School Transport costs and Social Exclusion

silvercar

My eldest crossed county boundary to get to his grammar school, as there are no grammar schools in our county.

His only method of transport was unreliable public transport or my car. I would take him to school and he would take public transport home (no time pressure to get home). This meant that my other son had to take the school bus to his school (at a cost for secondary but free for primary) for a few years.

Savvy_Sue

Gingham_Ribbon wrote: »

Actually, not it isn't. Speak to anyone involved in the NAGC and they'll tell you the same as me. SOME schools are very good at accomodating children working outside the 'norm', many are not.

Very true: DS2 in particular was fortunately at primary schools which had the "Wow, isn't this great, a really bright boy who just LOVES maths, how can we stretch him?" reaction, even though they had LOTS of statemented pupils to cater for as well.

Whereas his cousin, in a different area, had to be moved to private school because the state school's reaction was "this child is only average, and you shouldn't do maths at home with your child anyway."

Well, if your Mum's a maths teacher, and you're interested in what she's doing, and she finds you can do GCSE questions if she explains the language used - what are you supposed to do? You wouldn't stop a child reading about history if they enjoyed it, or stop them doing a sport if they wanted to, so why not let them do Maths in their spare time if they love it?

milliebear00001

Gingham_Ribbon wrote: »

Actually, not it isn't. Speak to anyone involved in the NAGC and they'll tell you the same as me. SOME schools are very good at accomodating children working outside the 'norm', many are not.

As with any forum - you are much more likely to hear from disgruntled parents who have had a raw deal from their child's school on the NAGC site, than the people who have had their child's needs very successfully accommodated and so don't feel the need to vent. I would suggest your post should be reversed to state that many schools are good at providing for academically able children, while SOME are not.

In the OP's case, her daughter is good at science. Many, many children are good at science, just as many are better than average at maths etc. We don't know to what extent she is 'better than average'. As long as she isn't a complete prodigy, then any secondary school should not struggle to make to necessary arrangements for her. If she is a prodigy, then I doubt a grammar is going to be able to provide anything extra for her anyway!

My concern is that pursuing 'gifted teaching' can often be at the expense of other things. The OP's daughter has been moved from her local school, and local friends. For what? So she can sit her science GCSE/A Levels a few years earlier?

Ettenna

Out of interest, what grade did she get at GCSE? I presume that she took it early.

mrcow

Ettenna wrote: »

Out of interest, what grade did she get at GCSE? I presume that she took it early.

I doubt it. it doesn't sound like the last school got that far.

There is no real benefit to taking GCSEs early IMO - unless you just simply want to get them out of the way. That's not what it's all about.

I'm sure top set grammar will help stimulate her imagination with her work (which at the end of the day is what it's all about). It's about being comfortable with what you're learning.

Gingham_Ribbon

milliebear00001 wrote: »

As with any forum - you are much more likely to hear from disgruntled parents who have had a raw deal from their child's school on the NAGC site, than the people who have had their child's needs very successfully accommodated and so don't feel the need to vent. I would suggest your post should be reversed to state that many schools are good at providing for academically able children, while SOME are not. What makes you think I'm wrong? I wasn't talking about a forum. I was talking about the people who work there.

In the OP's case, her daughter is good at science. Many, many children are good at science, just as many are better than average at maths etc. We don't know to what extent she is 'better than average'. As long as she isn't a complete prodigy, then any secondary school should not struggle to make to necessary arrangements for her. If she is a prodigy, then I doubt a grammar is going to be able to provide anything extra for her anyway! Misconceptions about the notion of prodigy and genius are exactly why this subject goes nowhere fast.

My concern is that pursuing 'gifted teaching' can often be at the expense of other things. The OP's daughter has been moved from her local school, and local friends. For what? So she can sit her science GCSE/A Levels a few years earlier?

If you don't understand the importance of not sitting doing nothing for hours each week while other children are being taught, then there's nothing more I can say. I haven't met a parent of a gifted child yet whose goal is to make their children sit exams early. As with most parents, the goal is to make sure the children get an appropriate education.

Pursuing 'gifted teaching', if done properly, is at the expense of nothing. It does however alleviate boredom, stress and isolation among other things.

Look at the link of the conference. The people from NAGTY etc were so busy explaining to people who just don't get it some of the absolute basics and challenging myths surrounding this topic that they barely got to the heart of the matter.

silvercar

Until the government stops focussing on how many pupils get 5 A*-Cs at GCSE nothing much will change. Pot luck whether a very bright child in a standard comprehensive gets their needs met or not.

milliebear00001

Gingham_Ribbon wrote: »

If you don't understand the importance of not sitting doing nothing for hours each week while other children are being taught, then there's nothing more I can say. I haven't met a parent of a gifted child yet whose goal is to make their children sit exams early. As with most parents, the goal is to make sure the children get an appropriate education.

I don't remember advocating that any child should sit doing nothing while other children are being taught. I do remember stating that coping with differences in ability is something most schools do everyday, and something that should have been well within the remit of the OP's daughter's school, unless there is something the OP hasn't told us.

I have met plenty of parents whose goal is to push their kids up the educational ladder, often without a thought for the impact this might have on other areas of their children's lives. It is rife at all levels - from the competions over who is reading a higher colour band book, to the kids who (whoopee!) get to do their GCSEs a whole year or two before everyone else in their cohort. Perhaps you and I simply disagree about what makes for 'an appropriate education'.

Pursuing 'gifted teaching', if done properly, is at the expense of nothing. It does however alleviate boredom, stress and isolation among other things.

And when it isn't done properly...? How will you know until your child comes out the other end? My point remains that the OP hasn't explained why her child could not be accommodated in the original school, only that she pulled her out and sent her elsewhere without getting a full explanation from them.

Look at the link of the conference. The people from NAGTY etc were so busy explaining to people who just don't get it some of the absolute basics and challenging myths surrounding this topic that they barely got to the heart of the matter.

I think you are wrong because I have some insight into the G&T programme in secondary state education. My experience is that many of the parents who involve themselves in the NAGC are actually 'helicopter parents'. There are lots more who just quietly and happily let their children, and their children's schools, get on with the learning without feeling the need to join some sort of 'representative organisation'. I suspect you don't get to hear from too many of those though - as your conference would seem to prove.

ariarnia

fluffymuffy wrote: »

Grammar schools are free. You just have to get offered a place on the basis of the entrance exam. They don't have catchment areas. You can apply to any.

Depends - http://www.mtsn.org.uk/page.aspx?page_id=563#Fees - this is a well respected chain of "grammar schools" (i.e. an academically-oriented secondary school referred to as such by parents and teachers) it just isn't state funded. Fees are a little over £4000 a term assuming you don't get a partial or full scholarship.