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Original poster

Unsatisfied with school

31 replies

b0nker5Mum · 07/12/2012 14:48

I?m new to this so please bear with me.... I will try make this long story short!!
My daughter is in year 11 in an independent school, her predicted GCSE grades are mainly As and Bs.

Her English predicted grade is CC. The English department (there are less than 15 children in the class) seem to want to scrape them through with a CC IMO so the school can keep their status of 100% A-C. The whole class has suffered a bit and none of them reached their predicted grades last summer. I, amongst many of the other parents, have had to call in an English tutor who is a teacher in a local state school and thinks she is capable of a B or above but the school have only entered her for foundation (guaranteeing the C grade for their stats).

The problem she now has is that most of the sixth forms want a B grade for maths and English (she is A* maths) so she will struggle to get in to study the A levels she wants to do.

I am fuming with the school I pay a lot of money and now I wish I had sent her to the local comp. this is just the latest thing in a succession of problems with the school.

I guess I just needed to rant as I feel like there is nothing I can do now but wait and support her.
Thanks!

OP posts:
chloe74 · 07/12/2012 20:35

Is there any other English teachers, could they be changed into a different class?

mummytime · 07/12/2012 17:59

I would complain extremely loudly. It is not just Sixth forms which require B grade in English, some Universities do (unless you can prove you are dyslexic).

Original poster
b0nker5Mum · 07/12/2012 16:49

Thank You Chloe you are right.

I will definately look into her sitting at another school but she still needs to attend the lessons so unfortunately we have to make use of the teacher for what she is worth.

I will speak to her tutor and see whether he can offer any suggestions....

OP posts:
chloe74 · 07/12/2012 16:32

Why wouldn't you rock the boat? you are paying for an education and they are not providing you with one. If you bought a Rolls Royce and it only went up to third gear wouldn't you complain until it was fixed. Your child's education is much much more important and you cant do much about it after the exams are over. Its not a state school so you have to assert your right for the education you are paying for, demand it. Even if you consider it to late to change schools you can still do the actual exam paper in a different school, it does happen.

Original poster
b0nker5Mum · 07/12/2012 16:09

I have spoken to a few other Mums and I think the general consensus is not to rock the boat (I suspect my poor DD has worse results than their dds).

I have had several meeting with the class tutor and the deputy head and the general answer is she is immature and needs to grow up (they have said this about most of the girls tbh!) and the English department seem to just get defensive.

The head teacher is leaving next week so hopefully the new head will shake things up a bit even though it?s too late for year 11 now.

I think changing schools would be detrimental so late on in the course so I have no choice but to keep her there and she is generally doing well in all her other subjects.

The other problem is the English teacher has often accused my DD of cheating by getting her tutor to do the homework (the accusation was before we hired the tutor so it was all her own work) so DD feels like she is being bullied by the teacher and cannot do any right, whether this is true or not when you have a teacher constantly telling you your work is "rubbish" (actual words) it is easy to become disaffected and uninterested and stop trying.
I even had to explain to the deputy that perhaps they need to try encouraging the girls. I thought it was common sense that if you encourage you get better results....

I just don?t know what else to do; I think it is unacceptable in a class of 6 for English for any of them to be working towards foundation. I have discussed DD problems in English at every parents evening and the school have always said she will be fine.

OP posts:
chloe74 · 07/12/2012 15:33

I don't get it, you pay for an independent school (and a private tutor), shoot a rocket up their asses and if they don't play ball you should consider your DD sitting English in a different Exam center. There is NO way you should accept a foundation paper. Is changing school an option?. Have you and the other concerned parents put the head straight?

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