBabe
Posts: 1191
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2013 9:56 pm

Re: Scholarships at age 7?

Post by MedievalBabe »

My DD is in Y5 and in her year group they have a child identified as extremely gifted, one of the top 1% in the country according to MENSA. He has been doing maths with y6 since he started in the junior school and last year he was doing level 6 maths with my son, who is now at a GS. Other times he is taken out for maths enrichment which is additional to the NC to keep him interested.

I also know that in an Independent school scholarships are only offered for Y7 and Y9 and an academic scholarship does not usually cover the full fees. I know friends who have had to hope for an academic, sport and music scholarship to cover full fees to be able to send their DC to an Independent school.
Fingerscrossedmum
Posts: 133
Joined: Tue Mar 13, 2012 10:39 am

Re: Scholarships at age 7?

Post by Fingerscrossedmum »

Thank you all.
Having had a look at the websites of local schools it does seem that scholarships aren't offered until Year 7.

He loves the nrich site and we play loads of maths games etc outside school, our concern is that he's going to get bored and frustrated in class - I'm not sure how it works, but if he is doing Year 5/6 topics now (and if its explained once, he just 'gets' all the new concepts ie fractions/algebra etc) what on earth is he going to learn over the next 4 1/2 years at primary school???

DC1 is in year 7 at a grammar school and DC2 can already do his older brothers maths homework! (not for DC1 but you know what I mean)

Guess we have to see what the school suggest (or buy a lottery ticket!).
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Scholarships at age 7?

Post by Guest55 »

How much does he write in his solutions?

Has he been entered for the Primary Maths challenge?

http://www.m-a.org.uk/jsp/index.jsp?lnk=250" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Please read the ACME paper.
Booklady
Posts: 522
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 10:39 pm

Re: Scholarships at age 7?

Post by Booklady »

The independent school my DD attends does, I understand, offer bursaries / scholarships etc at all stages through the school - to highest performers entering the school. It's in Maidenhead. They only go up to Y6 though.

Let me know if you want the name - but you should phone the schools near you, not just rely on the wbsites - which may not advertise such things! :)
kenyancowgirl
Posts: 6738
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:59 pm

Re: Scholarships at age 7?

Post by kenyancowgirl »

You do need to look at extending his other subjects too. You could consider flexi - schooling if he starts to get bored. Contact any independent schools that you are considering (incidentally, I am interested that you seem to think these are the answer to all your problems - why? They won't necessarily be able to support him any better so what do you think they can offer that a state can't?) and ask about bursary support. As another posted commented, even if you do get a scholarship, the Charities Commission usually restrict these to around 20-25% of fees (not including extracurricular trips etc) and, according to what you have said, this wouldn't really be enough. Bursaries are means tested and can be combined with a scholarship, meaning that you can get almost everything paid for. Your best bet is to make an appt to see head teachers and is cuss what you hope to get for your son in terms of academic input and financial support.
Daogroupie
Posts: 11099
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 3:01 pm
Location: Herts

Re: Scholarships at age 7?

Post by Daogroupie »

You are assuming that the standard of work will be higher in private schools. In my experience in our area this is not always the case. It might be different in your area but look for proof that they are doing more advanced work rather than assuming it. I have a friend who is a Professor of Maths at our local University and her ds told me he did not learn a single thing in Maths at primary school. But as Maths was quite a small part of the day and he was given his own work for the lesson he managed fine. As others have said focus on other areas, they is plenty to do. DG
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