Are more of you planning to move your DC from private to state for 6th form now?

My son is Autistic and has ADHD and received a bespoke package (he has an EHCP) to attend internet school (not great as I was unpaid LSA). He did iGCSE and then joined a local 6th form targeted at STEM. The course content he had covered at iGCSE in maths, further maths (not just additional maths) and even physics (with no practicals) was far greater than his classmates who had done GCSE. Particularly in maths A level where he encountered no new concepts and was A* from day one due to his Edexcel further maths iGCSE. Physics practicals made the A level easier not harder. Even OCR FM A level was easier because the concepts had been introduced at iGSE.

If iGCSE was easier to pass for these subjects he would have found A level harder or at least as challenging as those classmates with equivalent grades but he found them easier because there was a step down. How would you explain this?

Yes I agree with you, I was just proving that other schools give little or no homework in first few years despite being told I don't know what I'm talking about!
Homework, or lack thereof, doesn't make a good school.

@twistyizzy "Read the post from @CurlewKate which says her DC got little homework until Yr 9. Is she lying too?"

Take on board that the school I am talking about is an excellent school with excellent results. And remember, we do not all belong to the British HomeworkCult.

Jesus Christ I am talking about OUR local state, not ALL state and I can categorically say that they don't give homework in Yrs 7 + 8. YOUR local schools may be different but you can not speak for every school in the UK.
Why do you find it so hard to believe that not every school is the same as yours??
Yet again you undermine my knowledge of my local state school. It is a poor performing school.
Read the post from @CurlewKate which says her DC got little homework until Yr 9. Is she lying too?
There is massive inequality in the state sector.

@Mouseykitty I'm afraid money does not buy good parenting. In my 25 years in schools I have seen v bad behaviour from v wealthy kids and v poor kids. And many in the middle. At my current v large comp we have had 25 students arrive this academic year from privates - a massive increase.

Yes, behaviour is often linked to deprivation but that's because lack of money can be hard.

There are a million reasons for the behaviour in schools at the moment, under funding for SEN being a massive one.

@RampantIvy "I must admit that I struggle to believe that there are secondary schools who don't give any homework at all in years 7 and 8. How well does this school perform?"

My DD's excellently performing school gave very little homework until (I think) year 9.

Many other countries are not as obsessed by homework as the UK seems to be.

Yet in the case of children not recieving homework in year 7-8 this is untrue. I have kids in state, I know a huge amount of other children in different state schools all around country and have done for 3 decades. They all get homework in years 7-8. All of them. So you are either lying or don't know the whole story.

I am being told I am lying, making things up etc just because another poster disagrees with me. That's not having a different opinion, it is undermining my knowledge and experience and saying that I don't know the truth.
More than happy to have debate etc but I will not be told that I am lying or aren't aware of reality/the truth.

@mumsneedwine - agree with you that kids are just kids. But the reason one tends to see more severe behavioural issues in the 'deprived comprehensive school' over the private school is broadly because of deprivation, not simply because the private schools 'don't have the luxury of 'kicking someone out on a random Friday'.

In 15 years of having 3 kids in private school (and knowing multiple families because of that), I've known ONE kid who was asked to leave because of a drugs issue - and it was a big deal for the family involved with lots of consultation and warnings given etc. They weren't just 'thrown out'. You don't see less disruptive behaviour in private schools purely because the threat of expulsion hangs over the pupils - it's because of the demographics.

Broadly, kids who come from more advantaged backgrounds are less likely to have challenging home lives (that could contribute to behavioural issues) than those who come from deprived backgrounds. Not always, but broadly.

You really need to stop saying stop gaslighting when others have a different opinion.

Oh dear. No, we don't tolerate the behaviour, we deal with it the best we can. But we don't have the luxury of just throwing them out on a random Friday. The process to exclude is long and arduous. Mainstream education does not suit everyone, but these days there are few alternatives. If I was sworn at in a private school the child would be excluded. In state we issue punishments but can't expel for that alone. Or chair throwing. Or truanting.

