Rebellious sixth former

[Long suffering mum]

Away from this website, all the mums I speak to seem to enjoy telling me how hard working / brilliant / high achieving their children are, so it is easy to feel like the one and only.

You are so right! I just cope by thinking how much nicer and more modest mine all are (not very nice and modest of me, I know, but at least I keep the thought to myself!)

[paula]

All frustrated 6th form parents should take a look at this!

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/liferule.htm

It made me smile

[Guest]

Richard Branson dropped out!

[Fed up mum]

Son's school recently called in parents of pupils who needed to 'buck up their ideas' before AS exams.

We weren't invited in - presumably a good sign, unless he is completely beyond hope ...

Anyone out there had experience of how much a 'predictor' these parent meetings are?

[Longsuffering mum]

Son's school recently called in parents of pupils who needed to 'buck up their ideas' before AS exams.

We weren't invited in - presumably a good sign, unless he is completely beyond hope ...

Lucky you. We don't have much much of a social life, but these were occasions we always got invited to! Having both been star pupils ourselves at school it was at least a novel experience though. I think you can probably heave a sigh of relief.

[Fed up mum]

The irony of it was, I was so surprised not to get an invite that I actually rang the Assistant Head of Sixth Form to see if we'd been overlooked. She consoled me by saying some are much worse than my son, which was a bit of a back handed compliment ...

Long suffering mum - how many children have helped to broaden your social life in this respect? Are you still going through this. And what on earth does one wear ...?

[Long suffering mum]

Long suffering mum - how many children have helped to broaden your social life in this respect? Are you still going through this. And what on earth does one wear ...?

I have got 4, but it was the middle two who organised a few of these evenings out for me between them. They were both at grammar schools, so quite a lot was expected of them, but other things always seemed to get in the way of work with predictable consequences. My worst experience was begging the Head Teacher of number 3 to let him stay for the 6th form after he'd got the worst GCSE results in the school! I must say sartorial concerns weren't uppermost in my mind at the time, but thinking about it now probably a smart suit and a string of pearls would be ideal. Along with a respectful and intellectual demeanour, of course.

I hope I'm not still going through it, but as my youngest is just about to take GCSEs that may be a vain hope. He is not as lazy and prone to distraction as his brother and sister though, and I took the precaution of choosing yet another school for him so he could start with a clean sheet.

Good luck with yours, Fed up Mum, but it sounds as though you've got away with it this time anyway.

[Guest]

Son's school recently called in parents of pupils who needed to 'buck up their ideas' before AS exams.

We weren't invited in - presumably a good sign, unless he is completely beyond hope ...

Anyone out there had experience of how much a 'predictor' these parent meetings are?

My son was pulled in after gcse 7A* 2A's and a B along with those that did less well and was told he might not be welcome in 6th form.
To be honest, we had nothing but grief all through school. The school was on my back weekly. I was on his. It resulted in our having a miserable relationship and it changed his attitude not one iota.
It was not that he was disruptive ( well, not in later years) but that he was disorganised and 'lazy'.
He came home bare foot on one occasion and genuinely did not seem able to explain why.
He was a space cadet (not literally, lol)
I believe you can only provide what you can in terms of help and space for them to do what they need to do.. beyond that, you battling up stream without a paddle.
Let him know what you hope for him and where you are prepared/able to help, and beyond that.. don't beat yourself up. It's fruitless and they won't come to you later when you could help them.

[Long suffering mum]

My son was pulled in after gcse 7A* 2A's and a B along with those that did less well and was told he might not be welcome in 6th form.

He sounds really sweet (the barefoot bit) and I can't imagine how a lazy boy could get results like that. I agree, you just have to go with the flow as long as it's nothing illegal or immoral, and appreciate the entertainment value they provide which in my experience is enormous. There is always a second chance with education these days if they mess up the first time.

[Fed up mum]

You're so right when you say there's always a second chance these days. As I waited until I was in my thirties before starting a long, almost ten year haul to get a degree, I should be more accepting of this when fretting over my 'rebellious sixth former'.

Trouble is, it would've been so much easier at 16 and I would have travelled so much farther with my career. But, as they say, youth is wasted on the young ...