To think that the Girls Grammar school (Newstead Wood) is soley responsible for the all-round women that both Dina Asher Smith and Emma Raducanu have become.

[peewitsandy]

I suggest that the sole reason, both Emma Raducanu and Dina Asher Smith are such well rounded individuals and of cause brilliant sportswomen, is down to their single sex grammar school educations.

I say this because I notice a number of posters suggestive that single sex grammar schools are highly toxic, thus destroying many girls.
I have noted how over the years that Newstead Wood has been referenced regularly, for being a toxic environment, like Emma and Dina this is my old school. Finally, perhaps controversially I believe that if Emma or Dina had been educated in a mixed Comprehensive school, neither would have ever reached the heights both have or will.

"Solely responsible"??? How bizarre!

What about their natural talent, drive and resilience? The support and encouragement of their families?

I went to a single sex grammar school and also had years of expensive private tennis coaching. Guess what, I am shit at tennis and all other sports.

Those two women have phenomenal achievements but to call them 'well-rounded' based on their very specific skills in sport is strange, that's not generally what well-rounded means.

By attributing their success to what school they went to, you dismiss the innate and developed talent, skill, drive and effort of two young women, and women of colour at that, which is extremely problematic. Women's achievements are their own, not due to the male-run school they attended.

it's not as if it was at all unknown in the 1980s

Dyslexia was not widely identified in school environments in the 70s or 80s

Women's achievements are their own, not due to the male-run school they attended

So why bother securing access to quality schools for children with disadvantaged backgrounds then? If school doesn't matter at all?

@mustlovegin a good school aims to develop the innate potential and allow pupils to achieve what they are already capable of - they don't create genius or sporting ability, they merely allow the pupil to flourish. Noone said school has no effect but their achievements are still theirs, not the schools.

I doubt very much that it was all down to the school but it may have helped.

I think there is also a school in Cardiff that several sports(wo)men have attended, including Geraint Thomas, so no doubt there is something in what the OP says. Given all the schools in the UK, it's quite interesting when you get a few elite sports(wo)men from the same school.

Haven’t rtft but how much to the school rather than her own determination and support around her - parents / trainer etc

And if she had been at another school maybe same outcome

I’m so impressed by her though, A levels and this. Incredible

Hmm. Well, quite. Although perhaps that is for a different thread!

Er yes, 100%. Asher Smith lost thousands of dollars because a male won her race.

The school obviously didn’t deliver on thinking skills in your case.

@peewitsandy

However, it might have been amusing if I had ended up at Bullers Wood and left with only E grades at GCSE. This is because you need understand my mother was a Governor at Newstead Wood and a senior teacher at St Olave's !

Can you imagine the gossip in the staff room at St Olave's or at the Newstead Governors meeting's : ' What are your Angela's plans for sixth form' cue silence and distractive talk about Emma at Cambridge...

Ah. So that's why you take it ridiculously personally that people make generic criticisms of single sex grammar schools.

I've got no skin in the game, and whilst you seem to have decided that MN is a hive of anti-single sex hatred, I see that it barely comes up, and many but not most posters also prefer it.

If your mum is still a governor, suggest that they start a debate club, or get a good critical thi king teacher on the staff.

Or forget your mum and get therapy to resolve your need to post publicly about a school that made you feel a failure.
Not a river in Egypt, and all that…

I agree with you OP. Those children who cant go to a highly selective grammar school will have no chance in hell to have achieve the success Raducanu has achieved. I can't understand wtf parents of such children even bother.

If you have a dd make sure she gets into Newstead Wood School OP, she's gonna need all the help she can get from this great school.

@Shredmymil

I agree with you OP. Those children who cant go to a highly selective grammar school will have no chance in hell to have achieve the success Raducanu has achieved. I can't understand wtf parents of such children even bother.

I assume you are being sarcastic? If not as i said up thread my son goes to the same bog standard comprehensive, that produced the seven times olympic medallist that is Jason kenny.

@x2boys you assumed correctly

All the more reason to get rid of grammar schools IMO.

[quote Shredmymil]@x2boys you assumed correctly [/quote]
🤣🤣

My three 2 DDs and Ds are at Essex Grammar schools . I moved to Essex from Cheshire 6 years ago after my marriage fall apart !

I always find it weird when almost 50 yr olds still harp back to secondary school and remember the fine details like the op here. I feel they haven't moved on since leaving school, like school still defines them.

My daughter’s comp hasn’t made her a tennis champion, but it has produced a kid who’d say, “mum, that woman’s posting loads of personal info in one thread - I bet if you searched her other threads you’d build up quite a bio.”

Perhaps one day a classmate will credit Bog Standard Comp for leading the way in cyber security professionals?

Of coarse[sic] Emma Raducanu's single sex selective grammar education is soley[sic] responsible.

It is nothing to do with being born in Canada.
It is nothing to do with the support and sacrifices of her Chinese mother.
It is nothing to do with the support and sacrifices of her Romanian father.
It is nothing to do with the 11 years before grammar school nor her primary school.
It is nothing to do with playing tennis for six years before grammar school.
It is nothing to do with quality coaching outside school at the Bromley Tennis Centre and the National Tennis Centre, Roehampton.
It is nothing to do with her sponsors (Nike & Wilson) and management (IMG) and the obvious media training they have provided.
It is nothing to do with her personal skill, drive and ambition.

My DS had an olympian in his class and to be honest he was there only around 50% of the time. I am struggling to see how they helped him become a 3x olympic medallist.They did help him get through his GCSE and A ;evels by setting him work to do while he was away.That's all.It was the parents that took him 50 mile round trip to 5am practices every day before school.It was his own will power, and his family's sacrifices !

@Shredmymil

I agree with you OP. Those children who cant go to a highly selective grammar school will have no chance in hell to have achieve the success Raducanu has achieved. I can't understand wtf parents of such children even bother.

I assume you meant this ironically?

Sorry just saw that you did!