To send my academic child to a below average comp?

Personally I think you should be doing everything you can to get your DD into a better school. The culture in a school like the one you've described can have a really negative impact on your DD's development. I get that it's very un-PC to be judgmental of a low-attaining school, and yes I'm sure there are those that do well despite the challenges. But let's be honest for a moment here. She will be in classes with disruptive children who don't value their education, and this is likely to affect her learning.

If there's no other option, so be it. Just make sure that you are helping her to think about her future career choices, where to study, and so on.

Just to add to my previous post after seeing your responses since- I think you are thinking deeply and keeping an open mind. I don't think it's a guaranteed disaster by any means and in your position would probably try. Good advice on finding out more about behaviour, setting, staff turnover. Is your child open with you- would they say if they were finding it hard or feeling left out?

Would you consider the religious school?

I really don’t think you need to see this as failing her! Just keep an eye and see how she gets on - and make sure she knows she is allowed to say she doesn’t like it.

Honestly academically I don’t think it’s that much of an issue- if she’s bright, interested and reads then she’ll be fine. I found at uni I was a better independent learner than a lot of the kids who’d been to posher schools and were used to so much more structure and prodding. I don’t think that’s just me as there’s evidence state school kids outperform private school kids once they get to uni.

I only shared my experience of the impact of all the fighting because it’s the aspect of school I didn’t pinpoint as difficult at the time, so it might be worth checking out - rather than to imply this is what you’re condemning her to!

A lot of the experience was positive and it left me with a strong sense of my own advantages in life, ie an understanding that a lot of the reason I’d done well was because I lived in a warm, safe, loving house full of books not due to my inherent brilliance. I think was a really useful, grounding and motivating perspective to go into life with. Tbh I think it has been a lot more useful than any slightly better grades I might have got at a posher school.

My DC was from a single parent family (me), went to an average comprehensive, never had any tutoring and achieved top grades at GCSE/A-level followed by an Oxbridge First. I wouldn’t worry if your DC is academically able.

It does make me wonder how schools are meant to improve if all the middle class parents won't dream of sending their DC there.

I agree. The MC engaged/tutoring parents pick school X, move to get into it if necessary. so its results go up, meanwhile school Y’s results suffer, and this cycle continues until the gap between them is enormous. It is a real problem and schools do end up “stuck” with their place in the local hierarchy.

IMO this gap between different comprehensive schools is as big a source of educational inequality as the existence of grammars or private. And yet it’s hardly talked about in comparison.

My stepsons are academically gifted. My DH had to take his ex wife to court due to a dispute about school choices as she wanted to send them to a school that needed improvement, purely because it was convenient for her location wise.

DH wanted to send them to a school that had an excellent Ofsted report that wasn't much further away. The judge recognised this was the correct choice.

Eldest SS is now at a top university doing MORSE, having excelled in GCSEs and A Levels. Would he have achieved this at the other school? Maybe/maybe not? Having fantastic teachers, facilities and likeminded peers no doubt made a difference and both boys appreciate they ended up in the better choice.

If your DD is gifted I'd being doing all you can to get her into the best school possible.

Do it, but supplement with tutors. That's what I do. My children went to a prep school until they were 13, so they are miles ahead of the majority of their classes. The tutors help them by providing material at their level while at school they're sailing ahead.

There must be other options.
What year is she in currently? Any schools which are selective and not private?
What are the waitlists like for other schools - is there generally much in year movement?
If there is you could work with her and support her constantly so she is not too far behind when a place comes up.
It sounds like a very poor choice.
One of my DD's went out of borough for a better school, another got a place at an excellent school in borough through entrance exams.
Good luck.

I should say we’d move for secondary school, not primary.

I would visit the school and go from there. It may be a very good, supportive environment. Or it may not.

If it seemed bad I would 100% move.

My DD is 1 and we have already agreed we will move him if necessary to get her into an OK school.

Would love to go private but probably can’t afford it. (My younger self would cringe to hear me say that but there you go.)

Don’t do it. Move.

Go and see the Head/leadership team and ask about the more academically able children? Also, it might be worth looking at private school bursaries, much more money than a scholarship gets you.
You can only ask, no harm can come from that.

But you haven't failed them at all. Many oc us live in areas with no other options. A tiny % of the country has grammar schools and few can afford to send their children to private school even if they wanted to.

