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Original poster

Y7 new starter sets based on sats results, help!

65 replies

steggers123 · 10/09/2016 08:36

Hello, my DS started high school last week and received his new time table yesterday, he has been set purely on his Sats results. He scored 107 in maths 108 in SPAG and 98 in reading he went into meltdown during the reading paper and his primary school teacher explains to his new high school that this score was not a reflection of his ability and looking at the other scores this is quite clear, so he has put into set 1 for maths and set 3 out of 3 for English, the humanities and science. I'm going into school on Monday and any advice you could give me would be much appreciated. Thank you

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Original poster
steggers123 · 10/09/2016 16:02

Yep he went from gaining a scholarship at a private school we were told he was good enough to do law, and when went to his state school he was put in foundation level and he was told they couldn't move him up as there was no room in the higher sets and if they moved him up they would have to move someone else down. His confidence was shot as you can imagine, but he's moved onwards and upwards but I have to keep an eye on what's happening with the younger one.

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Original poster
steggers123 · 10/09/2016 15:58

I didn't assume he was able, the maths teacher he had in years 10 and 11 told me he should not be in his class he was more than able to do the higher paper. He's just got his estimated A level grades History, English Lit and Business studies and they are estimated at AAB so I guess I was right about his abilities and school got it wrong

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AndNowItsSeven · 10/09/2016 15:57

If that is true , that's appalling , I just find it strange they wouldn't put a highly able child in for the higher paper.

AndNowItsSeven · 10/09/2016 15:56

Yes 108 is a good score , sorry I wasn't suggesting it wasn't. However there will be dc who achieved higher scores , and they will be in set one and two. Having said that setting via sets is not an accurate measure , but that's what the school have chosen as a baseline.

kilmuir · 10/09/2016 15:55

Blimey that's a bit poor.

Original poster
steggers123 · 10/09/2016 15:53

He joined the school at the end of year 9 when all sets had been sorted for year 10, they had no room for him anywhere else, hence my frustration at the time.

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AndNowItsSeven · 10/09/2016 15:52

Kilmuir , because he wasn't as able as the op assumed he was. I assumed my dd would be in top set for maths or at least set two. I was wrong, hopfefully she will get moved up but only if her maths ability improves.

Original poster
steggers123 · 10/09/2016 15:52

He scored 107 in his maths and is in the top set for maths. Only 5% of children scored over 110 so I would say 108 on his spag is a very good score and your daughter's spag result was superb.

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AndNowItsSeven · 10/09/2016 15:50

My dd was also settled solely on her sats but just until after October half term. End of Sept they will do internal exams.

kilmuir · 10/09/2016 15:49

I don't understand why older DS was not put in for higher paper in Maths?

AndNowItsSeven · 10/09/2016 15:48

C is the highest possible score in foundation. However schools aren't stupid big man would have been moved up if his work was consistently high.
In regards to your younger ds unless the school is struggling academic your ds is in the right set.
108 is not a top set score for spag my dd got 113 and just scrapped into top set for English.
108 for maths was also my dd score and she is in set three not one.

kilmuir · 10/09/2016 15:48

He may be with lots of other capable children though, or dare I say more capable?
My DD goes to grammar school. They only put them in sets as per SATs results then moved them all around once they had settled in and school could judge where they were best put.

Original poster
steggers123 · 10/09/2016 15:43

I'm sorry but there is no need to be a smart arse it's actually quite boring. Bottom line my son's primary school head teacher said yesterday that he is a capable child that should not be anywhere near a set 3...that's not my opinion, that's the opinion of an experienced head teacher who has known him for 7 years. As for the older one, he should have been allowed to sit the higher paper because he was more than capable again this came from the maths who taught in years 10 and 11.

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PikachuSayBoo · 10/09/2016 15:39

There's normally quite a bit of movement in year 7 between sets.

RandomMess · 10/09/2016 15:12

I thought "c" was the highest you could get with the foundation papers, which is the issue if you are in the wrong set - you don't get the opportunity to achieve an A or B?

Longlost10 · 10/09/2016 15:02

I know my child better than anyone. .fact! you don't know how he performs in a classroom, you might know how he performs with you, but that will be significantly different. Judging by the setting of your elder son, the school has a history of getting it right.

Longlost10 · 10/09/2016 15:00

foundation level maths and he did get the 'c' in his GCSE

so he was correctly set then? C in foundation is easier than C in higher. And if he was likely to have been capable of higher, his grade in foundation would have been B

phillipp · 10/09/2016 14:59

Dds secondary had a move round at the next half term. Where she was moved maths sets.

They did some tests at the beginning of the year and were monitored. Then moved around.

Honestly it's probably going to be only few weeks.

AndNowItsSeven · 10/09/2016 14:46

Not this year they don't, the resits will only happen with this years year sixes.

Anasnake · 10/09/2016 14:39

The school has to set children together who did not achieve the 100 score as they have to resit. This is government policy. It doesn't matter how close he was to it or whether it was a blip, he didn't achieve it so the school does not have an option on this. This new year 7 cohort are the first year to face this so don't compare him to older siblings.
Don't go marching into school, the teachers have no option but to do this and believe me we are not happy about it at all. By the end of year 7 the pupils are expected to have reached the 100 grade and by the sounds of things this won't be an issue for your son.
Everything has changed this year with the new KS2 and this has had a knock on effect with ks3.

Original poster
steggers123 · 10/09/2016 10:29

First week of school, and it's the experience I had with my elder son when he was put into foundation level maths that is making me nervous...on a brighter note he is now in sixth form, he did very well with his AS levels and it's looking good for A levels and uni next year.

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TeenAndTween · 10/09/2016 10:25

I would drop an email to his tutor.
"I am concerned about DS's setting based on his Reading SAT as we and his old primary consider his score to have been a blip. Please can you let me know when the first scheduled set readjustments will be, as if he has been mis-setted I wouldn't want him to stay in the lower set for too long.'

However, they have to start somewhere and SATs is not an unreasonable first cut.

DD's school adjusted initial sets at the first half term if memory serves me right. Certainly she moved sets for all setted things at least once in the first year. (And even moved maths sets between y10 and y11).

I agree with balletgirl that inflexibility on setting would not be a sign of a good school.

Mrsmorton · 10/09/2016 10:18

Is he doing his GCSEs this year? Or is it his first week of school? So there's time to fix it...

Original poster
steggers123 · 10/09/2016 10:08

Such wit, may I congratulate you on your superior use of humour.

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AndNowItsSeven · 10/09/2016 10:03

Who is little man? Does your ds have a short TA?