appeal/selection thoughts
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Re: appeal/selection thoughts
Thank you anotherdad. Posts like this and Woolford's do help me keep level headed and stay positive in the days of waiting our appeal hearing. It is a lesson on how to be positive and re-iterate priorities.
Yes, not all schools offer same opportunities and yes, schooling between 11-18 does play important role in shaping up our children. However the values and lessons we pass to them in times like this will stay and should teach our DCs useful skills for the future.
Having had an older child we have experienced the pitfalls of not so perfect local school but at the same time we know now, with him being at Uni,
that schooling quality is not an absolute measure of happiness neither is for success.
We never know which road exactly leads to the brightest future... I wish all parents going to Appeals at the moment to find this Road
and never look back. Good luck.
Yes, not all schools offer same opportunities and yes, schooling between 11-18 does play important role in shaping up our children. However the values and lessons we pass to them in times like this will stay and should teach our DCs useful skills for the future.
Having had an older child we have experienced the pitfalls of not so perfect local school but at the same time we know now, with him being at Uni,
that schooling quality is not an absolute measure of happiness neither is for success.
We never know which road exactly leads to the brightest future... I wish all parents going to Appeals at the moment to find this Road
and never look back. Good luck.
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anotherdad
- Posts: 1763
- Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2011 5:33 pm
Re: appeal/selection thoughts
I can see the problem if you are unfortunate to have a poor upper school as the alternative to a GS. However, remember that schools and their cultures can change quite rapidly and what might seem a weak school now may not be in a few years time - at the time our children will be taking important exams (if you consider GCSEs to be important - I don't, but that's another debate...). Parent power is very useful - don't underestimate the influence you can have on a school and your child's experience at that school by being a Governor or sitting on the PTA. Even more so if you are one of a collection of concerned parents.
To answer the question about limited opportunities, I would agree that most GSs offer a broader range of subjects than Uppers. My pet annoyance is that many Uppers don't offer the separate sciences at GCSE which, as one poster pointed out, limits the opportunity for study at A-level and perhaps beyond. As a scientific graduate, I think this is scandalous. However, do not forget that we live in an era where our children are unlikely to have one career, will work for perhaps 50+ years of their lives and where there are many opportunities for study and retraining. True, if they attend an Upper, becoming a doctor, dentist, vet or scientist might involve a few more hurdles or maybe some more years of study, but think what better doctors, dentists, vets and scientists they will be for having worked so hard to achieve it. As long as the empirical ability is present, the only barriers to a career choice are likely to be a lack of hard work and a poor attitude.
To answer the question about limited opportunities, I would agree that most GSs offer a broader range of subjects than Uppers. My pet annoyance is that many Uppers don't offer the separate sciences at GCSE which, as one poster pointed out, limits the opportunity for study at A-level and perhaps beyond. As a scientific graduate, I think this is scandalous. However, do not forget that we live in an era where our children are unlikely to have one career, will work for perhaps 50+ years of their lives and where there are many opportunities for study and retraining. True, if they attend an Upper, becoming a doctor, dentist, vet or scientist might involve a few more hurdles or maybe some more years of study, but think what better doctors, dentists, vets and scientists they will be for having worked so hard to achieve it. As long as the empirical ability is present, the only barriers to a career choice are likely to be a lack of hard work and a poor attitude.
