Secondary Comprehensive Schools

At least UK Comps do not have armed officers on site

My SiL, who lives in prime Leaf (but herself went to a very dodgy school and did really well) won't let her kids play in our local playground when she visits because it's next to a school she once saw some PCSOs outside at home time.

Police officers are employed to deal with schools. Everyone knows that the police have to be called when kids fall out on social media at 11pm at night. It's the school's fault and schools never take any responsibility for bullying don't point out 11pm is actually when parents should be responsible for their child's social media use so call the police. Log it with 111. Then you have to tell the school you've done that.

But that’s only some comprehensives,, matytuda.....don’t generalize. There are some leafy ones where the police officer only comes in once a week.

Bertrand really! But you also forgot to mention the marauding gangs, drug pushers and armed police officers in the playground.

And any 'discuss with your partner' activity or 'peer coaching' activity is obviously just a lazy or incompetent teacher using an able child as a TA because they're just jealous of the child's brilliance because they can't cope with bright children.

I've taught some really able children but in terms of genuinely exceptionally gifted, maybe one in the last few years. Mumsnet seems to be full of parents who think their highly able child is off the scale. Some will be genuine, but others are probably the ones who will tell me their child finds all the work easy and is being held at a grade 6 and then I point out actually I'm actually teaching work beyond full marks and am already giving out scores of 7s, 8s and 9s.

I forgot to mention the mixed ability classes where all teaching is targeted to the least able child.

I love betrand's post

I found a child in their hand made igloo yesterday because if anyone saw them with a book they'd get their head kicked in.

Ha ha BertrandRussell
Some mumsnetters probably won't realise you are joking because what you've said will match their own prejudices.

What utter bollocks.

The vast majority of children in the country are educated at state secondary comprehensive schools.

Sure, private schools probably send a higher % of their students to university but then you are only looking a small socially selective group of people.

If a child wants to go to university and puts the work in then they can absolutely go to university. My school sends a significant number to Oxford/Cambridge each year and a reasonabke chunk to top universities.

We also prepare them at GCSE/a levem for life and that means for some helping them get their forces application done, help getting an apprenticeship, help going to art college, help going to do a foundation degree, helping them get qualifications in first aid or sign language etc.

Spend enough time on here though and you'll be under the impression that private or grammar is the only possible option and you must get a tutor from 7 and state schools are awful and they must hate bright children (& other such nonsense).

Bert!

Yes. Comprehensive schools are almost entirely populated by chair throwing Neanderthals. There might be a few brighter children, but they are let down because all the teachers are devoted to making sure everyone gets Cs, iand qualifications in Hair and Beauty are compulsory. Anyone seen reading a book is relentlessly bullied. Sometimes a mumsnetters child goes to a comprehensive school by accident, but they spend all their time in broom cupboards doing maths because they already know more than the teachers do and “there is nothing more they can teach them”

LesleyA: no.

(London Comp parent here)

No. It isn’t a given. Closer to total bollocks.

The kids in top sets who would do academic A levels for entry to RG, other top Unis and Oxbridge at any other form of school do exactly the same at Comp sixth form (though many demand high GCSE grades for many subjects, so entry to sixth form is arguably selective).

Others do highly challenging BTecs that get them into specialist Graphics or art schools (a couple of which are the best in the world). Others do a mixture of qualifications, others go to college, get apprenticeships or whatever, because not everyone goes to Uni.

Where do you even get such ideas from? Please tell us do we know you are not a GF.

No, we have a oversubscribed sixth form and 5 students have secured a place at Oxbridge.

What a silly assumption!
My eldest two got comparable academic qualifications to the younger four who went privately.
Just thinking about the eldest one and her peers....
She obtained the equivalent of 6As at A level including an A level at grade A in year 11. She completed a degree in medicine and qualified as the youngest doctor in her academic year. She is now a GP trainee.
Her best friend is a 26 year old head of maths in a large secondary school having got a first in maths. She finished school with 5As at A level.
Her first boyfriend also got four As at A level. He went to Durham to do PPE. His best friend went to Oxford to do PPE. Six did medicine from her year, three went to Vet college. The overwhelming majority went to university to do subjects as diverse as Japanese, engineering, ancient history, economics, law etc.
There are some exceptionally good comprehensive schools out there. The best compare results favourably with grammars and private sector despite not selecting on academic ability.

So 71% of MPs were state educated - better than I thought! And much better than it was...

sticker
MPs are not an advert for social mobility and comps
www.suttontrust.com/research-paper/parliamentary-privilege-the-mps-2017-education-background/
29% went to private school
3% went to Eton
24% went to Oxbridge

The majority of kids at university went to comprehensives. Hope that reassures.

GF

Well my privately educated chum with a RG university degree in MFL is now a cleaner, but at least she has a cut glass accent which her clients understand!

Over half of all current MPs were educated in com0rehensive schools (like the majority of the nation & university population).

Aghh university NOT always best way to go!!!!!!

Not all comprehensives have sixth forms but still will have kids go to university after another school sixth form or sixth form college. Also, other routes to university if desired...
[University always best route to go....]

My kids are at a comprehensive. All three will probably go to uni, as will most of the kids who stay on at the Sixth Form there.

In fairness to op there are systems overseas where the school you enter at 11/12 dictates what level of education and career you may aspire to.

All state schools in Scotland are comprehensive and have been for 40 years. Presumably that means that no one sits exams after 16 in Scotland and that there are no state educated Scots at Uni

......oh wait