The Times article about selective schools

[Amber]

http://tinyurl.com/pyx63qt" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think the Times just asked for the information as an FOI request. One does wonder why - it is likely to be inflammatory rather than helpful methinks. The above report details trends and includes graphs about (deep breath, hate this phrase) 'non-white' intakes.

We need to be very careful on this topic. Surely what everyone wants is equal opportunity for all, and a harmonious co-existence. I feel uncomfortable further pursuing a topic which may if not handled very carefully degenerate into racism, so will leave now.

[2Girlsmum]

Thanks Amber. It's an interesting general Government report which I've seen before, but has no details of individual schools or the Times article. I think that it was on Sunday, so I'll check at the library tomorrow. I was mostly interested in the article itself, how it was written and if speculated why so few English parents, and I use 'English' wisely since I know lots of Scottish (including myself) and Irish parents prepare their children for the test.

[Peridot]

Slight aside here... Sorry to be pedantic but why do people on this forum keep insisting on referring to HBS as "the top performing school in the country"? It may be "one of the top performing state schools in the country", but it is neither the top performing school nor the top performing state school in the country. It's such a sweeping statement and it's not true. It doesn't help the school's oversubscription if everyone believes that it is true.

[Elibet]

Slight aside here... Sorry to be pedantic but why do people on this forum keep insisting on referring to HBS as "the top performing school in the country"? It may be "one of the top performing state schools in the country", but it is neither the top performing school nor the top performing state school in the country. It's such a sweeping statement and it's not true. It doesn't help the school's oversubscription if everyone believes that it is true.

Hi peridot, re HBS, I was just quoting from the article in the Times...
"
At Langley Grammar in Slough, Berkshire, 92.3% of pupils are from ethnic minorities; at Queen Mary’s Grammar School in Walsall, West Midlands, the figure is 72.7% and at Henrietta Barnett in north London, which frequently tops exam league tables, 80% of pupils are from minorities."

[Catseye]

Sorry to be pedantic but why do people on this forum keep insisting on referring to HBS as "the top performing school in the country"?

I think the correct description is HBS(and QE for that matter) are the most selective schools in the UK but definitely not the "the top most performing schools in the country"?

I think it is true that they are more selective than Westminster School , St Paul's and quite a few other Indies .

Given it's shenanigans in maintaining it's league position I think we need a steward's enquiry

I have no interest in league positions per-se , tell me about value added, can your school change a grade C to an A or a grade B student to an A* student? now we are talking ,everything else is just meaningless hubris!

[IronMikeTyson]

Sorry to be pedantic but why do people on this forum keep insisting on referring to HBS as "the top performing school in the country"?

Given it's shenanigans in maintaining it's league position I think we need a steward's enquiry

!

I don't think any HBS parent,nor the school refer to HBS as "the top performing school in the country".

HBS is not that interested in the League positions-if it was it would ask the students to take more GCSE's and easier ones.So what are the "shenanigans" ?

[Daogroupie]

How are we defining most selective? By number of applicants or number of people who actually want to go there. With 4 and 6 choices on the CAF lots of people will put HBS and QE down but it can be one of their lower rankings. I know 30 students who sat QE last year but only 1 put it as their first choice and he was not in catchment for any selective school except of course QE that every Y6 boy in the country and some not currently in the country can apply for. Lots of students put HBS as backup for Latymer and DAO, my dds included. In number of applicants who put it on the CAF form DAO and the Watfords don't not even make the top Five in Herts as there are good comprehensives that are more oversubscribed. DG

[Peridot]

Not sure about how one defines "most selective" but here is a list of the most oversubscribed schools in the country. A bit out of date (jan 2013) but still interesting. Hope link works!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/ed ... tions.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[southbucks3]

Both Burnham and Henry Floyd had placed left spare in 2013? How can that be over subscribed? They must have counted every time it was mentioned in a caf, rather than first choice.

[mystery]

Yes, weird as it seems that is how oversubscription is done. So as each school choice form has 4, 5 or 6 slots depending on where in the country you live, oversubscription looks much higher than it "really" is. But measuring the "really" is pretty much impossible.

It would be impossible to just use "first choice" data as someone may have put a school down second choice and have no hope of a place at their first choice and their choice has just has much weight as someone who put it first (more so if their score is higher or they live closer depending on the admissions criteria) so they have to be included in the subscription data.