School haven't told us DD is G&T. Why?

[MaQueen]

Apparently DD2 was G&T at primary school. We were never officially told, but a friend (who was also governor) told me in passing.

DD2 passed the 11+ with a really high score and is now in Yr 8 at a grammar school. She's really flying academically, with 7.9s virtually across the board in all subjects in her exams at the end of Yr 7.

Anyway, she came home yesterday and mentioned she'd seen her form register and next to her name was 'G&T'.

I just wondered if it's normal for schools to not officially notify you that your child is G&T?

[Smartleatherbag]

Does it matter, given it was obvious from her performance?!

[user1478347632]

Regardless of that, your friend is NOT allowed to give out any of that information anyway, it is confidentiality.

You might wanna take this post down if it can be anyway traced to her :p

[throwingpebbles]

We all survived without needing those labels when we were at school!
Not sure why school don't say, but maybe because it might make people feel pigeon holed? I know some fairly average students from my school days who are now the international high-fliers (whereas I

[throwingpebbles]

Was (looking back) a child who would now be labelled 'G&T' and i am nowhere near as successful (don't mind, I love my job and my work life balance, but how sad if my clearly v gifted friends had been written off by a fairly arbitrary system)

[leccybill]

I've got Gs & Ts in my register next to the names where the info came through from primary (based on SATs results).

It doesn't mean much as I stretch and challenge the whole class and sadly there's no funding anymore for G&T dedicated events.

5-10 years ago, I ran G&T residentials, masterclasses and trips and received a small payment for being a G&T co-ordinator but the role doesn't even exist in schools anymore

[228agreenend]

Hi was told once that everyone at a grammar school was considered gifted and talented.

What do,you think you were gain by being told she is g and t?

[FeckinCrutches]

Is it not just marked in there from Primary school? Why do you officially need to know?

[throwingpebbles]

leccy tbh j think that's a good thing. All children should be stretched and supported and encouraged to be the best they can be. My siblings were at school at the time of those kind of GT gimmicks and it always seemed a bit unjust for other pupils to me (all of us had/ would have had that label so it's not sour grapes)

[user12785]

She's at a grammar school. All the kids there passed the 11+, and will have been the top achievers in their primary schools. I think you'll find most of them will be classed G&T - why are you expecting the school to mention it?

[christinarossetti]

Isn't this the very capable dd that you've posted about on numerous occasions?

If the whole of MN have known for years, why on earth is it a problem that the primary school didn't share this label with you?

[scaredofthecity]

I really don't think it means anything. I was labeled g+t and pushed into a career pathway that I may have been clever enough for but wasn't right for me. I ended up depressed, dropped out and retrained in a much less academic job, which I love.
Same as throwing pebbles those that are high flyers now mostly weren't the best at school. It's about so much more than academic ability and I don't think it helps to put everybody together in the same box.

[throwingpebbles]

Exactly scared the risk is that everyone feels so smuggity smug about your academic abilities that they forget you need to develop other skills for work/ life generally.

Everyone loses when labels like this are pushed on children who are still developing

[CarShare]

Ah I hate this G&T business. My sister and I would both have been slapped with this label at school I think. We had enough pressure from our proud but pushy parents.

[noblegiraffe]

G&T is a bit of a bollocks label. Nothing scientific about it and it doesn't usually really mean anything except children might occasionally be offered trips or opportunities because they're on the register and the school needs to be seen to be ticking a box.

I have at least one student on the G&T register in my maths class which is set 3 of 4, so not an all-round academic high-flier.

[mycatwantstokillme1]

Maybe they thought they'd try to control her drnking without getting you involved!

[randomer]

it means nowt

[mycatwantstokillme1]

oops *drinking!

[EllenJanethickerknickers]

See, I thought this was going to be a spoof thread, along the lines of,

'My DD could recite Shakespeare at the age of 11 months, why haven't school noticed?' or

'My DD makes mud pies with elegance and aplomb, but school insist she's just average...' etc.

[Floggingmolly]

Oh. Just clocked the username . We all bloody well know, ok? and we couldn't care less, actually

[BridgetWard]

Aww, well done your DD, sounds a very bright girl, I would have loved to know but from the other posts it looks like it's normal not to tell parents, I wouldn't bother too much with it.

[BackforGood]

Because there' no point / nothing to be gained from you knowing.
I suspect - if you put her in for a grammar school test - that you already were aware she was likely to be in the the top 10% of her cohort - which is all the label means.
Your friend the Governor is WAY out of line though.

[Bountybarsyuk]

My dd goes to a super-selective, all the children there are G and T, I think you probably know this already.

[SpaceUnicorn]

We all survived without needing those labels when we were at school!

I'd never even heard of it until I joined MN! Doesn't help that my immediate thought when I see 'G&T' is 'mmmm, gin and tonic'.

What would have been different in your daughter's current situation if you'd been aware of this 'tag'?

[LittlePaintBox]

I taught in a school where the SENCO was also the G & T co-ordinayor, She took kids out of lessons for 'extension lessons' which meant they weren't getting as much teaching in their academic subject areas. Seemed a bit pointless to me.

My friend's twins were designated G & T at school and she joined an organisation that provided holiday activities etc, but this was obviously at the parents' expense. That might be worth looking into if you're concerned?

[Pallisers]

DD2 passed the 11+ with a really high score and is now in Yr 8 at a grammar school. She's really flying academically, with 7.9s virtually across the board in all subjects in her exams at the end of Yr 7.

so you knew she was both gifted and talented academically. She is in a grammar school which presumably stretches her academically. What difference would someone in school saying it to you have made?