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Original poster

Child going to grammar but not working at greater depth

32 replies

MyBloodyBrother · 06/03/2023 12:08

Would you be concerned about this if it was your child?

My ds1 is in year 6 and after finding out he’d passed his 11+ back in October got confirmation this week that he got a place at his chosen grammar. It’s a competitive area and although 4 other kids in his class also passed the test and put this particular school as their first choice, my ds was the only one who actually got a place. His 4 classmates had all had tutoring for a couple of years, I hadn’t done that with ds as his dad trained as a maths teacher before retraining and wanted to try and tutor him himself. He did about 3 months worth of tutoring for an hour every weekend.

But, having had his parents evening on Friday his teacher said that he is hoping DS might achieve greater depth for one aspect of his english SATs (ds is a voracious reader) but was predicted that he’d achieve expected standard for the rest. He was looking down his graph to see where ds was on it and I could see he was scoring about 2/3 of the way down.

Would you be concerned about this as a parent? He has very fragile self esteem and I hate the thought of him being at grammar school and being unable to keep up. This was one of the reasons I was reluctant to commit him to 2 years of intensive tutoring. But then equally, he did really well on the 11+ without all the help. I asked his class teacher and he said that it’s a very supportive school so even if he does struggle he’ll be helped.

OP posts:
Original poster
MyBloodyBrother · 06/03/2023 12:53

I’m in Devon and he got a place at the school with the highest pass mark in the area. A few years ago it was around the top 10% but since Covid there have been lots of people with kids at prep schools elsewhere in the country taking the exam and moving down if their child gets a place so it’s even more competitive.

That’s reassuring to read @steppemum. His main issue is his terrible handwriting and spelling, even now it’s barely legible. His teacher has said this won’t matter so much next years as, providing he can read his own notes, he’ll be able to type most of his work. He’s certainly not dyslexic or anything like that, just left handed and constantly in a rush to get everything down.

OP posts:
steppemum · 06/03/2023 12:47

cortisolqueen · 06/03/2023 12:34

I remember being told that the 11+ pass mark was high to ensure that even if you'd just "scraped" a pass, you'd be capable of managing work at a grammar school.

So hopefully it will all be ok.

Fwiw we're the opposite - greater depth in SATS but didn't pass the 11+. I think sometimes you've got to go with what you think is right & trust it'll work itself out.

hmm, this isn't true.

11+ doesn't have a pass mark in that sense. It takes the top xx % of the students who sit the exam. So in some years you might pass and the same student may fail in another near

steppemum · 06/03/2023 12:44

a lot depends on the grammar school.
Some will be great at supporting anyone working below the GD level and put in lots of support (remember that they don't have to support students with more severe learning difficulties which does mean that he might get support there whereas he wouldn't get it at an non grammar)

But some are very competititve and he might struggle.
It might also be a SATs thing. So his spelling will not pass the SAT's or his grammar, but in the long run that wouldn't necessareily be a concern.

I would say if he has passed, especially with a low level of tutoring, then he'll be fine.

I am 11+tutor, and I have occasionally had a child who is really strong in 3 areas but weak in one pass the test. (eg amazing English, VR and NVR but weak maths)
They needed support in school, but thrived in every way.

redskylight · 06/03/2023 12:43

What area are you in (i.e. how selective is your grammar school)?

If your DC is going to a superselective that pick the very top end of the population, I'd be worried, I think.

If you live somewhere like Bucks where they take about the top 25% this is pretty normal - I think it's only something like 10% achieve greater depth across the board, so most pupils will be in the same boat as your DC.

3WildOnes · 06/03/2023 12:37

It seems unusual. Was the test VR & NVR which is quite different to what they study at school? I obviously don't know which school he got into but if the primary school teacher thinks that is supportive then I guess he should be fine.
Maybe look at the GCSE results of the school and see if there are a number of children getting 5 & 6's in their GCSEs. If it is the kind of school where the majority of grades are 8s & 9s and anything below that is considered a poor score then that might impact his mental health. However, if there are a range of scores then I'm sure it would be fine. In our local grammar which is super selective the most common grade is a 9.

cortisolqueen · 06/03/2023 12:34

I remember being told that the 11+ pass mark was high to ensure that even if you'd just "scraped" a pass, you'd be capable of managing work at a grammar school.

So hopefully it will all be ok.

Fwiw we're the opposite - greater depth in SATS but didn't pass the 11+. I think sometimes you've got to go with what you think is right & trust it'll work itself out.

Live4weekend · 06/03/2023 12:32

He's obviously done well to get an offer so he must be very bright.

My experience this year (as a Y6 mum) is that the teachers in our school are erring on the side of caution.

They want to manage expectations.

My girl was GD for everything and now they are being more cautious. I am confident though when compares to nationally, she will be GD in most areas.

These kids have missed a considerable amount of education and my impression is they don't know if there will be allowances for that in this year's SATs.

I would take the place. You can always try and get him into another school later.

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