DS been asked to leave school due to low CAT score.

[omgitcantbetrue]

Just had a meeting with DS Prep school and I'm feeling so worried and anxious for DS.

He scored 92 average on the CAT test.
The teacher gently informed me this means he'll not manage to achieve above a C grade in any subject at GCSE. He's only in year 5, and I'm amazed they can make such predictions.
I was then informed that it's in his best interest to transition to a more gentle secondary school.
I don't know what I want really. Advice from parents in a similar position?
Are her life prospects totally limited? With C's only I'm assumings he'll never go to University. Which is fine. I'm worried for his prospects.
Do children who score 92 ever improve? How below average is this?
Thanks for reading

That's great! I must say a 'mildly selective' school is still a selective school. Is their a 'more arty' school he could go to?

Are any dyslexic children of average intelligence?

I am glad you have decided to move him OP.

The important thing is to get him the right support for his dyslexia. Not just extra ‘normal’ tutoring sessions but specialist support.

How can he do well in any test, including a CAT test, unless he has support and understanding of his dyslexia?

Yes, a less pressurised school, but he doesn’t have to underachieve just because he has dyslexia.

My friend’s child could not read when she entered year 7. When she finally got the right expert help, she was read a while Harry Potter novel a year later.

Start a thread about getting the right support for him.

You sound like you have a plan and that your son and you are on the same page.

I wouldn’t discount the idea of another chat with the school. They can give you a lot more detail and suggestions (which you are free to ignore...but might find some useful) about his strengths and areas that he finds harder. They might also suggest some schools you hadn’t thought if. Don’t leap too fast into another school when there just might be a better one.

I can see the timing is hard for you Op. in lots of ways there’s never a good time for these conversations. Done much earlier and people will say their child wasn’t given enough time to show their ability. Done during lockdown, people would have been truly outraged. Left until later, people will say they needed to know sooner to plan. To be honest, I think that for this difficult message, this timing is just about right. There’s time to move for most of the last 2 years of Prep (assuming transfer at 11 not 13) and make it worthwhile, plus this year is when people really give serious thought to senior schools.

A couple of things to consider checking with any schools you look at;

• is it genuinely non selective now, into senior school and what about 6th form options and entrance criteria.
• obviously SEN support
• systems they use for tracking children’s progress and what they do and don’t tell parents about this.

Ask your current school about notice periods. It maybe that they didn’t actually say your son should leave (if they did then you definitely won’t need to give notice....but I’d be surprised if they said that) and you will be bound by the notice period or owe fees. They might be flexible about it. It might sound terrible at this point But it’s definitely a conversation to have.

And don’t feel bad about having chosen this school. As you say, it’s worked for your other child and it probably works for the vast majority. We all choose in good faith with the limited knowledge we have of schools and even our own children at the point if entry. One of the benefits of paying fees is that you do have flexibility to leave and to choose another school that works better for your family....and lots of people do change schools for all kinds of reasons.

All the best in your communications with the current school and in finding the next one and for your son who I’m sure will go into be a real success.

Well done OP and when he loves his school this will all be old news x

I’m wondering if this school is on London? The London prep school sausage factory perhaps?

Well - find the school that he loves and that will treat him as an individual and get the best out of him.

This school is just protecting their results (and therefore their bottom line). It’s a business, no?

Sounds to me like the school is acting in what they perceive to be their best interests - suggesting you move to another school so future GCSE grades are not reflected in their stats! How can you even tell this from Y5?!

In my experience Prep Schools are very good at identifying those who are not operating at the same standard as their peers. It doesn’t actually matter too much what the numbers are. If his peers are operating at a higher level than he is, he is likely to struggle at a secondary school which will teach to the average level of the cohort they find themselves with. Competitive independent schools on the whole are not the best place children of a measurable lower ability than their peers

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What a shame these school are not equally good at recognising things like dyslexia and giving the right support for children to achieve at their full potential.

@RainingBatsAndFrogs there are plenty of independent schools with a pastoral approach who cater well for these kids. exam mills (state or private) are rarely good for kids with dyslexia etc

@omgitcantbetrue

Sorry. Should have said. He’s dyslexic. I did know that already, but thought he was bright.

My ex is dyslexic and really surprised his school how well he did in exams. My ds is also dyslexic. Find a good school that can support him to meet his full potential. I still wouldn't think a C is a bad grade though .

I have a couple of people with dyslexia in the family - one was military (weapons and computers) and the other studied something to do with brains...

Don't feel guilty about not realizing it was the wrong school. Now you do you are doing something about it. Its important they are supported early. My sons dyslexia wasnt picked up till year 6 he still has significant hang ups about it and finds it hard to ask for help. We steered him away from the very academic 6th form last year to one known to have better support. Hea on track for two bs and a c at alevel doing essay based subjects and got ok if not amazing GCSE'S. My daughter was picked up in year 2 had early intervention and is much more able to ask for help due to the supportive environment she had. She just sees it as her brain is wired differently. Accademicly shes stronger because of this. Move him now before more damage is done to his confidence.

