School - children skipping years query

peachyprice

Gingham_R wrote: »

It's every bit of a challenge that any other special need is.

This is so very, very true. I have twins one dyspraxic/dyslexic with SEN the other 'gifted', they are both as challenging but in different ways, infact the 'gifted' one far more so in his younger years.

Bluebell1000

I was taught with children 2 years older than me in the first few years of primary school. It worked fine with socialising and being with the older kids, as well as having friends from my own age group who I spent time with as well. However I then had to wait around while people my own age caught up, I'd read all the books inthe entire school and I remember being told that to slow me down, I had to write out all the questions in my maths book before I was allowed to answer it! It was all incredibly boring, and I didn't start to enjoy school again until A-levels, because I was always being held back, while the teacher spent hours explaining it to the students who didn't grasp things quite as fast as I did.

However looking at it from the other perspective, on starting Uni there was someone who was a year younger - he'd been moved ahead a year all the way through school, so was 17. All the college bar staff were made well aware of how old he was, and I don't think he found the first year of university as fun as it might have been, because he was restriced on the drinking part of university social life.

So I'm not sure there's an easy answer, apart from maybe good teaching to stretch the gifted / advanced children, while still making it understandable and interesting for others???

blue_monkey_2

My son reached his milestones early.

He was bottoms shufflind at 6 weeks, crawling at 3 months, standing around the furniture at 5 months and walking independantly at 7 months. I remember the date so well..... 31st October!! I heard The Omen tune like on Only Foools and Horses when Damien was born, LOL. He never 'felt' like a baby which was a huge shame. I often wonder if I imagined it but I have the pictures of my daughters 2nd birthday when he was 9 months, and he is running around with the other toddlers. It was just very odd.

He isn't gifted though, he has ADHD. He has always been very, very active. I think it would be a mistake to assume that any child hitting their milestones early was gifted as this could cause parents to put undue pressure on their child.

RAS

Ivrytwr3 wrote: »

My boy is 7 in August and since Reception class he has 'skipped' years due to doing well in his class, as has 7 - 8 other children who have moved with him.

After the school holidays he will be moved up again into a class with 9 year olds (as will the other 7 - 8 who have done well and moved with him.

Now my daughter looks like she is heading along the same route. She has been told that when she comes back from the school holidays she will be moved into year 2 (from Reception) along with 5 others.

Now my concern is is this a good thing? Yes, it's great that they are doing well, but when it comes to exams etc, their peers will have a year or two more maturity than my children and also i'm not sure my 2 children have been able to enjoy being children and are already worrying about spelling tests, maths tests etc!!!!

One of the other childrens mothers who are continually been moved up is a teacher and she seems happy enough to let it happen - so am i worrying about nothing? Is it a good thing or a bad thing to 'miss' years?

Should i insist they are kept in a year with children of their own age?

Clarify exactly what is happening; whether they are moving into mixed age classes or not.

With respect to moving up a year, this happened to both myself and my sister when we changed schools. Our little country school had been able to accomodate our varied achievements, although I had been moved into the Juniors early and finished the whole reading scheme by the first half-term when I was supposed to be there.

When we changed schools and were put in the age-appropriate classes it was a shock. My sister was bored stiff and started to play up; I was bored but behaved. Fortunately our school reports arrived and we both moved up a year.

Relating to older children was not a particular problem; we had always been taught and played in mixed age groups. Our best out of school friends were also a year older. I never felt any stress being the youngest in the class because of my age and a couple of my closest class-mates were nearly two years older but less able academically.

However, moving children around messes up friendship groups and it can be hard being the only child moving into a class where these are settled. If the same group of 7-8 children are moving around together, I would not be so worried.

I think you also need to assess your childrens' maturity; some have the ability to thrive amongst older children and young people, others need time to be young. What is right for one of your children may not be right for them both.

jjblondie

I too was moved up a year at school and missed reception (went straight from nursery to year 1). Even when moved up, I was always top of my class and wanted to hang around with even older children - my peer group were so behind that they never interested me.

When I started secondary school aged 10, the first thing I did was make friends with the year 10 (age 14-15) students. I think they did baby me a bit, but the friendships were largely ones of equals, at least on an intellectual and maturity level - even if I was tiny in comparison!

Starting university at 17 was also no problem as I don't drink alcohol anyway, but had I wanted to, no-one would have stopped me as I was allowed into pubs and clubs just the same as everyone else.

I think you have to decide on your child's maturity level. A boy in my secondary school class was even younger than me (had only just turned 10), and whilst he and the 3 of us who had been moved up were still top of our grammar school class, he was one of the worst behaved children in the school throughout his time there - he couldn't cope emotionally with being almost 2 years younger than others. Having said that, he has gone to a middling university, though he could have achieved Imperial level like the other 3 of us had he been emotionally ready for exams, and appears to be successful and happy now he's finished 2nd year of university.

Good luck with your choice

Jinx

My daughter while at primary school stayed in her own class but was shipped out from an early age into older classes they felt was more in keeping with her abilities for certain subjects.... This was all fine until she couldn't actual keep up with what they were doing and she started lying about having homework etc I really had to put my foot down with the school to allow her to step back from these classes as they argued it was good for her to be challenged while I felt she was much happier for it. Looking back she was too young for the pressure.