How to make it cool to achieve at school

I did the same thing, and lived to regret it. bah.

I suggest he just shrugs his shoulders and tells them white lies - tell them he hasn't worked for it/did his homework in ten minutes to avoid detention etc. In class is a bit harder, but fairly soon they'll be put in sets if they haven't already, and by the sounds of it his mates won't be in the same sets. Once that's done, he'll get a bit of grief for being in the higher sets, but if he keeps shrugging his shoulders (like teenagers are good at) they'll forget about it.

It's even harder for lads. Maybe he and his friends should take up school sports - a lot schools have a policy that if you want to stay in the school teams you have to work at the academic side?

My son is a similar age and always has acheived well academically, but not so much socially. I would always tell him - "your time will come" over and over. He is now in Year 9 and he is starting to feel this is true after years of being an outsider.
We talk a lot about what he wants from life for his future and how to make that path easier by acheiving the most he can now when he has no responsiblities and how it is so much harder to go back to college once you are a mature student (as I know from personal experience, unfortunately) when you have other demands on your time and resources. I tell him not to judge the time wasters, the antisocial, the disrupters - they are choosing their path, which I believe will be a more difficult one.
Does your son know WHY he is studying? That it is to find out what interests him so that he can have more choices later in life, that his path will not be so narrow, that he can become a productive person, that more opportunities available to him. Have you discussed the differences in salaries for different types of work/professions and how these people got to make their choices according to their qualifications? No-one discussed this with me when I was this age and I wish they had.

If he has always done well, he may also need the shock of not reaching his targets once in a while and this may wake him out of his complacency - children who have always been the cleverest in the school often get a shock when the work starts to get more challenging and someone who could coast it in junior school may need that low mark to get them back on track again.

Does your son play a musical instrument? If not, it would definitely be worth considering as once he gets to Year 9, 10, 11.... there is nothing cooler than the guys in a band - I have seen it happen before my eyes - the geeky weedy guy struggling to get a tune out of an electric guitar who, 3 years later, is the coolest kid in school rocking it out at the school concerts.
It may also be worth him starting to think about his options which he will choose in Year 9 and his ability to study some of them will depend on how well he has done so far, eg. languages, music, science will require him to have shown talent and enthusiasm in the earlier years.

I am trying to instill a sense that my son has to make his own choices and to take responsiblity and he must also take responsibility for when he knows he has not done his best - and only he will ultimately pay the price. I have tried and failed at being the nagging parent and am taking the tack that it is all up to him and I can only be the guide. Doesn't always work, but it is not as soul destroying as nagging (which also doesn't work BTW!).

Sorry for the lengthy reply HTH -

Thanks OP for starting this thread. This is also a problem for us with our DD (12). When she was in school abroad for 2 years, she was so competitive and was determined to come first in the class, which she managed eventually.
Unfortunately now, in Yr 8 here, it is definitely 'not cool' to achieve. She is a lovely girl, with a great attitude at home, and well liked by her teachers, but is definitely not achieving her potential at school.
I think some of the blame must lie with the school. the amount of homework given to the kids is miniscule.... we are the ones making sure she studies on school nights. If she did only what the school gave, she would do maybe 2 hours homework per week at most!
The other kids take the mickey because she has to study at home. I have told her to keep her mouth shut, and they will never know.
I like what Blue Elephant suggests, just to pretend she doesn't do much to get the results, but then that doesn't help to change the mindset.
I will watch with interest, to see if anyone comes up with the miracle answer!!