Child not enjoying St Albans school what should I do?

How does he know / in what way does he think the teachers are "over-qualified"????

Honestly op, if he's really as obnoxious as you make him sound, then he is going to struggle to find his tribe anywhere.

I'd tell him to give it till Xmas and ye can review at that stage.

Ditto y9 @Logicalwannabemother

Secondary teacher and Head of Year at comparable school. You need to chill! It takes ages to find your tribe in y7. He needs to get to know the other boys and find out their interests. There will be lots of interested, thoughtful kids who I'm sure will be more than happy to discuss philosophy etc with your son. There will also probably be a debating club and it'll be discussed in their RS lessons.
He should take his time with the extra curricular, do one or two clubs and spend the rest of the lunchtimes socialising with others. He may need to learn some social skills about how to engage with others and this is very normal. Definitely don't even think about moving him until he's been there for a year. Make sure you're not fuelling his anxiety any way but are gently encouraging and supportive.

This can't be for real. No one considers pulling their child after a week and a half. Have reported.

This can't be for real. No one considers pulling their child after a week and a half. Have reported.

🤣🤣🤣

He's been in yr7 five minutes and he's already dismissed all other 150 odd kids in his year as intellectually inferior?!!

Habs would have been a better bet, but it's too late now. They do have a 13+ entry point though. Merchant Taylors is on a parr with St A.

Ps are you the same poster who was agonising over whether St A would be academic enough before he'd even started, but you hadn't bothered to even sit him for Habs?

St Albans is one of the top schools in the country (outside London) and extremely academic. Only the very brightest boys are successful in getting places but they will also almost certainly have offers from Habs and Merchant Taylors too. There honestly isn't that much difference between the three apart from the "feel" of the schools and at our prep the parents are told to stop looking at tiny differences in academic results and choose the one from the three where you feel most at home.

If he's gone into Y7 then also be aware that there is a period of adjustment and "catch up" mainly between those coming from state schools and private prep. It happens at every school and is not unique to St Albans. Y7 is about getting everyone to the same level, getting to know your child and letting them find their tribe.

I would say it is far too early to be making decisions on moving schools. It would be a useful exercise to really try and pin point what the main issues are though. Not having a philosophy club could be remedied by asking for one. I mean, no guarantees, but if you don't ask then you don't get. Is he struggling to make friends? Is the journey long and arduous? Are his expectations on facilities realistic (I mean some of their facilities are in gorgeous listed buildings which just weren't meant to be modern day classrooms)?

Your comments seem quite vague and also almost like he thinks he is too good for the school. If that is his or your mindset then fitting in will always be hard. Apologies if not, it's just the way your posts come across.

no one*

Sorry but you sound so OTT. Is this Year 7? Commendations for homework, advanced philosophy, Marx, o one as intelligent as him... after 1 week of school?! Did he apply to Westminster, St Pauls and Habs? Even in the event that those extremely popular schools have a place for him, he will need to pass the entrance exam and interview before he could move. I wouldn't judge a school after 1 week though, especially not one that gets excellent results when academics are so important to you.

I think he needs to give it more of a chance. Maybe a few more months will give him an opportunity to meet his ‘tribe’ in clubs and activities that he enjoys.

I think I would give it a bit longer. He still wont have got to know most of the boys, many of them may well be interested in philosophy. Isn't there a philosophy club? MOst private schools have one.

How old is he?? He’s only been there a week and a half! I’m not sure many schools have a lot of teenagers that are interested in advanced philosophy.
What IS available for him to try, see if he can find some new interests??
Personally there’s no way I’d be considering moving my child after 1 week for the reasons you give.
He needs to settle, get to know his peers and try to find his tribe.