To complain to school about announcing GCSE results?

[Rachel178]

DD1 is 15, almost 16, and is taking her GCSEs this summer. She is, and always has been, extremely clever, and should do very well.

However, she attends a top ultra-selective private girls' school where the pressure to get straight A*s is, in my opinion, ridiculous.
(long story - she went to state primary, her headmaster advised us to try for a scholarship at this school for secondary, she ended up getting a huge scholarship making it affordable for us)

The key worry DD has is that the school award a 'prize' to every girl in the year who gets at least 9As; when their GCSE certificates are awarded in assembly, it is read out who got this prize and who didn't, so everybody knows whether you got 9As. A list of the 'prize'-winners is also published on the school website and in the school magazine. About 2/3 of the girls achieve this every year.

DD has started having weekly panic attacks and nightmares about GCSE results - in her mind, the results that would be a disaster and utterly humiliating would be 8As and 2As, because then 'everybody would know that I hadn't got 10As'.

To me, the sort of school where 8A*s and 2As is synonymous with failure is not a healthy environment. I massively regret sending DD there now.

I know I'm not going to be able to get the school to change the 'prize', but would I be unreasonable to speak to them about the sort of pressure they're putting on their students?

I suspect that your DD is going to feel under pressure to get an A* whatever the school does or doesn't do and I sympathise as my own DD was like that. The girls are likely to know who did really well anyway aren't they so whether or not the school gives out prizes won't make much difference.

Although at DDs school (a grammar) they also read out the names of those who received a prize when giving the certificates, I don't think anyone really notices who did and didn't get one apart from the child themselves and their parents. I know DD got a prize but I can't remember who else got one or what you had to achieve to get one.

I work in an outstanding comprehensive school and this makes me feel ill. We recognise students who are meeting their targets, with very high effort levels, most improved etc so every student realistically could get recognised and rewarded.

I know I'm not going to be able to get the school to change the 'prize', but would I be unreasonable to speak to them about the sort of pressure they're putting on their students?

well surely the pressure is coming from the girls themselves striving to achieve this prize.

But there won't be As this year as everything will be 1-9 and so they may have to rethink their silly prize anyway.

Speaking to the school about the pressure and how it is manifesting itself would be a good idea. However, I think trying to get her to put this into perspective would also be good - like for example is it really going to matter in 5 years if she was or was not on this list - no absolutely not.... she is putting too much emotional energy on this which would be better spent on something else - some volunteering work might put this into perspective

When do they hold the assembly? is it once they are in the 6th form?

If DD is distressed by this, she has other options at 16+. What does she want to do in the longer term?

With the switcheroo from As to 9s there aren't going to be many 9s at all I don't think.

I do feel for this year of students. :(

I can't see anything wrong with giving a prize to students who have done very well as long as they don't make a big song and dance out of it. They often give prizes for other things so what is wrong with rewarding academic achievement. The children will know who did well anyway and the parents won't notice and/or remember who has received a prize unless it's their own child.

If you dislike this level of pressure, why would you choose this type of school? Not really something you can complain about. Near here most state schools put results (particularly good results ) in the local paper.
It’s never going to be a secret.
The school is not putting her under pressure - you did when you chose the school.
Lots of high achieving teenage girls worry about results and ‘the vapours’ are a normal part of teenage angst. One of mine cried and rushed out of the hall GCSE where results were being handed out and shared amongst the cohort. She was inconsolable in the car, I drove somewhere quiet and took the envelope from this poor hysterical wretched child. She got 11A* but had dropped to an A for History and was feeling devastated. She’d got an A at A level Theology too but apparently this isn’t enough. I gave her a tissue, told her to blow her nose and took her back to apologise to her friends who all thought she’d crashed and failed the lot and were genuinely worried for her.

Morphene

The parents chose this.

No they are not because they are PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS.The results are PUBLIC

The exam results are public, however the only ground for publishing a students name on a schools website (as opposed to the exam boards method of distribution) in this case that I can see would be consent. What other GDPR ground do you consider?

This is so depressing and a terrible indictment of what 'education' has become. It's intolerable and is destroying education in its' truest sense. Education should be about exploring subjects and developing a love of them.

