“Brilliant club”

[NotinToTintin]

Dc has not been selected for school’s ’brilliant club’ which identifies the bright kids and puts them “on a university pathway” (apparently). All dc’s friends have and they get to go on special trips to oxbridge and are told to aim for the highest.

There was nothing like this when I was at school but I guess I would have been one of the ‘high achievers’. Dc isn’t motivated by school work (does what’s required but nothing more) and I don’t know if I admire their attitude to protecting their time or if I am letting them down by not pushing harder.

also, I can’t help but feel they’re being written off by the school as unlikely to go to university. They’re only year 7.

please talk me down - am I being ridiculous?

Dc isn’t motivated by school work (does what’s required but nothing more)

I would imagine this is why he wasn't selected rather than results. At my DC's school, this counts for half their end of year marks. There's no point you "pushing harder". It would make more sense to help him find some motivation. Have you discussed what he wants to do? What qualifications he would need? Has he done any work experience placements? Thats far more likely to have an effect than parental nagging.

Does what’s required and nothing more isn’t screaming out that this child is g and t and would benefit from exposure to more opportunities.

nor does it mean they won’t go to uni.

they can't put everyone in the club.

and if your child isn't bright enough, then what can be done?

he's 11/12 - why would he have done work experience placements?

Schools are criticised when there isn't any special provision for gifted and talented children. It doesn't sound like your DS should qualify.

That said, calling it the 'Brilliant' club seems to be unnecessarily divisive, and one would hope that not being on the Oxbridge trips wouldn't mean that they aren't on any 'university pathway'.

Well done to him too my doing what’s required - takes lost people until
middle age to work out that’s a healthy approach

I mean, year 7 is quite young for all that

There was a group of these people when I was at school though op

I dunno, i understand the importance of recognising academic ability, but those who are on the boarder also deserve support and to be inspired

I'd encourage him to find what he likes, he's only 11/12! Be it sports/drama or one particulsr subject

As long as he's doing his best and you're on top of the academic stuff, as I'm sure you are, I think you're okay. Not all kids are the top achievers, but he shouldn't be made to feel bad about that at all x

Yeah it's the 'brilliant club' that rubs me up thr wrong way, rather than the existence of a gifted and talented programme

I’m not against a gifted and talented programme or a brilliant club per se, and I certainly don’t think he qualifies for any kind of high achievement award. I guess I’m just worried that he’s being written off, and wonder if there are any examples of kids who weren’t identified as ‘special’ but still ended up doing ok?

tbh I did very well at school and went on to get a PhD but am in a relatively low paid / insecure job (humanities) so I know it’s not a marker of life success! And I do admire his attitude which is better than my obsession over results at his age. I just feel like I’m letting him down. But maybe it’s ok for your potential not to be visible in year 7?

If he isn't motivated by school work then he probably is unlikely to go to university.

That's not to say they shouldn't still encourage him but they can also spend time and energy focusing on those who are.

he's not being written off... just not being highlighted as exceptional - which he clearly isn't.

You have all the means to support him into making the best choices for him - there's literally nothing stopping you doing things like taking him to universities to attend talks and events - you can cheer him on, you can provide extra opportunity to enrich his education. I'm sure there are world class museums withing a reasonable distance, as well as libraries, events, societies, groups all to help you support him

I think the name of the club is dreadful.

@StreakOfTheWeek why wouldn't he? Our school encouraged it in yr 5&6 they had a couple of days devoted to careers, one of which they accompanied a parent/family friend to work for the day. Gives them an idea of why they're at school, even if they decide it's something they don't want to do!

Lots of kids aren’t gifted and end up doing just fine. I wasn’t particularly academic or motivated and I went to university and have a professional career.

I’d imagine these kids are in the top 1% of “great minds” They are gifted. I think the name brilliant club is terrible. It is great they are stretching kids but every child is brilliant at something.

I find this a bit shocking (I'm a parent, and retired teacher).
Is it actually called 'Brilliant Club'?
Y7 seems very early - perhaps not for encouraging high achievement and ambition, but for the inevitably lowered expectations of the others.
How much flexibility is there I wonder.
Could consistent hard work again a place in the club higher up the school?
It's an unsettling concept.

A child in year 5 or 6 isn't going to understand what the job is, let alone decide whether it is for them or not.

