High-achieving ds feels teachers have turned against him in Y13

I can’t tell from what you say whether the teacher is trying to challenge him or bring him down a notch. In any event, it’s not long to go now and he will likely have outgrown the school anyway.
We are at the other end of the spectrum with ours where loads of them are focused on Oxbridge and all are expected to read around their subjects and even if they are excellent and Oxbridge bound, they are made to feel distinctly average in their grammar school. Not really sure what is better. My feeling has always been that no matter how academic and high achieving you are, never let it define you or your self worth. Just be a kind and keen learner and carry on.

For what it’s worth I also went to Oxbridge from state school and although I’m sure my parents were worried about me not being top dog I absolutely loved it. I didn’t need to be top of the top and I really enjoyed the opportunities to read and learn and I got involved with massive amounts of extra curricular stuff. I remember it as one of the best times of my life.

When did he get / accept the Oxbridge offer and does this coincide?

This. It is incredibly stressful when you have a student with a juicy offer that is dependent on some A*s (I assume the Oxbridge offer is?) - the teacher may well be nervously nit-picking in order to ensure absolutely every mark scheme potential quirk is covered. The last Oxford candidate I taught had me re-reading every chief examiner's report from the year dot.

You understand that teachers are professionals and have professional standards to adhere to, don't you?

And that we are not at the behest of vocal PTA members? 🙄

OP, they won't be marking him down against the marking criteria just to make a point. Largely because the teachers will have to justify the grades he is getting to leadership etc, who will want to know why his grades are dropping. And, again, professional standards.

I could speculate what is really happening for the next 20 minutes but the only thing he can really do is approach them an ask them to explain his grades, why his marks have dropped and what he needs to do to improve and raise them again because that will prepare him for university.

(he doesn't actually need A stars, but he'll feel a failure if he doesn't get them, especially in this subject @stripycats

He's objectively not a failure for not getting A star so he needs to work on his resilience before going to university.

It's a common problem especially with naturally gifted and talented children or children praised for their results rather than effort, is that they get their confidence from their results, an external source of confidence, rather from their own effort, an internal source of confidence.

Using language like thinking teachers are wanting to put him in his place shows that your ds's identity is rooted in being the best in the class.
When teachers might be trying to stretch and challenge him, he perceives it as a test and his identity feels threatened, he assumes teachers are intentionally trying to expose his "weakness."

Make sure you praise his effort and help shift his sense of identity and confidence from his results to the effort he makes.

Our DS2 felt a bit like yours during his GCSE’s , he loved the science subjects and studied really hard, he felt that at least 2 of his science teachers were “off” with him, I never raised it with them-he told me not to.
He got 9’s in Sciences, he wanted to go to another 6th form, don't think they liked that ….
I know that one of the teachers is still off, our DD is at the school now, Y11 and I see him at the parents evenings, events and he totally blanks me-oh well! His loss, we’re lovely!
The other teacher does ask about DS, he seems genuine,
DS2 did well in his A levels, although 2nd year covid hit so a bit of emotional turmoil over those hideous algorithm “results”
He did a Masters degree at Oxford, came out with a first, now doing a Phd ( not at Oxford )
He studies hard, always wants to help other students, done voluntary tutoring,
he doesn't understand it when tutors, teachers, professors are “off” with him, he’s not boastful, smug or arrogant
I tell him its just human nature sometimes, who can ever work that out?
Good luck to your DS

I think if he feels something's changed in the class then it has. It might not actually be to do with him - possibly another child has complained that your ds seems to be the teachers' favourite (not saying he is, just saying another child might think so) and now the teachers are trying hard - and clumsily - to dispell that myth.

I agree with people who are saying take it up with the teachers on a purely academic level - ask why his marks have dropped a bit, and what you can do to get them back to previous levels. Of course you will never find out what's behind it, but you might put a stop to the weird vibe from the teachers in class discussions.

I don't have an answer for you with the teacher issue, but just a thought on the essay responses. Can he upload the task, his response and the marking guide to Chat GPT and ask for feedback on how he could have improved?

If he's not getting targeted feedback from the teachers, at least this might help him to see how he could more fully answer essay questions in the future.

The good news is it’s external examiner marking hai exam papers.

However OP being ‘top dog’ isn’t real life. This is a hard lesson but a valuable one as once he enters the real world, there will inevitable be 1) someone more intelligent 2) someone less intelligent but in a position of influence and 2) people who dislike him as they feel inferior 4) people who just dislike him as they do think he’s a ‘know it all’.

Learning not to rely on others approval or a pat on the head from a teacher, in the long run will probably help him - just a tricky one to navigate.

I did History A Level and one of my teachers tried to use this tactic on me. But I think your DS has the same sort of reaction I do to it. Instead of being one of those people who says 'I'll show you' to prove them wrong, you take their expert opinion to heart and lose confidence.