Sadly it is ingrained in the culture of some schools.

One of my children goes to a 'super selective' school and I have very mixed feelings about the culture within the school. I spend time ensuring he's doesn't feel any pressure from us to offset some of the relentless demands for total perfection.

I make certain that all my children know that each stage of education is simply a passport on to the next stage. Nobody asks about A*/Grade 9 GCSE's at university.

Maybe contact the school to express your opinions and the effect it has on students. It is possible to celebrate excellence without alienating everyone else. They also have a duty of care to protect the mental health of the pupils not make it worse.

The school do all IGCSEs, which I was under the impression were sticking with letters, not switching to numbers (though I could be wrong).

In all likelihood she will get 10A*s - 2/3 of the year group do and she’s in the top set for most subjects. I’m not worried about her being ‘left out’, I’m worried about the effect that the fear of this is having on her, if that makes sense.

And with regards to reading out those who ‘didn’t’ get the prize, they read out the names of the 80 odd girls who did get it first, as the ‘prizewinners’, and then read out the name sky the other 40. So it’s very clear who did and who didn’t.

Tell her you'll keep her home on the day they announce the prizes, then no one will know what she got

You ate being a teeny bit unreasonable. I mean what did you expect?
If it's really doing your DDs head in I suggest a little mindfulness over the coming months.
There are some good apps out there for teens to use if they're experiencing anxiety. Good luck. Hopefully she'll be one of those having her results publicly lauded, and it will all feel v different then.

If you dislike this level of pressure, why would you choose this type of school?

I do have to agree with you there

Do they get IGCSE results a lot earlier then?

Honestly I think YABU.

It’s the job of the school to coach the girls to get high grades. It’s your job to teach your daughter what is important and what to take with a pinch of salt. At almost 16 she’s old enough to understand that while this seems important now, in less than a year no one will care. If she’s generally anxious about exams then help her with coping strategies.

It's a lesson in life!
2nd place= first looser.

On a serious note, all you can do now is taking her through it. There will be many more potential disappointments throughout her life. I don't believe in "protection" of this kind. After all, the school is celebrating the high achievement of its pupils. Not punishing those who didn't get 9A*.

(PS: when DD got her marital arts black belt, they had everyone sitting in a big hall in groups. The ones who passed got called to the front, failed and not mentioned at all. So yes it's brutal especially as a watching parent. You aren't even able to comfort your crumbling child once they realized they failed...)

When I was at school in the dark ages our names and exam results were published in the local paper. My University results were tied to the railings outside Senate House.

But as someone up thread has said, this is what you signup for by choosing a selective and pushing academic school. all you can do is try to raise your daughters self esteem,, make sure she does non academic activities and maybe have a word with the pastoral care team at school to remind them that many young girls are under huge amounts of pressure re body image, friendships, eating disorders, academic success and that maybe the school should be mindful about reducing stress and mental anxiety rather than adding to it. Remind them of the work being done by many schools to support children's good mental health .

It's no longer true to say it's just a passport to ALevel. Lots of red brick Universities won't look at someone with less than an A in Maths or English even if you have 4 As at A Level. That being said, what defines you as a success in life is being rounded and sociable.

I see too many graduates who have been churned out but whom I would never put in front of a client in a million years.

And with regards to reading out those who ‘didn’t’ get the prize, they read out the names of the 80 odd girls who did get it first, as the ‘prizewinners’, and then read out the name sky the other 40. So it’s very clear who did and who didn’t.

I think that would be the thing to ask them to change. At DDs school they read out everyone's name by class in alphabetical order. Although they also state who got a prize it is too quick for anyone to notice.

It depends JustMarriedBecca DS was just interviewed by Cambridge and does not have 10 A at IGCSE or GCSE. He is predicted all A at A2 though.

I think in this situation it's entirely likely that the OP's daughter will do extremely well regardless of all the unneccesary pressure.

tell them that you don't want your DD's name read out whatever she gets, problem solved.

Although I suspect that if she does attain 9 A*s you (and she) would be happy for her name to be read out.