Help I am not sure whether I made the right choice for our DD by going to our local comprehensive

It is a great school, we're very lucky. It has a stubborn cohort of students and parents who do not engage with education at all, which is a reflection of the town I live in - parts of it are in the bottom 10% of the various indices for social and economic deprivation and there isn't an easy fix for that. Especially with a government unwilling to invest in its population. However, the ones that want to work are supported to do well, they aren't draconian about behaviour and uniform, really tackle bullying hard and have a fully non-uniform 6th form. Both my DDs got into good unis, DD2 into the top one for the course she wanted to do.

You sound like an incredibly engaged and supportive mum, so your DD will do well. And if the school turns out to be disappointing, you'll deal with that too.

Getting into good uni she needs to stay happy snd motivated znd enjoy her subjects or subject. You can support that at a state school. And if you have spare money to support travel and experiences and other things etc that will go a long way too.

Spend those 20k 30k 20k on lovely educational trips with you to museums, abroad, summer schools etc especially around her interests that is motivated by.

You can spend that money on different ways for all your benefit

My DDs are older and so did do SATs - and did very well in them. Nevertheless they were set targets of pretty much B in everything based on those SATs. And that was fine, because you can't predict how someone will do at 16 based on what they're achieving at 11!

The school absolutely did not let them coast. In both their GCSE years they had GCSE support groups targeted at every cohort, aimed at getting them maximum grades. So there was a group for people sitting on the cusp of the 4, to support hem in hitting it and going for the 5 too, there was a group for the 6-7 cohort to hit the 8 and so on. They definitely stretched every child. DD1 did a mix ofold and new GCSEs, got three 8s, 6As and one B which was a single point off an A. DD2 did all new style GCSEs and got a 9, two 8s, five 7s and 2 6s, one of which was Physics and a bloody miracle as she had been predicted a 4.

They both worked bloody hard and were supported every step of the way - in our ordinary comp in our non-leafy town. Look at your school's results before taking drastic decisions.

I also have a DD in year 10. Her targets were much lower. My experience is they don't mean much - they've been adjusted and exceeded and no longer seem to be of any interest to any teachers. So I'm not that worried, apart from the fact that DD2 found it a bit demoralising -and it was fine after the teacher had explained why they looked so weird. A good school will look at the child, not the single test!

Unless you’re looking at Oxbridge then predicted a level grades will matter much more than GCSEs, as long as she gets good passes (particularly in maths and English) .

Again, not saying that you are, but I would make sure DD isn’t picking up on any of these feelings or feels any pressure to get into a good uni. There’s many successful pathways through the world that don’t involve uni.

So much can change between now and university that I would take each year as it comes. That she’s happy, supported, and engaged is the main thing to focus on for the next couple of years.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of children in this years cohort surpass expectations set so early on, as these “targets” will be far more impacted by Covid and missed schooling than say targets set in year 9 or 10.

It sounds like DD is doing well and you’re very supportive, and at this point that’s really all you need

[quote daysem]@BumbledBee thanks I am aware of the results of the school. I am not moving my DD anywhere for the time being, I am just keeping an eye on how she gets on. As you say things may get better in Year 8.[/quote]
Sorry OP, I'm sure you're aware of the results - I meant it positively, as chances are high that your DD will do well at the school, especially as having a supportive, engaged parent is a key component. All the best.

I think the target grades might be weird for all of them this year and last because they aren't used to using CATs instead of SATs. I think they've been given a formula to convert them to ongoing performance, but it may not be all that accurate.

We have the opposite problem to you with DD2 (year 8) who clearly is very good at CAT tests, and now has such high targets that she probably won't meet them at any point in her Year 8 and 9 school journey (apparently she should have been achieving a 5 on a full maths GCSE paper at the beginning of year 8, which was impossible as she hasn't been taught half the stuff, especially since they hadn't set at all for Year 7 because of bubbles). I'm assuming the schools will just keep an eye and adjust, rather than that these CAT grades will explain how they will perform.

This particular state school's results puts them in the top 5% of state schools in the country though. Which is really very good considering the SS grammars will be creaming off the very brightest. It's non-selective and over 40% get 7-9 in Maths at GCSE (2019). If so many of the girls are doing so well and presumably reaching their potential, why wouldn't your DD be one of them? If she's happy, I would give it time.

Also, my DS's school gives a target grade each term based on how he has done that term, so it might be like that.

We move dd to private in year 9 as she wasn't being challenged in state.

You know your child and if you think the school will support her learning then maybe see how she progresses.

I don't think schools can make up the SATS and CATS test results which would give the target GCSE grades. So they can't use it as a way of saying they have had lots of students make excellent progress.

I don't think Year 7 should get loads of homework tbh. as they're just settling in.

I agree with others - a tutor maybe later on for English and Maths. Then use the money you would have spent on private for experiences and extra curricular.

A grade 6 is a perfectly decent grade and would enable her to take A level in that subject. Also you don't want to make her life incredibly stressful and miserable for the sake of some grade 9s.

Just out of interest are you more academic? Or were you top end of average? Just wondering why you are so keen on top grades.

My DS1 was academically average. We could not have afforded private and I was very slow off the mark for selective, literally tutoring him myself the weekend before. Needless to say he didn’t pass. He went to the local comp. a bit roughty tufty especially in year 7 before the disruptive elements either knuckled down or for expelled. One of the best things I did was get him an excellent tutor for English at gcse and then A level. This taught him a lot beyond the subject- general studying and exam techniques for example. It really boosted his confidence. Best of luck to your DD.

I wouldn’t expect a year 7 to get a tonne of homework or to have to do much revision. It’s still young really.

Plus they’ll all get similar levels of homework anyway so I wouldn’t look to that as a reason for her not being stretched.

I also think you’re placing far too much value on your DD’s grades. There’s so much more to life and a lot can change in either direction between Y7 and GCSEs. As long as she gets grades good enough to do what she wants next it really doesn’t matter that much.

My worry would be DD picks up on your anxiety related to grades and starts to define herself by then. Particularly if you remove her from a school she’s happy in to a new school just for the chance of getting better grades.

For now I would just focus on making sure she’s happy and engaged, stays on target and makes an effort. Closer to GCSEs you can discuss whether a tutor would be beneficial for some subjects perhaps.

Is your DD currently in Y8? If so are you sure that target isn't for at the end of KS3 as opposed to the GCSE grade?

Why do you say that the current school does not stretch her more? Is this what you are seeing and what she is telling you, or is it because of her predicted grades? I’m not clear from your OP.

What was your impression from parents evening? Is she working hard, finding things easy, how’s it going?