Fortunately I had another history teacher who gave me the support and confidence I needed and it was my best grade. The tactic teacher said 'oh so I spurred you on to try harder' and I said 'no nice teacher gave me the confidence and belief in myself'.

Your DS sounds like a lovely boy and I don't know why other posters are trying to imagine him to be a cocky, arrogant arsehole.

I had super bright boys in my history group and the right teacher skills can help everyone raise their game in terms of respectful debate. Or they can go hard on a child and make them more fearful of contributing.

As an ex A level teacher I know how hard it is to teach a child who is aiming for and capable of achieving the highest scores. It's incredibly stressful, thinking that they (the teacher) might be the one who lets the child down.

I think your son should ask his teacher to grade him against the mark scheme and suggest what he could have done differently.

If he's concerned - and if you can afford it - then I'd pay to get his work marked by someone else, without showing them what his teacher said.

DS last report just before A-levels sudden had grades all dropped - not sure if idea was to panic him into more work but he very nearly de-railed him completely.

I think it's an approach that works for some kids - may be many teen boys but others it's harmful. He did well in end got where he needed but he had a lot or reassurance and support from home.

I had a PE teacher teaching georgrpahy Y8 - I was very quiet child rarely spoke in class but she picked on me but was upset when I had answers. She gave me an awful grade - but we sat end of year exams at that school and I walked away with the highest mark in that year group. If it had been Y9 I'd have walked away from GCSE and then wouldn't have taken A-level - got highest mark possible in both in that subject.

If he not getting helpful feedback - I'd suggest going to head of department and asking why his grades are dropping that it's affecting his confidence and the feedback unhelpful and he tried getting more information as still doesn't get it.

If it's both teachers then there probably has been a discussion. The "gushing over" other pupils who put forward a different point of view may be purposeful to encourage them (and others) to put forward their own views and not feel inimidated by the ability of your son (not suggesting he is doing anything to discourage others but if he is so far beyond the majority in the class they won't be oblivious to this). Your DS may very well be a shoe in for an A* but there may be others in the class who are on the cusp of a B to A and the teachers want to push them to take it to that next level.
I wouldn't email, I would encourage him to arrange a meeting with one of the teachers - presumably one is the subject Head - and say he's been a bit disappointed with the lower grades and what can he do to push them back up.

Also, the other thing op, is the others MIGHT be catching him.

Be careful about having essays marked by a tutor, particularly if you don't actually know the teaching background to the tutor. I was in the position of marking work by a pupil whose parents were questioning their son's progress..I was an exam marker too. The father questioned the mark that I had given an essay because an online tutor had given it much less. The online tutor was anonymous therefore their experience was unknown. The boy did exceptionally well in the exam in the end. I know it's not quite the same, but I would talk to the HOD before having work remarked.

This is spot-on, and it is where I would focus any discussion you might have with the school OP - rather than him feeling he isn't being gushed over, which is, in any case, a bit subjective.

The falling marks are a concrete issue to raise.

He just feels like if anyone disagrees there is almost a sense of triumph and the teachers (both in this subject, which is weird) are almost gushing (according to him) over the other student.

Well, yeah, it's great when somebody actually has the courage to go up against the school intellectual giant. They need all the encouragement they can get.

Might be more useful to tell your DS that sometimes it's not all about him, rather than agree that they're picking on your son. But that's an important concept - it mirrors the equity can feel like oppression to the advantaged argument - which is an essential thing to bear in mind when looking at historical sources as part of understanding motivations, assessing reliability and suchlike, for example.

If it's his confidence you're worried about, and the possibility that he is drifting intellectually from whatever 'box ticking' is needed to do well in A-Levels, would it be worth arranging some private tuition so his work can be assessed by someone other than this particular teacher? Perhaps ask for the tuition to be solely focused on exam passing - 'cramming' if you like.

Once he gets to Oxford/Cambridge there will be plenty of scope for him to be more digressive in his studies, for now he needs to concentrate on doing what's needed to meet the grades in his offer.

I agree. The idea that A levels are harder than an Oxbridge degree is just categorically wrong - so wrong in fact that both universities interview every candidate, and now also have aptitude tests, because the A level results alone don't come nearly close enough to demonstrating the skills they are looking for and which will be required. Lots of candidates with all A stars apply and don't get accepted.

One of my sons was treated very badly by one of his secondary school teachers. He is polite and quiet and wouldn't be dominating any discussion. He was no academic star but worked hard and was diligent. She was an absolute cow to him. Once he misunderstood her instructions and mucked up a project which counted for part of the external assessment, she just let him carry on without pointing out that he was making a mistake until after it was submitted. Strangely in the external exam where she was wasn't involved he passed easily.