Priority admissions to grammar for free school meals

[polycomfort]

I'm pretty much not a person to start hand-wringing over low income families getting breaks. Happy for people less fortunate to get the odd leg up. Fine.

But I'm really angry to have just read that the local grammar school has just started giving priority admission to children claiming free school meals. I understand they get an extra £900 per child so I get that there is probably a financial benefit for the schools themselves. But I've been practicing with my daughter every evening (can't afford a tutor) using books I've bought cheap on Amazon and was thinking she might be just about good to go after lots of effort from both of us and now I'm just thinking what's the point? There are 20 applications per space as it is, and now just because I'm not poor she has even less of a chance. We don't have a high income but I work full time and so she doesn't get free school meals. For my efforts I may end up having to send my really rather bright daughter to the crappy (and it is crap) local comp even though she may be brighter than a child whose parent doesn't bust a gut to work every day of the week.

I don't think it's okay for grammar schools to be crammed full of wealthy kids who could go to private school, but couldn't they do a household income cut off rather than using a free school meal as the criteria? Then all the kids who can't afford to go to private school could be assessed for grammar school. I don't see why kids from the middle income should be penalised.

Oh and there are woeful amounts of comp kids at Oxbridge hence outreach programs.

There aren't enough of either grammar or comp kids compared to private.

Did you seriously not know that?

We don't have grammar schools in our area. Dd 1 is going to a comp in September. I am very impressed with what I've seen there. They all take the CAT tests upon entrance and are put into sets accordingly. The school was in the top 200 in the UK for A level results last year. Dd and most of her friends are going there and they are all likely level 5 / 6 in their SATS. I am glad we don't have grammars here.

So you just push statistics that you don't happen to like under the carpet - LePetit. The government believes them- that is precisely why they are making changes to rectify the appalling situation where grammar schools have so few pupils on FSM.

Neither would I send them to a comp where 17% got A-C in GCSE.

What if you only had a choice of the 17% A-C GCSE comp or the superselective grammar in the neighbouring LEA, what would you do then?
Of course you could home ed, move house or go independent but not everyone has the ability for finances for those options.

I hate my Dsis is glad of grammars in her area as she doesn't have the £300k to get her dc into the local successful comp like you describe.

I am at the idea that we want more grammar schools. Keep them in Kent for god's sake.

Some of us make are decisions based on our own extensive experience of comps not tv shows.

The fact remains all schools differ.All schools have open days,you visit and you pick a school that suits your dc the best.It may be a comp,it may be a grammar.In our case for 2 of our dc it is one of the grammars and for the other it will probably be one of the comps.

DS1's comp streams and we get regular breakdown of the whole schools sats results. His top set is made up of kids who achieved level 5 and sometimes level 6 in year 6. The schools value added demonstrates that the children all make very good progress.

If you are talking about getting into Oxbridge then grammar school perform pathetically beside private schools- despite cherry picking their pupils.
The whole system is wrong. Having a school with 17% GCSE pass rate and the alternative of a super selective as a means of escape is failing at least 90% of pupils.

Sorry - didn't mean to sound insensitive to anyone stuck living in a grammar school area. I used to have family in Kent and the system still holds a gruesome fascination for me.

How many 17% A*-C comprehensive schools are there?

Obviously if I had a spare £400k of property getting said dc into a comp a la Greycoats like the Cameron's have would be preferable but one has to cut one's cloth.

Are there any schools with only a 17% GCSE pass rate left in the Country?

DCs school has a 70%+ 5 GCSEs including Maths, English, Science, MFL and Humanity; and its a comp.

LePetit, the school dd is going to has a wide catchment. We are 2.5 miles away. Not everyone attending lives in expensive houses. They have a large intake too. I think this year they have taken 210 pupils, so I wouldn't say it was exclusive.

It is noticeable that the government haven't announced a decision about extending the Kent grammar school before the election. Far too contentious! If they turn it down they lose the votes of those who wanted it and if they pass it they lose the votes of those who hate the system.

ihategeorge I think most people would be happy to not have grammars if they had comps like yours or the S London one mentioned upthread where every child leans violin.
Unfortunately schools vary around the country. Schools in London get more funding than elsewhere and have much more diverse intakes.

Grammars don't get as many kids as privates into Oxbridge( which isn't the only measure of success) due to lack of contacts and not advising kids properly.

I gather this is set to change and areas all comps and grammars will be working on.

I think the constant use of "choice" in relation to grammar schools is part of the problem. As if it it possible to "choose" a grammar school, rather than being chosen by one. And as if parents actively "choose" to send their child to a secondary modern school.

Our comprehensive takes everyone in the town- it is not exclusive expensive housing.

That said some of us don't give a flying shit re Oxbridge and have chosen grammars for many other reasons- happiness of the dc involved being top.

You chose a grammar? Righto.

The comps near us are all about 70% 5 A-C grades including maths/English. I think the average nationally is 58%. I suspect there might be a 17% school somewhere, in an area of real deprivation.

How many 17% A*-C comprehensive schools are there?

I don't know, but when my neice applied for a school 3 years ago that was the previous years results for the school that was her only option. I know this because my sister asked my mum to use her address so she could try for a different school but my mum refused as she didn't want to get anyone into trouble. I looked at the results because I was genuinely shocked that a school could do so badly. I then discovered that the school my other neices and nephews attended was 10th worst in the LEA and got only 23% A-C GCSE (which was the school my sister wanted for DN).

The thing is Super, I think it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation, because if we had grammars here, maybe the comprehensives wouldn't be so good as the best would be creamed off first? Also there are many private schools here too and I think a lot of children go to those. There are people I know who are still sniffy about the comps here, despite them being good. For some, private is the only way, although god knows how they afford it.

Meh your town and comp don't speak for all.

Less well off hildren being excluded from the better comps and having zero choice is a huge problem and widely reported.

In some areas children have more chance of getting into a good school via the 11+ than property.