The most they will understand is 'this is what an office looks like'. These type of experiences are also only suited to office jobs, which isn't what many jobs are. The whole thing is silly at that age.

Do you really think that a kid who doesn’t find y7 that interesting is unlikely to go to university?

The school haven’t called it ‘brilliant club’ it’s a national organisation. My DS’s school have scrapped it, because they didn’t think it was very good, and have renamed the G&T group ‘beyond curriculum’, which I think is a much better name. DS is getting talks from people in a variety of high flying careers, learning some Latin, Politics, Law, philosophy etc, and later they will do some visits.

Well that's different to your OP. You said he's unmotivated by school work (which implies a general personality trait) as opposed to just finding year 7 a bit boring.

But they are the school and know him and likely success rates. They've not seen that in him and so I'd trust that right now. You have time to turn it around, but lots of that comes from parental input and shaping their outlook on life and what they want from it.

Even if he's clever, he might not want to go to uni? Maybe because you went, you think that's the golden path?

I think this is what I find a bit unsettling - the inevitable drop in ambition and the feeling that he’s not one of his peers. I mean, he does well in all standardised testing (top 2% in the country, whatever that means), does his homework on time with helpful reminders from me, but he’s not super excited or thrilled by school work. Nevertheless, I expect him to get decent qualifications and go to university or get a job with some kind of prospects I hope. And I’m not expecting school to do all the work or to do the pushing that a parenting should do. I guess I’m just seeking reassurance that this isn’t a dead end for his ambitions.

He’s a very easygoing, relaxed kid and my worry has always been that he is not noticed by teachers. Fine - it’s my job to notice him and care for his specific needs. But is he going to be left behind?

As a PhD researcher, I worked for The Brilliant Club and tutored KS4 English students on Shakespeare and poetry. I think it's called The Brilliant Club in order to motivate the students, the group I taught were mixed-ability. It was during lockdown and the classes were delivered remotely and I did have a fair few non-attenders despite my best efforts, so the school may be keen to include students who have potential and who are also likely to engage with the programme- mine was after school. It was key that the students were from a more deprived socio-economic background or would be the first in the family to attend university, so it might be worth checking that these apply to your DC. Like others have said, a laid back attitude is good, however self-motivation does become more important as studying becomes more academically stretching. My DS is also in the capable, but lazy camp, perhaps it would be good to focus on subjects that he has an interest in, or to settle him into good study habits through rewards that would motivate him.

Is this the official ‘Brilliant Club’ scheme, which is a national organisation (you can look up the criteria), or is it a school-led scheme?

Either way, there always would be some selection involved if they are talking about Oxbridge!

But I do have sympathy because it’s tricky when you realise that your DC is not necessarily on the same path that you followed yourself. You just have to accept it and guide them along a different path.

There was nothing like this when I was at school but I guess I would have been one of the ‘high achievers’. Dc isn’t motivated by school work (does what’s required but nothing more) and I don’t know if I admire their attitude to protecting their time or if I am letting them down by not pushing harder.
Times have changed. A degree is not what it was.
It used to mark you out, now it's a life-long debt.

Have you had any feedback from those who are in the Brilliant Club? Is it actually as fabulous as the Club would like you to believe?

I think all pupils should be given the opportunity to visit top tier universities and told to aim high. Of course they won't all go on to get top grades and win a place at Oxbridge but there is no harm in encouraging that mindset. I have nothing against specific clubs or classes for those who realistically can achieve those objectives but it's unfair to not give the same message to other pupils that they can achieve their potential.

I say this as someone who attended a very poorly peforming East London secondary school in the 90s where I was in a group identified as university material. It was clear to everyone early on that teachers focused their attention on this group of high achieving pupils and left the rest to get on with it. I wasn't very good at Maths and should have been entered for a lower paper but my teacher put me in for the higher paper because she knew a low grade would mean I couldn't do the A Levels subjects I planned for. She devoted time to coaching me and a few others who she deemed worthy. I passed with a grade B. My friends who were written off were left to sit the papers where the highest grade you could get was a D. It was not surprising that something like 30% of children at the school got 5+ GCSE grades. It was a self fullilling prophecy for most of the kids - they were consistently shown from a young age that they were not as good as others and they went on to perform badly in exams.

Yes I think this the issue I’m facing - I want him to be happy and to guide him in the right way for him, but I don’t know whether I’m really doing this or just lazily not making him work?!