General Chat

According to the radio today, Scandinavian children start their schooling at age 7.

You cannot cut competition out of education.... life is one huge competition.

It will always be there... a level playing field would be nice though.

I am with you Abigail, I was devastated when my little boy had to turn up at school at the age of 4 1/2... far too young.
He was okay, but I can't say the same about me. I missed him so much.

Deanna X

I went to a comprehensive because at the time I wanted to be with my friends from primary school. (My parents did ask if I wanted to go to the grammar school in our town but I declined their suggestionfor the above reason.)

It is something I still regret a bit. At our high school, the teachers spent half the time trying to shut the class up so they could teach and there were many, many disruptive kids that. I didn't feel like there was a real work ethic there, although the school did have a good reputation.

I got good GCSEs compared to many pupils in my year but when I went to the grammar school sixth form, I realised how much better the pupils were who had come from the main grammar school to the sixth form. They had a much, much better work ethic and there was far more emphasis on "it's your responsibility to do well", whereas at my secondary school, they sometimes didn't praise us so much as rant at us from time to time in assembly about how "if your mocks were any indicator of your final GCSEs, you won't do as well - as a year group - as last year's Year 11". I think, ultimately, they were worried that a "lapse" would mean OFSTED inspectors coming round.

My daughter is currently in yr 10 local all girls grammar school and is doing very well. It suits her needs perfectly. Like Tinas' daughter she needed no coaching, no tutor, no extra help, she's a ntaural academic.

When it came to choosing a high school for my twin boys it was a very different story. They are SO not academic. We have three comps nearby, two mixed and one all boys that they could choose from. And yes I let them choose as they have to spend 5 yrs of their lives there not me!!! They started in Sept and both are doing well. One is on the rubgy team and is doind well in sports (it is a sports college) The other is doing well in drama and art ( see what I mean about not being academic) However this school priases the child for doing his best even if that means it's not straight A's which is something their primary school lacked. Means they are really blooming now with confidence, p'haps too much at times!!

Every child is different and needs different things.

and in repsonse to Dermots comment about Scandinavian children starting formal education at 7, they also said that despite starting 3 yrs later than our children, they are consistantly betterthan ourchildren!!!

My two were completely different as well.

Our daughter always wanted to go to grammar school as her cousin went there. She loved the hard work, organisation and discipline.

Our son went to the local comp. did really well despite the, shall we politely say, lack of discipline.

Daughter went on to uni. son did well enought to get into uni. but didn't want to go.

Both have excellent jobs and we are very happy with the way it all turned out

Linda

Hi Abigail, I went to a secondary modern, formerly a very good grammar school. But it was so good that in the 1940s, my dad, a clever lad , but not rich was victimised and bullied for being from the wrong part of town.


SS is so right about academy in barrow, i signed against it 2 weeks ago,


Caz xxxxxx

Didn't see Summer Scribe's comment before about how seven year olds should not be suffering with exam stress but I totally agree with it.

I was frazzled enough doing my GCSEs at sixteen. I would often work very late into the night to make sure my homework was done for the next day (although Year Elevens had a study room they could use at lunch, for any other year there was a culture perpetuated by the kids that if you were doing forgotten homework at dinner time for the next lesson, you were doing something illicit). I never felt like what I was doing was good enough and always felt bad about having to tell teachers if I had tried to do my homework and genuinely been unable to finish it.

I was fifteen and sixteen then. So to think that seven year olds are under that kind of pressure is heartbreaking and very depressing.