My D has been denied an automatic transition from junior to senior

Having been a teacher trying to manage pupils from the prep dept who struggled in senior school, I would absolutely look for new school. It is so bad for the pupils self esteem.
But also remember that their academic ability in KS2 does not mean their future is set in stone - lots of pupils take a bit longer but then soar when they get the right help in secondary school.

@CoastalWave
You don't even need to be a qualified teacher to teach in private.

Same for academies or free schools, i.e. the majority of state secondary schools in England.

@bird77 any chance you could please privately message me which one is the school? Or indicate where in the country? We might be in a similar position..

I'm sorry this is happening to your daughter. IMO schools that do this sort of thing are crap at teaching and just want an easy life; they are certainly not worth paying for. There are schools out there that don't take a one size fits all approach and dump the "square pegs", but instead understand their pupils as individuals and find ways to help them thrive. If you give an indication of area, someone may be able to recommend one for you.

I think the school has let you and your daughter down very badly @bird77

I hope you find her another school that feels like a positive result for you

OP I’m sorry your daughter is going through this. I went to a similar school. 6 girls from my year were told not to take the entrance exam or they would fail (the ones that still did all failed).

Don’t fight the decision, accept and look for best option for your daughter. I think even if they changed their mind you would probably always be on “tender hooks” that would raise the issue in y7, 8 etc,

Be really positive with your daughter. Lots of people change schools at 11. Tell her you are going to find the best possible school for her.

Where are you in the country? Maybe people can suggest some options.

Take her out. If they don't want her, no point fighting it. They want A ratings, they don't care about children. Get her into a more normal environment with at least some pastoral care.

You'd be best off taking their advice, there is a lots of academic pressure in a selective private school, my son can absorb it no problem but my daughter would have hated that and she has thrived at state. Have a look round and find the right school.

@bird77 hopefully you have already started looking for alternatives. Best of luck to you and your DD. I hope something good will work out

The thing is with selective schools - as you pointed out - is that they want all students above national average. Not all pupils will be (hence the clue in average!). Some students won't ever be tutors or not.

Have you asked the HT about any other private schools they would recommend as a better fit for D? They should have some ideas.
The other option is to go state and use the money to fund tutors for maths and English. Just remember this can help improve grades but pupils can still only achieve what they can achieve academically - however hard they work.

[quote Mandofan]@RedskyThisNight yes if she’s serious about her child remaining in the school. She knew her daughter’s abilities and what would happen if she lagged behind. She did nothing and this is the result. I imagine her daughter is devastated. Many parents pay for tutors whilst their kids are in private education[/quote]
There's something very wrong with paying for private education (presumably because you think it is better) and then paying for more education on top so that your child can access the supposedly better private education ...

[quote bird77]@Peanutgurgle thank you.The headteacher apologized to me but she does not want to change the outcome.My D finished Year 5 making good progress being on national average.We were not told initially by the school that they want all the students to be significantly above national average.[/quote]
But parents are paying £££ to be way above average. Bail.
Embrace state schools maybe which give a great all round education in life too

@RedskyThisNight yes if she’s serious about her child remaining in the school. She knew her daughter’s abilities and what would happen if she lagged behind. She did nothing and this is the result. I imagine her daughter is devastated. Many parents pay for tutors whilst their kids are in private education

Yr 5 entry is wildly competitive at our super selective private. Lots of parents leave it until then to move from state, and there are usually only one or two places.

Not moving up can be about academics, but it can also be about other things. If it's the type of school that expects everyone to be involved in events - matches, plays, concerts etc - and she's not keen it just won't be a good fit.

That said, they made a mistake accepting her for one reason or another, and they need to pull out the stops now to find her an alternative if you have missed the usual deadlines.

I left under similar situation. Imo though as the youngest in the year you cant really tell at 11+ as its heavy on English, I was better at maths and science.
However if it's a selective school then sorry but it's pretty obvious its going to be well above national average.
Im not even sure my dc would get in and they are 2 years ahead.

Absolutely appalling! No school should have taken a student in year 5 that they weren’t confident of giving a secondary place to - that’s half the reason people join in year 5! I would put in a complaint to the ISA - they should have told you this in September 2021 so you could apply to other schools. I wouldn’t want my daughter there after their behaviour but a complaint to stop them
Doing it to someone else is well worth it. Also a formal complaint to the school governors - check your contract as well. Ours says we would be told at the end of year 5 if there was no secondary place so they may be in breach . Either way push the head now to find your daughter a place by pulling in their contacts.
Would you mindn PM’ing me the name of school if you are In London

I wouldn’t be very impressed with this school. Happy to take the fees for 2 years when they knew from the beginning your dd is not up to their academic standards. And letting you know this late in the state school application process; once they knew they can fill up the places with more academic children.

No way I would like my child to be in a place like this.

Your daughter will be better off in a state school with a more diverse and not selective academic intake.

Hope you find a school where she will be happy.

To be honest you should have gotten her a tutor if they told you the terms and you knew she was below the national average. The timing sucks though

It’s the not telling you until this point! It might be worth speaking to the council about putting in a late application. The problem will be that you will be allocated a place after all the on time ones have been processed. Unless you have applied as a back up already?!

If the school says it is for the best for her to leave, believe them.

I went to a selective private secondary that allowed all their primary girls automatic entry to the secondary. It was very very obvious that most of them were not of the same ability as those of us who had come in by the secondary entrance exam.

It led to a pretty horrible school experience for them of struggling to keep up in a school all about academics and all of them coming to the conclusion they were 'thick'. When in reality they were perfectly bright but just in the wrong school.

I bet they had a place they needed to fill and needed to keep their income up, because presumably Yr5 isn’t a major admissions point?