Op, it's wonderful how much you have trusted your instinct and listened to your son. Don't be hard on yourself

@omgitcantbetrue I am glad your dc was happy at the prospect of moving! The head wouldn't necessarily know, in my experience, by the way - though it is less relevant for you now! Also you said upthread that you underachieved - a pp has suggested a 1:1 tutor for a bit and this may well be a really good idea if you get a good tutor with dyslexia experience because a lot of academic success comes down to learning good study skills and "know how", if you get a tutor who is good at this then it will make your dc's learning easier now and in the future right through further education, whatever school he is at. Good luck!

@WombatChocolate just to answer you from last night, I don't think that the fact that the schools you mention get a lot of applications means that all the parents' dominant motivation is to be part of an exclusive academic elite. Some may be motivated by wanting to join a social group, I guess, but most ime will have the motivations I mentioned upthread (facilities, opportunities and expectations, small classes, few discipline issues). I would be surprised that if any greater London selective schools had one or two applicants per place - which ones are you thinking of? Can you link the stats you are referring to for all the schools?

If I had a choice of schools for dc I would want them to be at an academic school as I think they'd be happier, and I think they'd perform better under pressure, just because of what they are like, but I wouldn't necessarily choose any of the schools you mentioned because of their culture - there are others which are more quirky as well as academic (imo) which I think my dc would be happier at. Wanting an academic school isn't the same thing as wanting to be part of an exclusive group.

Henrietta Barnet is a selective grammar (I think? It used to be) so that would explain the high number of applications there.

This is just based on my personal experiences, I don't work in education.

School in Bucks beginning with A by any chance?

I'm appalled that the school is making those predictions already. On that basis my daughter would have been predicted grade C and below in year 5 but with a supportive secondary school we were surprised when they wanted to enter her for higher grade GCSEs but she got mostly Bs and a few Cs.

She also did really well (in my opinion)in her A levels getting Bs. Again this was not expected or predicted by the school - they predicted 3 Cs. Her attitude to work was the difference. In sixth form others who she felt always outperformed her in class, didn't put the revision in and they did get grades lower than they expected. Now doing a healthcare degree with a promising future.

No child should have that prediction put on them in Year 5. It sounds like you have a sensible, mature child, who has recognised it is not the school for him. He will do well whatever his academic future holds.

@Slightlybrwnbanana

Shower of bastards, I wouldn't want my child anywhere near them. Can't begin to imagine how much easier it would make my job as a state school teacher if we just punted off any child "who can only score a C". Ffs. So basically they don't want to support a child with a learning disability?

This

With disabled students schools are required to make reasonable adjustments?

The bottom line is that I chose a school that does not suit my child's needs. Naively perhaps.

I did too op. It's not naive. How are you supposed to know? Now you do know it's time to get out. That's what we did. Moved from prep to a decent state school. They've been so good at managing the dyslexia, extra time in exams, coloured overlays, using a laptop where needed. The prep wasn't interested in helping at all.

@RichAndThickLikeCoffee plenty of state schools do that as well. hop over to the SENDs board.
State schools usually do it less visible, but SENDs kids get just as effectively bullied out. There are shit schools in both sectors.

This was my son’s scores

English: 104

Maths: 119

CATs (reasoning): 129

Aggregate score (English, maths and reasoning): 352

CATs Breakdown

Verbal Reasoning: 138

Non-Verbal Reasoning: 127

Spatial Reasoning: 121

Quantitative Reasoning: 130

I was told “very promising”. Doesn’t seem too far your son OP!

The scores are rubbish. DS was once awarded a score higher than the maximum.

"The bottom line is that I chose a school that does not suit my child's needs. Naively perhaps.
It's a system, and my child won't thrive there, so that's that."
Please don't be so hard on yourself! The private education sector has become very specialised and many parents start off wanting all of their children to go to the same school ideally but are eventually putting them in different schools, to suit their "individual needs" (supposedly, but in the London area specifically it has become a thing, a CAT score 120 school, a CAT score 130 type school and a super gifted CAT score 130-145 CAT score aka eg Westminster and all the crazy tutoring going on does distort CAT scores, regardless of what anyone says). I still think though that you should go a bit deeper with the school and question the score results, just for your own benefit and question what help they are or are not providing (they owe you and your DS that much). My DS is at an all through academic school and there are plenty of boys at the prep who are getting lots of extra help with their dyslexia, dyspraxia etc. It is very narrow minded of the school as your DS does sound bright - they just need to give him the extra attention & help and staff it accordingly. Especially if you have an older DS there, they should do all they can to help your younger DS. I would not just take it but stand up for yourself and your son.

I'm so glad your son is keen to move. I'd move him as soon as possible. No one needs 2 years of education in a place that doesn't nurture him. Good luck.

Of course he can go to uni. You only need 5 C or above grade GCSEs to get into college to do a levels providing the Maths, English and Science are there. Then it’s up to the university to give their own offers.