How are Grammar schools so much better than comprehensives if they get the same funding?

A bright pupil will excel in a good state school.

Just bear in mind that if your DC start to struggle the school will want nothing to do with them as they might bring the "everyone gets 9 A GCSE's, As at A Level and goes to a Russell Group University" quota down.

My local grammar would not let children enter exams if they were not predicted to get a high pass - the parents had to pay for the child to take the exam privately and if they good a good enough grade the school refunded the cost.

What happens if your child doesn’t pass the 11+? In a place like Lincolnshire (or Kent), Secondary Moderns are generally not great options. A really good comprehensive would be worth moving for. It’s absolutely not worth moving to a grammar county.

And, FWIW, the brightest child I taught did not pass the 11+ - and I teach in East Kent, where over a quarter of children go to grammar schools.

Well they wouldn’t be becusse all the "good" families have been skimmed off.

How old are your children now? Do you have any inkling of their academic abilities?

Best thing about a grammar school is that your child is with like minded intelligent children. They don't need to be held back by having lessons catered to weaker students.

Another thing is that grammar schools ensure teachers have subjects directly related to the field they teach. No pe teachers teaching geography.

Really OP?

Because they keep the tiff raff out. Because only families with the means and inclination to hot house DC get in. Because they generally have very low FSM children.

The parents are also more likely to care, which translates to better respect for teachers and higher ambitions.

This.

I experienced both as a child, comp for half of year seven, grammar from easter of year seven until the end of year nine, then back to a comp for GCSE. Personally the quality of teaching I had at my grammar was very poor, it wasn’t engaging, if you needed any form of suppory it was tough. Where as at my comps teachers made an effort, they also cared.

A school being good isn’t about money, its about involvement, so a teacher who doesn’t have to battle behaviour is much happier on £35k than one who does have to battle behaviour is going to be happier and less pissed off about their wage being low.

Selective so obviously academically able children = better results.

Does your local compressive not stream? Those local to us all set by ability so the top sets moving at a faster pace. The lower sets tend to be smaller so any disruption is delt with. We are a non grammar area which always gets very good results.

Just make damn sure you have academic children before you move to a grammar area because the secondary modern in grammar areas ( are they called comprehensive in a grammar area still?) will not be an anywhere near as good as non grammar areas and will have more disruption. That will be where your child go's if they fail the 11 +. So be a little careful.

I live in a state Grammar area and the local comprehensives are so abysmal that we would have gone private had our kids not passed the 11+

Are your kids top of your class right now?

Are you willing to spend a couple of years or so tutoring for the exam depending on if the grammar is selective or super selective?

Are you willing to push your kids to study when they’d rather do something else like play?

If your child currently goes to a state school then you need to teach ahead of the curriculum and you need to practice the test format for your area because state schools don’t teach that kind of exam during school hours.

Some kids are academic, will happily study and are able to cope with the competitive aspect.

As long as the plan B school is good, it’s worth a shot imo but don’t focus on the grammar aspect and forget that there’s a chance that your child won’t get a slot.

Only if your kids are clever enough to get into the grammar school.

It is possible to find areas where all the local state schools are comprehensive but also good/outstanding with good behaviour. So there doesn’t have to be a simple choice between your current area with poor state schools and moving to a competitive selective grammar school system.

This is why they have better exam stats. Your child has to pass the 11+ to get in, so you’re proposing a huge upheaval which may not even be worth it. A bright child will excel at a state school.

It’s not that complicated! Grammars are selective.

My son is at a grammar, most kids are there to learn. Some are disruptive but it is a smaller percentage. The intake is the top 25% roughly of the year. Parents often donate more to the school. Teachers have left and come back so it must be doing something right

Also a smaller whole year intake so class sizes similar but fewer classes

Simple. They are academically selective, so they choose the best applicants.
They generally don't end up with disruptive or less able children who slow down the pace of learning.

I went to a fiercely competitive grammar in the 70s. Each year we took the top 60 of about 8,000 applicants. We had to sit an exam and have an interview. Only 10% of children went on to university then, yet every one in my year took a degree.
I was a fsm child, but a lot of my class mates were upper middle class with supportive and involved parents who did everything they could to support their child's learning. Pupils wanted to learn. Expectations were high, no-one was bullied for being a swot, we did latin, debating and public speaking. The school had chess and bridge societies and we supported each others' learning. Everyone took 4 a'levels. No money was spent on remedial learning.

Also, schools have to fund the first £6000 of costs for any child who has additional needs, even if they have an EHCP. Few children with SEN = lower bill for SEN costs.

Because they only let in kids who are above a certain educational ability. They are academically selective.

Comps have no control over how able or academic the students may or may not be.

So there will be very low achievers making the school look worse overall, despite there also being plenty of average and or smart ones.

If you select who attend the school based on academic ability then the results will be higher. In our area children start being coached and tutored for the 11+ from an early age.