Angry, upset and annoyed or over reacting rant

Lunar_Eclipse

FBaby wrote: »

The feeling I get is that this because the syllabus is geared towards those in the middle. They are the focus of what is learnt every day in class. This is why those with learning difficulties get more additional support, and why gifted children also require something different.

I agree with you. The teaching is geared to the middle of the class or set.

I think a lot of them get the shock that you describe at A level. So many of them are completely unprepared for the depth of knowledge required. I was chatting to a girl I know in upper sixth last night that has really struggled with A levels, having got 12 A/A*'s at GCSE (I don't know the split.) She's got her heart set on medicine, but is falling short at ABB predicted grades, so is working on a backup plan.

Dunroamin

susancs wrote: »

My daughter was identified in primary school as "gifted and talented" (has now just started doing A levels) and while I can see you point about these children having extra needs, I do not feel giving extra lessons would have been beneficial as there was no need, it would have just eaten into her spare time and put her apart socially from her classmates. My daughter like your children did the classwork, extension work, her homework and then helped classmates. The benefit of this in my opinion was that she had time to do other less academic activities in the evening due to no homework and gained good teamworking and social skills in helping others. We would not have wanted her to have accelerated learning to do A levels earlier for example and she was fully capable of extending her own learning by doing her own research (and did so). The school's approach has been good in my opinion in helping create a better rounded person who is not just viewed (or views herself) solely in terms of her academic achievements. Recently she applied for Saturday work and helping others in school really helped in the team working group interviews and allowed her to get offered several jobs.

Hope you don't mind my asking, how did she do at GCSE?

susancs

Dunroamin wrote: »

Hope you don't mind my asking, how did she do at GCSE?

Top grades in all but French (B). Although the school does not select on academic ability (faith school), a number of her classmates in the different subjects achieved top A* grades. It is nice to think that these results may well be due to teamwork on occassion with pupils helping facilitate each others' learning. She is most proud of her French result as she had to work for it (it was a compulsory GCSE subject in her school).

susancs

Lunar_Eclipse wrote: »

I agree with you. The teaching is geared to the middle of the class or set.

I think a lot of them get the shock that you describe at A level. So many of them are completely unprepared for the depth of knowledge required. I was chatting to a girl I know in upper sixth last night that has really struggled with A levels, having got 12 A/A*'s at GCSE (I don't know the split.) She's got her heart set on medicine, but is falling short at ABB predicted grades, so is working on a backup plan.

We have recently had a Parents information evening for Sixth form and the school have said that the step up from GCSE to A level is a really big one and those who got A* at GCSE can expect to get D and E grades to start with in any A level school tests until their independent learning skills set builds up. They will be given the basics in class and expected to study it in more depth on their own.

a51_ufo

I currently teach GCSE maths at a secondary school and those being entered for higher tier aiming for a grade B are usually not taught everything on the paper. They need to do the higher tier paper to get a B but may not be capable of the A and A* topics on that paper. With students like this I push them as much as possible so I may end up taking some topics up to A* level if they are capable but if they really struggle on B grade topics we don't push it any further the first time around but see if they cope any better during revision up to the exam.

Rebecca01

EmmaBridgewater wrote: »

Exactly, an A is fantastic, but it's not as good as an A* which could have been achieved with the extra support afforded to middlers. The B/A borderline is also a massive bone of contention. I got a selection of A*/A/B grades, I feel if I was given the extra support that I continually saw given to others then I wouldn't have got any B grades. I'm not bitter or anything but I don't see why we should have been left out. Luckily the B's were in less academic subjects like RE so it's not had any bad implications.

Sadly there is just not enough teachers, money and time.

More support is indeed offered to the C/D borderlines not only because of the league tables but also because C is classed as a pass. At. GCSE the difference between an A and an A star will not limit you much. When applying for uni its A-Levels that count. There is a huge difference between the two , as said above, and some students are shocked.GCSE is very spoon fed.

At our school we put on a sixth lesson for those that want to be pushed, for every set. The opportunity is there but not all take it.

Counting_Pennies_2

Dunroamin wrote: »

Why indeed, if they can all grind along at a lower level rather than being challenged to fulfill their potential?:(

I am all for everyone being pushed and stretched but while the struggling children have additional lessons and the talented and gifted get additional tuition, the middle are just allowed to sit in a class of 32 with no one challenging them. They become disenchanted and end up doing nothing.

Those on level 4 in year 5 are left feeling they are failing despite having reached the national level before their time, they should also be allowed to have a chance at improving themselves if everyone else gets additional time.

Counting_Pennies_2

Lunar_Eclipse wrote: »

Anyone consistently working at level 6, has a good chance of passing the GCSE. With extra teaching on elements of the GCSE curriculum not covered up to this level, they could get a reasonable result (C+).

Having said that, I'm also not sure it's a good idea, although possibly better than expecting the children to twiddle their thumbs for a couple of years just because ...

They are streamed into groups of 20 for maths, and the top 20 have their own maths class every day, so I do not see why it is necessary for them to have additional lessons on top of their daily top set maths lesson outside of school time to coach them for GCSE. If they are capable of reaching GCSE this should be achieveable in their current lessons. The middle class do not get additional coaching to get them into the top set, nor do the bottom class get coaching to get to the middle class, so why should the over achievers be given even more teaching time.

FBaby

I do not feel giving extra lessons would have been beneficial as there was no need, it would have just eaten into her spare time and put her apart socially from her classmates.

As I've stated, these are optional. My son goes to the Math tutoring lessons, because it is first thing in the morning and he would otherwise go to breakfast club and because he loves Maths. The equivalent English lesson is on Friday after school. He goes to tennis then and is not keen on doing extra English lessons anyway so he doesn't go. I have been told that similar additional lessons are offered for those aiming at reaching level 5, during some breaks. The children are also in sets for their normal Maths and English lessons, so no one is penalised and all have the opportunity to stretch themselves if they/parents so wish. I think this is a brilliant initiative, shows a school that can think outside of the box. Ironically, it only got a 3 Ofsted report!

those who got A* at GCSE can expect to get D and E grades to start with in any A level school tests until their independent learning skills set builds up

And this is why I selected my DD secondary school. They might not push as much academically as other local schools, but they do value self-learning and independent skills. My DD is good at organising her homework alone and always do so well, but that still doesn't prepare her to having to study for hours rather than minutes to achieve a top grade. That's where she might struggle, although she does enjoy studying at home, so hopefully she won't see it as a massive chore, especially if studying for the subjects she likes.

Dunroamin

Rebecca01 wrote: »

Sadly there is just not enough teachers, money and time.

More support is indeed offered to the C/D borderlines not only because of the league tables but also because C is classed as a pass. At. GCSE the difference between an A and an A star will not limit you much. When applying for uni its A-Levels that count. There is a huge difference between the two , as said above, and some students are shocked.GCSE is very spoon fed.

At our school we put on a sixth lesson for those that want to be pushed, for every set. The opportunity is there but not all take it.

Does that mean they don't get "pushed" in the other lessons?