Growing Up Gifted- 9pm BBC2 tonight

[Olympicfan]

This series is back for a 3rd series. It follows a group of young people who were deemed gifted (in different curricular areas- science, art, English) but were growing up in poverty.

The first series showed how able they were (age 13ish). The second series made grim viewing. All that potential, but so many distractions due to their individual situations/circumstances made them all look distinctly average, if not below. They were just about to sit their GCSEs.

Tonight, it follows them post GCSEs.

(Born to Be Different on at 9pm C4 tomorrow- can you tell I am not at work!)

[paininthepoinsettia]

Thanks for the heads up, will add this to watch list.

[paininthepoinsettia]

In the nicest possible way I wonder who deemed these children gifted? They got very average GCSE resukts, even in their "gifted" areas. I could not believe the teacher pushing Liam to do medicine when his target grades were mostly 5's. Around here you wouldn't even get into a 6th form college with those grades. I don't mean in any way to diminish their achievements, but none of them appeared to be particularly gifted in the traditional sense.

[Mischance]

I do not watch these programmes as I think they are abusive to the children involved - labelling them as gifted is bad enough without parading them on TV.

Children develop at different rates, and a child who is deemed gifted at one age may find him/herself being overtaken by others as time goes by. meanwhile a burdensome expectation has arisen around them.

An offspring of mine was seen as gifted - we did not make a song and dance about it, but left him to enjoy a normal school life. OK - his final year at primary he was a bit bored - but learning to deal with boredom and make the best of things is part of growing up - better than being "stretched" - how grim that sounds - or singled out to the detriment of his social development. In fact other pupils used to ask him stuff when they had a query and he would help them - not such a bad life lesson, we thought. He is growing up with respect for everyone, gifted, academically challenged or whatever. He is a well integrated kind person and we are very proud of him.

[Moominmammacat]

One of mine was labelled very gifted by school and others in reception. We were approached to take part in a TV programme then (possibly even this one) and I am so glad we didn't because he is just absolutely normal now and you'd look back on yourself and think, what a prat if you'd got involved. Yes, he did unusual things for a 4 year old but it generally all pans out into normality. Poor kids, too much of a spotlight.

[MaddieElla]

Pain, I agree.

Lack of knowledge about applying for medicine for a start. Even the narrator was saying that the boy was on target to study medicine because he was taking A Levels. Ummmm most medical school score your GCSEs and a bunch of 4s and 5s ain't gonna get you in, even if you did get an 8 in maths.

The boy who wanted to be a nuclear physicist, I was expecting him to say he was predicted 8 or 9...he was predicted a 5!

[paininthepoinsettia]

The teacher was also telling Kian (the aspiring nuclear physicist) that in applying for Cambridge, not only would he be competing with the whole school, but with other schools too. This was with a predicted 5, and he was supposedly the highest achiever in the school. That is extremely worrying that teachers are giving the impression that students of this calibre should even be applying to Oxbridge, let alone have a good chance of getting in.

[titchy]

That careers teacher whose advice was based on googling 'theoretical physics' Sad to say they really are setting those kids up to fail. Even if you allow for poverty and poor schooling to pull their grades down by two, they still weren't exceptional at all.

[Ninky68]

How are these children gifted, I have brought up 3 grandchildren since my daughter tragically died in 2003. The eldest Jake who was 5 at the time went on to get 8 as 6 at a star and a bit. He then went to truro college and got 4 a levels 3 at a and 1 c all at science. He then got a degree at Bristol and is taking a masters at Exeter. He also is a Scuba diver, that is what you would call gifted from a normal home but in tragic circumstances.

[Ninky68]

By the way I am 74 and my wife is 71. I passeductive the 11 plus in East London went to grammar school then to uni and dropped out after 2 years, swing London was to good to miss.

[paininthepoinsettia]

I hate to say this but I think it's verging on poverty porn and the fact that quite ordinary children have been used in this way disgusts me.

[TinklyLittleLaugh]

I think poverty and poor home circumstances can pull your grades down by more than two.

[cakeisalwaystheanswer]

Having watched this series from the beginning I agree with Tinkly about grades and I also agree with pps that it did feel like voyuerism at the end.
I watched it with DD and I always said that Jada was the one who had the best chance in life because of her attitude which is a direct echo of her mother's. It was no surprise that this proved true and I applaud her mother. That family has grit and determination in buckets. Unfortunately DD doesn't and cried her eyes out when Jada got the grades for grammar 6th form.

[MrsGellar]

Didn’t know there was a thread about this. DS and I also watched this programme and were equally baffled for the same reasons everyone else is. The boy that was supposed to be musically gifted (forgotten his name), I couldn’t see what his talent was at all. All we were told is that he got a 7 in GCSE music , perhaps there was something we missed in the first episode, otherwise how does this make him remotely gifted & talented? I felt so sorry for his mum who had painstakingly saved up to by him hundreds of £££ worth of equipment. However, the young chap did seem very determined to prove himself so that alone is worth applauding. We also felt sorry for him that his dad back in Jamaica didn’t really seem interested in his academic achievements.

[MrsGellar]

“To buy”

[Hemst]

Isn't it that all schools have to see their top 10% as 'gifted'? I might have that wrong, but if I'm right, then it depends on the demographic of each school... then didn't the boy who wanted to do medicine did end up doing really well with his GCSE's? I think he got 8's. I was only half watching, but good for him. I hope he makes it.

[paininthepoinsettia]

@Hemst I think he got an 8 in one subject and the rest 5-7s? I think the programme has been made as you say gifted within the context of the school's performance, but really those children are being so badly let down and given very false hopes. The whole thing is a bit scummy IMO.

[cakeisalwaystheanswer]

He got 8s for maths and chemistry and a 7 for Biology. I still think/hope he's in for a shout at medicine provided he can get the A level grades because unis will make allowances for his background and the school he attended.

[Cosima1]

I watched this today - the boy who wanted to be a theoretical physicist.... What were his grades in the end? It sounded like he got 6s? His dad didn’t exactly look delighted. I did think he seemed like a bright boy in the sense that his bedroom was full of books and he was obviously an avid reader. But how did he only get 6s - the teaching must have been really bad. Also when he went to that college and the teacher said they required 6s to get in, he said he was predicted mainly 5s - even in sciences . So who was actually saying he was gifted - the school or the TV show?

[Cosima1]

Hopefully he’ll go to that sixth form college though and maybe he’ll do really well at A-levels and any uni will look at his GCSEs as contextual?

[cakeisalwaystheanswer]

I hope so as well Cosima. If the rest of the teaching is at the same standard as the careers teacher his double 6 for science was an achievement. Poor teaching and lack of aspiration were everywhere on this programme. I will never recover from Jada's head of year telling her not to apply to the grammar because he went to one and felt really out of place!
Do watch the girls as well, it gets very sad but it is overall more positive.