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Secondary education

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Original poster

If your child won a place at a competitive secondary….

135 replies

LeopardPJS · 11/11/2023 21:57

… was it obvious from the start of primary school that they were academically gifted?
I’m just curious because in year two, my daughter is sort of middle of the pack/ not great on reading / definitely not one of the top kids in her class (though she is lovely and creative and we wouldn’t have her any other way obviously!)
She is an enthusiastic learner who loves school, and clearly takes a lot of the learning in, but is only ‘at expectation’ for most subjects and is ‘at the lower end of expectation’ for reading (though not actually ‘behind’ according to the teacher just lacking a bit of fluency and confidence)
I think this all probably means she isn’t going to be super academic, but my mum thinks it’s too early to tell and academic talents can make a later showing.
Who is right?!

OP posts:
Screamingabdabz · 12/11/2023 00:30

You don’t ‘win’ places at state secondary schools based on academic ability unless it is a grammar school or has grammar stream banding. For other secondaries, you apply and your application is ranked in accordance with their specific admission criteria.

Irritatedandfedupandsad · 12/11/2023 00:22

Yes my first son and daughter were definitely going to pass the 11+ my third I was not sure about. They all did get to grammar and my youngest is the highest earner but the two older ones are in the job they dreamed of .

Saffrom · 12/11/2023 00:16

Yes they were obviously bright early on, and yes they got into grammar.

But some of the other bright kids didn’t pass the exam because their parents didn’t bother to prepare them properly 😢

And a couple of kids who seemed fairly thick in reception until yr two passed the exam because their mums spent huge amounts of time educating them - not just prepping for tests, but real brain stretching developmental education after school and in holidays.

What was extremely clear in our class was that all the kids who weren’t allowed sreentime Mon-Fri passed the test, and all the kids who were allowed ipads/tv after school failed the 11+ test.

SheilaFentiman · 11/11/2023 23:55

DS1 was doing a lot better in year 5 than year 2 - we all put the work in

Pinkpinkplonk · 11/11/2023 23:46

They all develop at different times and have different things which motivate drive and inspire them at different points in their development. Never assume anything, never give up on them and certainly never stop encouraging them!
Because you never know when they will fly

Unexpecteddrivinginstructor · 11/11/2023 22:25

Dd was not considered academic for most of primary until year 6. Only got into selective school on appeal. Finished secondary one of the top in her year. It is possible. Orally though she was inquisitive, just took a while for the reading and maths to slot into place.

dumpkin · 11/11/2023 22:19

I know a few dc who were bright but not exceeding who got into grammar’s & dc who were exceeding & didn’t 🤷🏻‍♀️

disappearingfish · 11/11/2023 22:15

My experience of primary school is that if your (usually female) child was progressing acceptably and not causing any trouble, they would be generally ignored.

Don't expect typical state primaries to stretch children academically. They simply don't have the bandwidth for that.

justabigdisco · 11/11/2023 22:13

My kid is at a selective grammar. I wouldn’t say she was gifted, but she’s bright, and yes generally got ‘exceeding expectations’ for most things throughout primary. Second kid is the same and will most likely get into same secondary (I hope)

beetlebrain · 11/11/2023 22:11

For DS, yes totally obvious. Not that it counts for much in the long run. He's a happy loafer now. It's the DDs who have the remarkable careers. DD1 just as clever but less of a boffin. DD2 an artist.