And yes, low level disruption happens everywhere, even in the most expensive schools. But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about severe behaviour. Drugs are a problem in all schools but we have drugs dogs round 3 times a year and they've never found anything. All schools will expel for that (it's allowed). Vaping on the other hand is a bloody nightmare at the moment.

Don't like being called a liar. So please don't. I've taught at a £50,000 private school & at a very deprived comprehensive. Kids are just kids. But it's easy to just keep the nice, compliant children if you can.

They come to us unable to behave. This does not manifest itself at state school. It was there at private schools. Who won't tolerate it. So easier to get rid

Are you saying you get ex private school pupils who have been thrown out, but you tolerate the poor behaviour? I mean, I guess that happens occasionally. The only kids I know who have been expelled have gone to other, smaller, private schools.

"You do not see bad behaviour at most private schools because anyone displaying it is removed v quickly"

This is just not true, in fact anyone who says this cannot possibly have had anything to do with private school.

Drugs will mean an immediate expulsion. Violence ditto. But mucking about enough to distract the rest of the class - it happens and they deal with it. The culture of the school seems to mean that it doesn't happen very often.

You do not see bad behaviour at most private schools because anyone displaying it is removed v quickly. State schools don't that luxury. We get those students and do our very best by them. They come to us unable to behave. This does not manifest itself at state school. It was there at private schools. Who won't tolerate it. So easier to get rid.

My smallest class this year at a big standard comp was 5 students. All needed more support so they got it. My top set was 34. But they just got on with work, very independently, so works just fine.

Bad behaviour has many reasons. Parenting, SEN needs not being met, trauma etc. Money does not prevent those things happening.

Also from what I see as a private school parent you are more of a client and treated as such, At state you are not! So you may need to adjust expectations if you are used to that. It’s apples and pears.

Poorly which is why we chose private.

I totally agree with you. But the fact remains that the behaviour IS better. The socio economic reasons for that are valid and relevant, but they exist.

Yep - as did a couple at dds state 6th form who had been to her (not great) original independent - in fact one of then had been to pre prep, prep and private secondary - celebrity parent as well! - got a contextual offer from Bristol!

I can only think Bristol knows full well what it is doing! Sadly they didn't do the course dd wanted to do!

I think it’s unfair to compare the behaviour of the two cohorts. . The state has to take every child that lives in their catchment. The private school only has the children of engaged wealthy parents. Their behaviour is better - no shit!

@combinationpadlock - 'And no, you don't get a contextual offer if you go to one of those schools on the list just for sixth form.' - My best friend's dd got a contextual offer for Bristol after going to one of the schools on the list just for sixth form! 😂

You get less bad behaviour in private schools because it's much easier to just kick them out

Do you really think there is less low level disruption because the kids think they'll be expelled? This certainly wasn't our experience and I think this is another lazy trope. There was almost zero low level disruption at dds most recent school. Due to small class sizes so that all had a good relationship with the teachers, a culture where being respectful and working hard was seen as cool, lots of sport, flexibility and great pastoral care. Teachers weren't absolutely knackered so had time to really get to know the kids.

Hopefully with the new VAT going into state schools some of this might become more consistent in state schools.

Didnt hear of anyone getting expelled in the 5 years she was there BTW.

Behaviour has been considerably better at the four separate private schools we have been to over the years, in comparison to the three state schools we have also been to. Also the teachers are loved and respected, as are all the support staff. Dd went to our local state school for 6th form and said that the way some kids treated the lunch staff was disgusting, throwing things, laughing at them, rude.

A private school that consistently had bad behaviour wouldn't last long.

Every post I read from you just sounds like your own bias and magical thinking.

I must admit that I struggle to believe that there are secondary schools who don't give any homework at all in years 7 and 8. How well does this school perform?

It was mentioned and has been raised in HoL

So you don't think their parents are clever enough to query this or that if kids werent doing allocated homework then this would have been discussed at parents evening meetings? Stop gaslighting