Failing secondary school - fears. What would you do?

Spendless

You know what. My daughter goes to an Outstanding secondary school. I moved into catchment many years ago on purpose to send both my kids there. Sounds fantastic doesn't it? The reality is something different. The school is obsessed with their results to the detriment of anything else, including their pupil's well-being. The school is OTT about punishments but doesn't do anything about real issues eg it will punish a child for forgetting homework but is hopeless about things like bullying or more sever stuff. My daughter is unhappy and asking us to change schools, not an easy task to do or even agree to as she goes into yr11 in Sept. If I had any more kids I wouldn't send them to her school and I'd take what Ofsted said with a huge pinch of salt.

Savvy_Sue

Spendless wrote: »

The school is obsessed with their results to the detriment of anything else, including their pupil's well-being.

Actually, that's a good point. The school my boys went to was great for them, but was very reluctant to allow anyone to do anything other than 10 GCSEs, even when that was clearly not in the child's best interests. And I've recently got to know the head who was there when they were, socially, and he did not send his own child there - now it may just have been so as not to inflict that torment on his own child, but he seemed to suggest that the provision for dyslexia was much better at the school he did choose.

pollypenny

We moved for the kids to attend a better school and I went there to teach a year later, much to their annoyance.

However, I soon discovered that many of the staff had their own kids there - the sign of a good school?

bouicca21

Mine went to a not great comp, DD1 thoroughly enjoyed it. By the time DD2 went there it was in the process of being 'turned round ' and became thoroughly joyless. Both did well, both went to top universities, both have good careers.

Schools have lives. They can change very quickly. And all teachers like working with well behaved hard working ambitious pupils.