Your children have one of the most important parts of receiving a good education because you are engaged and want them to do well. We could have sent our DD to a private school, but it worked to her benefit to go to our nearest state school. There's no reason why your DC also won't succeed. There are far more successful stories than horror stories.

I was a quiet academic child at a poorly performing local comp (a long time ago!). GCSE pass rate was about 30%. Academically I don’t think I particularly suffered, I got good grades and I’m now an academic with a PhD. I wasn’t an outlier either, most of the middle class kids also did well. There just weren’t that many of us.

The thing that has stayed with me though was the atmosphere of threat and violence - there were a lot of fights and the basic social hierarchy was based on toughness. To be clear I wasn’t directly bullied or beaten up, this was just a general thing about being in school that if you looked at someone wrong or if they perceived you as a social threat, you might get beaten up. I didn’t realise how much anxiety this had given me until I was an adult because I thought it was normal at the time. I also never mentioned this to my parents as again I just thought this is what schools were like.

I don’t want to tar all comps with the same brush as this was a long time ago and a lot of similar schools are great safe places. But just to add in my experience that this is the element of my school that I would be most worried about a child (especially a sensitive one) having to deal with, rather than academics or social stuff.

I was your child. Please consider moving.

I agree. I'd also try and look at staff retention - constant churn not great indicator.

We moved so kids ended up in a primary most tired to avoid - in year transfer and where places were - but it was actually very good - older two had small years and got pushed and a lot more attention. DD2 less so - partly a new teacher with less ambitions but also a full class by then but it was still perfectly fine experince for her.

Secondary - we chose one that had a steady climb.. Year before second child was to start and just before eldest had choses and started in Y9 some GCSE it went to shit. WOnce eldest had started GCSE we were stuck here as next child started when one finished.

They did well academically - I think girls would have done even better else where but it was more than enough to go elsewhere for A-levels - DS did brilliantly mostly due to us at home as his GCSE were a mess.

They all got fed up of constant class disruptions even in top sets and bullying was not dealt with at all - pastoral care which had been excelent when DD1 started was stripped out and completly gone by next child start. They were all very pleased to leave for sixth form. Older two at uni - but then DH and I are both graduates and it di feel we had to constantly fight low expecations school trhew at them.

However you appraoched the school - and not just us other parents - SLT were immediately hostile and defensive. It was pretty awful all round TBH - we were all glad to be done with them. Socially they all had friend groups - though at times they all had issues mostly before group changes.

I did speak to another parent her kids cousins were at best state school in area and they had so much just on tap D of E- orechestra spot events school would get coaches for - she was replicating as much as possible often through girl guides but it was a lot of work and money on them. C school groups would start and reapily peter out.

You can't move in year here - there are no places at other schools - cheaper housing mean families have moved here since we did and school places that were once there just aren't - there actually school building in area. So I'd look into that before assuming an in-year move will be possible.

If it's that school or nothing - keep a close eye on her education and step in as soon as it looks needed - don't wait. Make sure she gets ambitious messaging from home - it may be less an issue at the your school but be aware. Make sure she does stuff outside school - so if friendship groups go south she knows it's not her.

If it's a soild but not so great school with good behavior where bright ones get a lot of attention - could easily be very postive experince for her.

That’s crazy - 400 kids per year…!

Me too. And they still didn't have enough kids taking higher GCSE maths to fill the top set.

I went to a 10 form entry school. It was hideous.

Are you an expert in this field though? My point on the use of the word 'legal' (swap the word 'legal' for 'rules' as that's what I mean in this context) is just that it isn't the case of one size fits all and no possibilities for a school outside of catchment. There are mechanisms for an appeal. The OP just hasn't properly dug into them yet and has dismissed all other options as 'impossible' / too hard. Surely in the same situation any of us would try and exhaust all possible options before sighing and saying 'oh well it'll probably be fine'

Extra curriculars and school trips are bells and whistles.

you need to look at setting and behaviour.

check their ofsted reports.

https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/

I would want to find out about the pastoral care and the behaviour standards in the school. This is what I would be asking at any school: private or state.

Comps can nurture bright children well, but only if disruptive behaviour is under control.

Thanks Minipie, I didn’t see that. Neutral progress for high achievers is fine, they are achieving as expected.

OP, what proportion of high achievers are in the cohort too?