Private and state school pupils’ GCSE results are now the same, study finds

What you mean here is intelectual disability due to the low IQ. I know quite intelligent girl with dyscalculia.

A private school that accepts kids with EHCPs, esp where the disability effects learning, is not your average private school, sorry. They're either known for their SEN support or are struggling for money.

It's not non selective. It's selective at least at the point of entry with fees that most people wouldn't be able to afford. Your home life is the single most important factor in how well you do school, something this study has highlighted well I think.
The Michaela head also commented on this before, that actually private schools get shocking results for the most part. They get kids from well off homes, with families that care about education and majority of these schools are academically selective. They should all have a 100% pass rate.

But judging the student's grades relative to others at their school is only used for contextualisation.
The difference between the same grades at super selective grammar versus small classes private school is unlikely to be significant enough to make a difference between getting an interview/offer at Oxford versus not. Going to a failing comp in a deprived area, might.

But not a learning disability. Learning disabled means an IQ of less than 70.

Btw... Just on another note, not related to the number candidates, I know a boy who got into QE. I would not define him as a non disruptive kid. Actually, a very challenging behaviour. His parenta are Indian and they really wanted him to get to the top of the top

But it affects his learning. He has EHCP of course

Auditory processing disorder may be a disability but it is not a learning disability.

It's not a contextual offer I am talking about but judging the student's gcse grades relative to others at their school. That becomes selective versus non selective rather than state versus independent.

And the most selective schools are grammars (in non grammar areas) as because they are free so many children take the tests.

They do have advantages (working at a faster pace, hard working cohort, less disruption) but the per pupil funding is not greater so there is no comparison to a good independent in terms of class size, personal attention for catching up, or uni prep or getting essays marked etc.

Do you mean adjusted for socio-economic factors (as is the case in this report)?
If so, could you link to this information?

They aren’t in my local city- there is a huge difference locally between the performance in private vs state schools at GCSE level.

I agree with your point very strongly.

But I am not sure the study does show its just parents.

I know that at my school, PP children don't do as well as the PP national average and there are schools whose PP children do way better than ours, as this data is available. So the school you go to does have an impact on pp children's chances.

It's to do with getting a critical mass of funding within school to provide meaningful support, if you have low pp numbers its hard to achieve that. So it's partly school funding. The amount per chikd is low so it's only useful added together

But it is is also linked to your point, in that outside agencies centre support in areas with more need overall. So we don't have some of the succesful out of school social schemes that are running in other areas to back us up.

The "Oxford thing" to look at students in the context of their school is only one of the indicators though, and won't generate a contextual offer on its own.

My DD went to a "below national average results" state comp and had a number of personal reasons that we thought might qualify her for a contextual offer.
She still didn't get one.

The example you give of small class independent vs super selective grammar isn't really relevant because both fail to hit the threshold for a contextual offer on this measure alone. It doesn't really matter that one is slightly higher. The point of the measure is to highlight students who did significantly better than their peer group, not how much better they do.

I taught at QE but places like Atom learning also publish the figures. Some schools (like my local super selective) tell you themselves if your child passes.

That hearing issue is a disability.
Poor boy.
I think that there are instances like him. Not a lot but still are

I didn’t say learning difficulties, I said learning disability.

I know a mum who has a son with learning difficulties that stems from brain problems with processing sound and he was accepted at a private school that gov paid for. Apart from it he is a very capable boy wit h mild ASD

There are many SEN kids in private and grammar schools. And it is a range of reasons. Of course they are not taking children delayed with the curriculum

Where is the source of that information?- curious

Private, non-specialist, schools definitely do not have the range of SEN and mainstream state school would contend with. I do not know a single, non-specialist, private school that takes children with learning disabilities for example. Nor a child with a high degree of distressed behaviours. Private schools tend to take children whose main needs are addressed by smaller class sizes, calmer environments or a reader/scribe in an exam.

It’s routinely over 3000 sit for QE (for 180 places) so the poster isn’t exaggerating

Are you aware that the state is funding many places for EHCP kids in private schools?

Also, private schools will not accept funded place unless they can accommodation the needs of that child.

literally thousands take the test)
Maybe 2k( Wilson, QE) but not...thousands...

The Oxford thing is particularly unfair to students at state selective schools like grammar schools

In fact a student at a less selective independent will be at a relative advantage.

It's pretty obvious that if a school is selective for academic ability on entry their results will be higher.

One of my children at a super selective grammar (literally thousands take the test) tried pointing out to an admissions tutor that he would judge her gcse results more highly if she had been taught in smaller classes at any of the independents in her area and he got quite angry. That's because deep down they must know it doesn't hold together well as a policy.

Why? We have just established the results are down to parents not school. So if investment is needed it is in the community, in mental health, in housing, in employment opportunities…