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Scraping in to a grammar school

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 6:02 pm
by girlsmum
Hi all,
We have just received my dds results for 2016 admission, and looks as though based on last years scores she may be able to scrape in to our chosen school. But I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of having children with those lower scores in a grammar school, and whether they struggled at all to keep up? Or, whether once they are in the school, it all seems to even out?
Hope this makes sense! Any advice would be great! Thanks

Re: Scraping in to a grammar school

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 7:44 pm
by onebigdilemma
My son got in off waiting list so can only comment on 6 weeks in but so far so good.
We did minimal prep (Bond 10 minute tests) so I guess it may depend on how hard the child worked to get a place.
Had first school report today and no concerns raised from any teachers.
Amount of homework is the biggest shock!!

Re: Scraping in to a grammar school

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 7:55 pm
by booellesmum
DD2 got in this year from wait list with 213. Settled in well and no problems, coping well with homework. Had parents evening today and all going well.
DD1 now in year 10. No clue if scraped in or not as scores were not given back then. She is doing really well. She says there are obviously some girls that tend to get higher marks than others but no one struggles (and some of them must have got in with the lower scores, last in was 210 her year). One girl left last year to go to a comp as she was not coping with the pressure, but she was not struggling it was more to do with her personality type.
I personally feel that if you get in with whatever score you deserve to be there.
Good luck.

Re: Scraping in to a grammar school

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 7:57 pm
by Homebird
My dd1 passed her grammar school of choice by 1 mark 2 years ago. She is currently doing extremely well in year 8, is in top sets and has had a headteacher's commendation letter every term so far for her academic progress. On top of this, she loves the social aspects of the school and the extra curricular opportunities and has made many friends.
So to sum up; no, scraping through the exams does not mean a struggle thereafter.
Good luck!

Re: Scraping in to a grammar school

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 8:14 pm
by pushymother
My DD got a 307. We are only 6 weeks in as well. It is exactly how I imagined. DD is pushing herself to do her best as that is what everyone is doing around her.

I view it as positive peer pressure. It is cool to be clever in a grammar school. DD spoke to her boyfriend the other day who went to our local comp. She was saying how great creative writing club was, when he said, "Our school offered a creative writing club, but no one signed up." That would be the reason we aimed for a Grammar school. I have seen too many DC have to "dumb down" to fit in at the local comp.

We have told our DD to always give her best and her best will always be good enough in our eyes. I would like to tell anyone lurking that this website does not show the whole spectrum of pupil.

When you view the results threads you will see a lot of high scores but not so many low passes as people probably are not brave enough to post the lower scores.

Especially after THAT thread that just got locked because a parent was ashamed of their child for not getting full marks on the maths portion. when their child got a really good score.

My DD is not a genius, she is simply an above average kid with parents that were merely above average.

We have said Daddy and I have done alright in life with average grades because we have worked hard and been loyal and reliable and always tried our best.

I believe there is more to life than school. My DD is probably the kindest child I have ever met (Biased I know) and unfortunately you don't get a grade for niceness at school.

With family support even an average child will hopefully excel and have a successful life. We can't all be geniuses.

I am proud of my DD as she got a 303 or above. That was the pass mark and she achieved it.

Re: Scraping in to a grammar school

Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2015 8:34 pm
by Tolstoy
If your DC has achieved a grammar score then she hasn't scraped in she's passed. Many DC who also could easily cope with the standard of work just miss out on a place by a couple of points. Many DC miss out by more than a couple and get through on appeal and cruise through Grammar. This scraping in is a modern day myth that nobody ever thought about in the days when neither scores or ranks were given out.

I have also experienced this with my own DC. The DC who passed with the lower score coped far better than the one with the much higher score. There are all sorts of reasons that DC don't cope at Grammar school (and Comprehensives) and it has nothing to do with how they score on a one off test.

Well done to your DD, enjoy her achievement :D

Re: Scraping in to a grammar school

Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2015 1:15 pm
by Rags
DS passed comfortably, some years ago. Became somewhat disillusioned, stopped trying - mediocre GSCEs and disappointing A-levels.

DD really did 'scrape in' - 117, accepted on review. Started this year.

Thus far (ok, it's only been a few weeks) we've had:

"This is a stunning homework - merit"
"She is a delight to teach"
"Has made a fantastic start"
"Homework is of an exemplary standard"

So, early indications are, scraping in is not a problem.
Passing comfortably is not an indication of success either.
It depends.

Re: Scraping in to a grammar school

Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2015 2:00 pm
by Yamin151
If they qualify then they should be the. End of. It is a cruel falsehood to suggest that someone who scraped in (horrible term) will struggle. It's usually said by someone who is jealous, or who wants to remind you just how academically superior they feel their child is. Both indicate a problem with the person who says it, not your child.

Their monkeys, their zoo.

A qualification is a qualification. That more aren't in grammar schools has to do with the number of places available, which are far lower than the number of children who would benefit from being educated there.

Don't give it another thought.

Re: Scraping in to a grammar school

Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2015 3:43 pm
by quasimodo
From what I have read there is no correlation between pass marks in 11 plus and eventual GSCE results.There is evidence to show some correlation between SATS at KS2 and GCSE results and there is a lot of evidence to show the link between performance at KS3 and GCSE results.Its how hard they work and how well they perform at Grammar school which will determine their success not how well they performed at 11 plus once they have the cut off mark.

Re: Scraping in to a grammar school

Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:05 pm
by Minder
Thank you so much for asking this question and for the great replies.

I was thinking the same about my son and worrying if he will cope academically with the level of work. My mind is now at rest. Just need to get offered the place now.