to think a grammar school is the only option for my DCs...

[secondaryfool]

A bit of background: Wasn't brought up here, neither was DP. In our country there is a system with five different types of secondary schools, depending on how well you achieve at school you go to a grammar school, a comprehensive school etc. Both me and DP went to grammar schools. We are told DCs are very bright, and they are doing very well at school....

Personally, I think primary schools are pretty brilliant in the UK, not so much secondary schools...

We live in a rough area of the country and even at primary school it seems quite normal to use swear words etc. I've found drugs and condoms on on the school premises (not from primary school kids, I hope!, teenagers hang out there in the afternoons) - and this is one of the better schools of the city!

Anyway, I'm not bothered with primary school. The secondary schools though bother me. So many pupils seem to have no respect for teachers, they are called names on a daily basis. Pupils smoke weed like we used to smoke cigarettes, there are seperate entrances and car parks for teachers, they have to swipe a card to enter, for safety reasons. In some schools there are up to seven safety doors you need to go through to be in the actual school. It's like a prison. So alien to me where at our schools anybody can enter any part of the building at any time...

I don't want my children to be influenced by those kind of people, and I know from primary school how much children are influenced by their peers: hair style, clothes, language, interests, video-games, who has already got a mobile and who hasn't, etc. Hopefully, it will be recommended that they go to (state) grammar school (is that how it works, recomendation of teacher?). Don't really want them to go to a posh public one, no need for that, but a normal school with kids like them who have been brought up with values and morals...

Where do you come from, Shangri-La? Or 1950?

Teachers recommend which school is suitable for the pupil and it's then up to parents to chose

it sounded in the OP that you thought the places were awarded on the basis of teacher recommendation, which would be bizarre. DDs (private) primary certainly tactfully steered parents towards schools appropriate for their child (so no-one ended up sitting an exam that was too hard and failing). Anyway, hopefully its clear enough now how it works here. You can 'choose' depending on where you live, in some areas how clever your kid is, and in most places there are further choices if you are, or pretend to be, the right brand of religion.

I worked in Germany and there they have a 3 tier system. Teachers from primary schools will recommend that a child goes to a grammar. There is often a lot of pressure on teachers to recommend a grammar school. I worked in a Gymnasium (grammar) there and would not say that the pupils would have all passed an 11 plus here.

OP there are lots of fantastic secondary schools in the UK which are not grammars, and nowadays not that many people will go to grammars because there aren't as many which aren't independent.

Genuine question, which I know is going to sound awful, but will hopefully be taken in the way it's intended, if this other country is so great, why aren't you there?

Sorry that post made little to no sense but hopefully what I was trying to say is slightly clear!

ATruthUniversallyAcknowledged

Circumstances. DP was asked to work here.

All in all I love it here, there's pros and cons in every country, and I can honestly say I couldn't chose between the country I was brought up in and this one.

OP, how old are your children? And seeing as Bradford doesn't have grammars, what are you going to do?

You sound a bit ignorant about the reasons for the school security

I'm sure if there had been something similar to the Dunblane tragedy in your country, the schools there would have modern up-to-date security too.

I think having learnt more about the school system (will also look at local education authority website mentioned), I will have DCs do the entrance exam (they are in top 10% of their now, give or take, so being hopefull...) and if that fails I will search for a good comprehensive...

Worra In fact they have had a tragedy like that, not too long ago, it didn't change anything though. Those things are very very unlikely to happen.

Your best bet is to move-is that possible?

Where are you from? Your English vocab is excellent! Ah is it an zenglish speaking country though?

Out of interest what is this country where "only" comprehensive students take drugs?

op I am worried that you are going to end up v disappointed at the 'perfect' grammar school your dc end up at

I have experience of both private and state schooling systems, and attended a grammar school myself.
The behaviour in the grammar and private schools was arguably much worse than the comprehensives. Arrogance and a sense of entitlement accounted for much of it. Currently, my snobby friend, who wouldn't touch a state school for her kids, is pulling her hair out over the bad influences from "other kids" (of course ) who have far too much money to chuck around, and too little parental influence. Their language, behaviour, almost certain involvement with drugs and probable promiscuity is keeping her awake at nights.
My own dcs are at what the OP might consider a bog-standard comprehensive and I promise you that, almost without exception, their friends are polite, well-behaved, ambitious and very hard-working. DS is on track for all As and A*s at GCSE. Am struggling to think what more I could have got from having paid private fees. Apart from a massive overdraft.

You will get more drugs in the private sector-they tend to have more money.

That's true. Dope is bloody expensive nowadays compared to when I was a teenage stoner!

Julie Myerson strongly reckoned that her son only got into smoking dope after spending too much time in the holidays with his friends who went to boarding school (JM's own son went to the local comp, I think). The boarders had a culture of it, and the money to keep the habit up.

Why won't you answer where you're from, OP?

Scared someone can disprove your Utopian vision of it?

move to ilkley or skipton
what about Dixons Academy?

I thought the OP was talking about the country I live in, but the references to lack of drugs mean it can't be.

I wondered if it was Estonia? They have a high-flying academic stream.
You need to look into how bright your children really are- they(l need to be level 5 in Y5 as a guide- in our LEA the grammars are super-selective, and children need to be top 4% of academic curve. Plenty 'pass' the tests but don't gain a place as there are so many above them.
If it's that bad, move.

My comprehensive had one car park for staff and students in the 6th form. We also had quite a lot of drugs. In fact people used to take them in their cars in the car park. Including in one famous incident in the headmaster's car!

Not sure what the point of that was but I really needed to share!

slacksally

No, that's not the reason. Just don't fancy being outed in RL as has happened previously, by some crazy women who was stupid enough to use her e-mail address as her nick and I knew who she was, too.

I think the poster has been watching too much Waterloo road. It's a drama not a documentary programme and real comprehensive schools are not like that!
The strange smells around some schools are probably the school dinners or the drains - not drugs.
When I looked round secondary schools for my child did not consider the car parking arrangements to be a high priority. Hospitals as well as schools tend to have separate parking for staff and visitors too so this is normal in the UK.

Why does separate car parks indicate a problem?