How to ask for more challenging work?

dalziel the problem is that in order for high ability pupils to get the best out of their education you need a critical mass of like ability peers IMVHO.

And getting that in a comprehensive is difficult if your DC fall outside the main ability spread where 80% sit.

OP the sad fact is that some high abilkity DC will find the school curriculum, even in top set, unchallenging.

Some people will say too bad. Some people will say your son should be happy he finds it all so easily. Some will say their highly able DC just adore fannying about waiting fior the others.

But none of that will help your son.

Are there any selective schools in your area?

I'm a teacher in a subject similar to English but not actual English.

I once introduced a shakespeare play entirely without using the text. That was week one and all pupils learnt the plot. In weeks 2-6 we of course, used extracts of the play. If I taught English to year 7 I would expect them to read all of a shortish abridged version.

If it definitely happened and the teacher has confirmed OP I would consider going to discuss it with either your child's head of year or the head of English.

I hate reading Shakespeare, too. I wouldn't think it impossible they didn't read any original. But did they read nothing else since September?

DD's y7 set in English read Boy Overboard in autumn term, along with The Speckled Band (Conan Doyle), and some original Grimms Fairy Tales this term. I imagine even the lowest sets read some other texts.

They didn't study a Shakespeare play without reading a word of it. That didnt happen OP.

That sounds unlikely.

I understand your frustration OP, but I also agree with others that it's about so much more than ticking boxes to get to a certain level, and much more about broadening depth and understanding of subjects.
DS entered year 7 already at level 8 in maths, and high achieving in literacy too. But tbh he still finds some new things in maths lessons/ new ways of approaching problems and is fortunate to have a maths teacher who he really respects and engages with. His target, rather than being a purely academic one, is to work better with his peers ... A skill he'll only benefit from developing.
Interestingly his maths teacher doesn't recommend the online sites you mention for children of this level, as he reckons they're not going to stimulate them. It requires a bit of lateral thinking but there's loads of interesting stuff on sites like the maths challenge website, or you can do mad things like work out the algebraic equations for each menu in the local cafe (I jest not!)
I've also found that the added interest of delving deeper and properly into subjects like history/geography, and extending himself as far as he wants to go, even if that means a ridiculously long essay, is also keeping DS really well engaged in school (so far!)

I'd expect to take a term over a book, tbh, to study it in depth (I'm a secondary English teacher).

Mixed ability teaching in year 7 is always going to involve some compromises. I'd be asking the teacher for an extension reading list (what are they reading atm?).

The work is likely to be quite a bit more challenging once he's set in year 8.

we have the same problem: year 7 are streamed based on KS2 results, which is a woefully inaccurate way of doing it, but necessitated by timetabling restrictions.

Once they get into year 8 we set, rather than stream, based on a more accurate idea of their abilities.

Maybe the school is a bad fit & you need to look elsewhere if your DS really is that unhappy.

DD spends entirety of some classes drawing funny faces on her finger tips.
(Why doesn't this bother me...?) because she's not bothered. She's still high achieving. She loves school. She even loves the dossy boring bits. Maybe she even loves them best.

She shares the funny finger faces with her friends later. So it's not really wasted time.

I would have thought that they could have stretched your son in Maths ...I know my daughter's Maths teacher (yr7 too) seems to be very good at this ....the able children do allot of work out of the GCSE books when they have finished whatever they are covering...I know quite a few of the children in her class are extremely bright and achieving level 7A and above already and the teacher;s attitude in that they will do Yr 9 work and tests now...

I did get the impression like someone else has already stated that some children have the grasp and answers to questions but dont document there findings to the level that is required so whilst it is boring its something that they need to do... My daughter is extremely good at ICT but she's been told that she now needs to concentrate on more detail and not to rush ...

Analysing text is really stretching, indeed just enjoying the narrative is the simplistic response. As an English teacher I would say the sign of the gifted student is an enthusiasm for such analysis. Most able pupils have read the complete text at home within a week of starting it in class and use their knowledge of the plot to develop their responses. Why don't you get a copy of novels being studied and encourage DS to read?

Three hours of homework per night in Y7 would be ridiculous, kids would be burned out before GCSE. My school recommends that each piece takes a maximum of half an hour with a maximum of three pieces in an evening, so way less than that and we get fab results.

The point of English is to analyse the book, not finish it as quickly as possible so he needs to change his mindset there.

With maths, it can be hard to give extension work that is genuinely challenging to able students that doesn't require extra teaching. He needs to look at the nrich website for problem solving. But do check his normal work, it is quite common for very bright students to skimp on things and just write an answer instead of a fully worked solution. If this is the case he needs to get into better habits.

Stopping to analyse is a feature of English all the way up to degree level though, as such he is going to have to get used to that style.

If the actual analysis isn't challenging him, then he needs to approach the teacher about what else he could be investigating.

In a mixed ability 30 in a class year 7 set, he is unlikely to get the kind of stretching he needs or you would want for him in the lesson. I think though that that is one of the compromises of universal state education... Encouraging reading and writing outside of school is a good thing to do.

I do think it's nearly impossible not to be challenged in English at school, and to a lesser degree, in subjects like RE and History.

The differentiation is by outcome.

Say, they are studying The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas and the teacher sets an essay on comparing the two main characters. You can respond to that at a level 3-4, or you can respond to it at a degree level of answer. Same with creative writing, or persuasive writing or report writing. Same with a history or RE essay. Answer them at a higher level, with evidence and reasoning.

Science can be harder to find challenging, if the teacher is pitching at a level 5 and ds has higher order skills, but I don't get it in English and the like.

While I don't want to comment on what your DS is or isn't doing in school, I would say that 3 hours of homework a night in Y7 would be very unusual to the point of downright unlikely - from any school. If your friend's DCs are doing that, either the work set is way too hard or the teachers have unrealistic expectations of what can be done in the time allocated.