To resent prep school taking credit for tutored children?

[Bazelle]

just saying. It was my choice to hire an excellent tutor and I don't regret it but now I know that our prep school will add this new super selective on their leavers destination, and it annoys me. I feel bad about feeling annoyed though IYSWIM!

There has been a huge amount of grade inflation going on when it comes to the 11+, caused by folks like the OP pouring money into paying for prep schools and tutoring so their child can trample over the heads of cleverer children at state schools who can't access help to prepare for the 11+.

I think the term is 'nuclear escalation'.

It's all shite.

Not prep school but four years later I still resent the fact my DD's GCSE maths result was included in the school's result although it was the two hours a week of maths tuition that got the result not the school.

She wasn't the only one either

I remember your posts op. It's hardly a 'super selective' (my son got offered place there, and massively failed to get place at the grammars we did apply for). It's just a reasonably selective private no?

(Now feeling tragically chuffed that not particularly academic son has turned down a place at super dooper school. And from a state primary which won't be showing off about it as they've got to pull up those hard-to-teach kids to a level 4).

FWIW it is easier and less dramatic to hire a tutor than to change schools as some people suggest, to complement a specific teaching weakness. I am glad we did it. And sincere congratulations to those families who got their DCs into top private secondary schools from a state primary without tutoring. Chilly I hope I will not feel my DS needs more tutoring for GCSEs, imagine that after having invested so much time and effort to get him into this top private school! But the scary thing is that even at St Paul's DCs are tutored. Maddening.

FWIW it is easier and less dramatic to hire a tutor than to change schools as some people suggest, to complement a specific teaching weakness. I am glad we did it. And sincere congratulations to those families who got their DCs into top private secondary schools from a state primary without tutoring. Chilly I hope I will not feel my DS needs more tutoring for GCSEs, imagine that after having invested so much time and effort to get him into this top private school! But the scary thing is that even at St Paul's DCs are tutored. Maddening.

It's not just prep schools doing this - there is rampant grade inflation everywhere. All those state schools in grammar zones boasting their fabulous SATs results - very many of which are down to tutoring. In fact it isn't just tutoring, it's schools taking credit for all the additional work parents are putting in.

Personally I think you are mad paying prep school fees and a tutor, I would never do that. In fact I am thinking of taking my daughter out of her expensive private school, going state and topping up with a tutor.

Just lost post! Briefly I was saying that in our school the very successful children were/are tutored in y5 or put some extra work in with their parents over the summer holidays. I know that those who resisted the idea, by principle or by believing the headmistress that it was not necessary, ended up disappointed or had a lucky escape with wait list or scrapped one good offer out of their 3/4 applications. This is all really stressful. I am grateful to parents who told me about tutoring and I have been open about it too. Maybe I should mention it at parents evening? Oh, and I am taking my younger DCs out of this school.

Just lost post! Briefly I was saying that in our school the very successful children were/are tutored in y5 or put some extra work in with their parents over the summer holidays. I know that those who resisted the idea, by principle or by believing the headmistress that it was not necessary, ended up disappointed or had a lucky escape with wait list or scrapped one good offer out of their 3/4 applications. This is all really stressful. I am grateful to parents who told me about tutoring and I have been open about it too. Maybe I should mention it at parents evening? Oh, and I am taking my younger DCs out of this school.

This is why if I can afford private I'm only considering non-selective, even if my DS would get in to the selective ones. I've even heard of prep schools throwing out perfectly competent but unexceptional students because they "couldn't cater to their needs". Completely ridiculous. If you self select down to the most talented, easy to engage students, whose parents also pay for tutors then there's no impetus at all to provide excellent teaching.

We didn't have tutors but one reason my 3 sons got music scholarships was because of parental effort as well as their hard work. I don't think it was a problem when the prep school publicised that along with the other 3 or 4 boys that same year who got them. It was a bumper year for music scholarships that year and yes the parents and boys were hugely responsible for that but the school did its part with concerts and positive attitude to classical music and the rest so I did not feel resentful when they put out a picture of all those music scholars including two of my sons - I was glad. I do not see why it should be different with academics.

We never had any of our 5 tutored - except one who had an entrance test at 7+ and one who had a year of a bit of extra French as he was particularly awful at it.

My kids are at a school which scores in the lowest quintile nationally for maths and writing. Several kids were tutored to bring them up to steam and all got into the local grammars.More alledgedly than the swanky prep down the road.

I wouldn't waste money on private prep.

Said lowest quintile school was a state primary.

Bright kids,a bit of hard work and info as to what is required is all you need.

And yes it does royally piss me off that tutoring will help said school out of the shit as regards next year's Sats results.

I personally think there should be a national data base of tutors for child protection reasons and the above.If all tutors had a code and parents had to enter said code and their child's school into a database when they signed up to a tutor Ofsted could see exactly which coasting schools were helped in Sats.

I think there is a difference between music/sports and academic scholarships. The former IMPLY parental support and extra lessons, whereas for the latter it is not implicite but it should I reckon. For those who think that tutored children will struggle when the tutoring stop I would like to find out. I am thinking if starting a thread asking that very question.

I think there is a difference between music/sports and academic scholarships. The former IMPLY parental support and extra lessons, whereas for the latter it is not implicite but it should I reckon. For those who think that tutored children will struggle when the tutoring stop I would like to find out. I am thinking if starting a thread asking that very question.

I don't buy that line at all.

You could say those from a pampered prep or better school will struggle.I regard tutoring as guidance.The kids have to do it themselves and need to be bright to be able to do it eg you need to be a pretty good reader in the first place to do say a comp on a complex text etc.I know several from far better schools who couldn't cope with the level,of work provided by their tutor. As regards my dc it was simply accessing a curriculum that hadn't been covered.I rem one weekend they learnt,digested and cracked idioms,onomatopoeia,and a full range of imagery.Being avid readers they didn't find it much of a stretch.Ditto the maths topics not previously covered.

I mostly have not had tutors for the children as I think it's up to them to make an effort if they want good results. If not tough - they can languish on low pay for life.

However parents give a lot of advantages to them - I pay school fees. I don't pressure them to work (which in some ways is one reason they do well actually - they have a rabbit mother rather than a Tiger Mother). They were read to every night as children. They inherited the family fairly high IQ and all the rest. Or a school might be a comp in an area where house prices are £600k. I don't think we can ever say who causes good exam results except the huge increase in inner London in rough areas which seems to be due to Teach First ( posh graduates with 2/1s from proper universities rather than left wing substandard average teachers) and some extra money/attention and immigrant parents who are keen on children getting on),.

Interesting about immigrants ( I am one btw) as I found that English families were complacent and arrogant about their DCs abilities and snobbed tutoring at their expense unfortunately.

Interesting about immigrants ( I am one btw) as I found that English families were complacent and arrogant about their DCs abilities and snobbed tutoring at their expense unfortunately.

I agree 100% with you petitmarsaillais, DCs need to be bright and well read to begin with, tutoring helps with putting the extra hours they would otherwise coast, cover the gaps left by the school, and reduce parental stress level :)

I agree 100% with you petitmarsaillais, DCs need to be bright and well read to begin with, tutoring helps with putting the extra hours they would otherwise coast, cover the gaps left by the school, and reduce parental stress level :)

Sorry about duplicate posts, I mentioned it to admin, it is something to do with my phone for some reason

Sorry about duplicate posts, I mentioned it to admin, it is something to do with my phone for some reason

So you paid for your child to be educated twice?

A fool and his money are easily parted.