To think my DC is too clever for state secondary school?

[GeniusCreator]

DC is Yr7. Top of year according to what I’ve been told. Read the full series of Harry Potter books by 7 years old. Excels in STEM subjects. Spends ages at home researching science stuff like quantum field theory and nuclear fusion/fission and enjoys it! Designs his own websites and writes his own code for his own games. Primary school were always pretty amazed by him. Secondary school have picked up on him now and have said they’ve never seen anything like him.

He’s already mentioning being a bit bored in class. We live in what could be described as a deprived town and are not well off, no family to help out, so would never be able to get him into a private school. I did check with the private school in the next town but there are no scholarships available.

WIBU to try to crowdfund for private school fees?

He needs a much higher level curriculum than the state school one to continue stretching him. I honestly think he’s destined for amazing things.

<only slightly light hearted>

From a practical standpoint, you need some facts. It's all very well that you think he's bright and he probably is but how did he do in his SATS and what are his CAT scores? These are the things senior schools, private and state, consider when they are making offers and setting. If he is in fact 'super bright', his CAT scores should be at least 130 and above for all areas.

I recently had a conversation with a colleague about his 'very bright' son (CATS of 135+) who was put into the 3rd set at his local senior school when he joined in year 7 and my colleague called up to complain. But the admissions officer pointed out that there were, in fact, 60 other children with scores higher than his son's and thus they were in sets 1 and 2. When your clever fish moves to big-big school, it may be that he is is good company and teachers will know exactly how to build on his good start.

Apologies if others have pointed this out already.

I don’t t think private schools will push him further.State school should provide extension work in lessons. Sometimes they have university contacts that could provide project opportunities for him.

I think exceptional ones are identified - there’s a girl in the year above Dd (at good academic state) who is on a special program - she is from a modest background she is being monitored and going to Oxford who are already involved with her.

@GeniusCreator - you’ve had some horrible comments on this thread. I’d contact your local university to see if there is an outreach programme or similar. He sounds very talented. Good luck to him!

I don’t know why some of you are giving the OP a hard time. She has a bright boy and is ambitious for him. Some of the top independent schools in the country have the funds to support such bright and motivated boys and are happy to do so. So if she can get a bursary for him that is what they are there for! My DC have talented friends on bursaries who even get school trips to amazing places paid for by the schools.

OP just be careful you go for a school that is academically selective enough for your DC so he will have a good peer group and other kids like him to discuss his science passion with.
Schools like Westminster run Platform programmes, for example. They actually invite talented state school kids in to Saturday school to extend them and then offer them free bursaries later on (subject to parental income). It is a great scheme. OP has missed this one and doesn’t live in London, but I am attaching it for her information www.westminsterplatform.org.uk/platform/ Most of the top schools will have some bursaries available.

@GeniusCreator

What is the sixth form/college like that he will go to? It sounds like secondary will be easy for him but I would make sure he gets into a very good sixth form. No reason why he can’t go onto great things from a state education.

This.

It’s the crowdfunding element that has invoked the reaction.

I went to university in my mid-teens while my friends went back to school. I have more than one highly gifted child. I get it. I relate. I think the voices of those who have been that child are worth listening to. If the child has the interest they will be self-driven. I'm just encouraging the OP to keep things balanced. Academics are just one aspect of her son to value and encourage.

Bright kids (if they have a lot of self motivation, and broadly supportive parents) generally will be fine in state school.
DS2 has clearly been very academic since primary. He had the highest GCSE results his state secondary school had ever seen. As an example of kind of things he does, he heard about the concept of memory palaces (from watching Sherlock 🤣), so did all his GCSE revision using that technique, in a fraction of the time recommended by his teachers.
He is currently having a gap year and will tale a place at Oxford (with an organ scholarship) this autumn.

Why are you not responding to people's advice, points and questions?

Someone asked if you were doing anything to stretching him by taking him to debate clubs, music lessons and chess.

Someone asked if he had read any classics like Black Beauty.

But you are just saying how great he is all of the time.

We get it. He needs more than his school is providing.

You are unlikely to get five years of school fees from a crowd fundraiser. So you need to think of something different.

He's your son. What are you doing to enrich him?

YABU

Take him on forest walks, to see movies, to do some volunteer work, expose him to art and maybe do some crafts, teach him too DIY and use tools, encourage a sport if he is interested, teach him to cook. There's so much more to grow a whole rounded person than academics (while nurturing that as well, of course).

Our child was bored rigid by school and well on the way to school refusal and/or depression. An ed psych evaluation showed exceptional ability and recommended acceleration, citing the supporting research. The school refused to implement, insisting on the basis of no evidence other than their personal opinion that he'd be just fine doing the same work as age peers. He asked to be home educated.
It doesn't seem to have occurred to you that:
(a) the reason you are not seeing school refusers in school is because they have already refused school.
(b) if they're refusing school and not fitting in with your pre-conceived expectations of what a gifted child should look like, then they won't be identified in school as an "academically gifted pupil" if or when they turn up, regardless of their underlying potential or cognitive ability.
Frankly, the presence in schools of teachers like you lot (i.e. blinkered, untrained and poorly read on gifted education, full of preconceived fallacious notions of what a gifted child should or shouldn't look like, and therefore unaware of what is in front of your noses) are why we chose in the end to home educate.

I’m in the minority but think YANBU

However I wouldn’t crowdfund I’d do everything within my power to get him into an excellent private school on a full bursary. Go and speak to these schools, as many are desperate for pupils having lost many Russian and Chinese pupils. My Friend has just moved her extremely bright Dd from state to a very well regarded private school, they gave them a massive discount completely out of the blue(they hadn’t been asked for one, but it is very welcome). She has absolutely flourished since September.

good luck 💐

^ That’s total crap.

My kids are at a private school. My husband and I also went, and I can tell you that private school parents want results and yes the teachers don’t actually let you slack off because that’s bad for their reputation. My children are far happier now that they’re being challenged academically.

op my son was like yours which is why we left the state system and he has thrived. Unfortunately, apart from hunting down bursaries and scholarships there’s not much you can do about day to day education.

You can do a lot of educate him in your private time though and there are loads of free resources for gifted children online/ and also summer camps. It depends where his interests lie. What are his interests?

I’ve just had to do an assignment for my teacher training linked to this document from Ofsted.

potentialplusuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ofsted-Reporting-of-Provision-for-the-Most-Able-Pupils.pdf

I wouldn’t think any parent of a child not being challenged enough at school would be unreasonable in approaching the school about it.

I can imagine that post covid the situation has only got worse.

Which is pointless, as you end up stuck at home while all your housemates go to the pub.

You want to crowd fund for private school? you want people to give you their money in a time of austerity and fuel rises so your kid can attend private school?

hahahahaha! thanks for the giggle this morning OP! 😂

@GeniusCreator This is a very interesting interview of Maye Musk, Elon Musk's mother about his childhood.. If the link doesn't work, search on YouTube for Maye Musk CBS Los Angeles interview in Aug 2020 or 2021.

amazing 🤣 your child can’t be too smart for secondary school. If they are bright
and self motivated they will
excel. If however they need hand holding and wrapped in cotton wool then by all means investigate private school. Private schools are better at handling nightmare parents though, so there’s always that.

You really think 9/10 year olds can’t read Harry Potter?

YABVU and I can’t even be bothered to go into why. You’ve 10 pages of it.

Harry Pottter is NOT written for 7 year olds!

I don't mean to do your son a disservice but all four of our children have read Harry Potter books and started at 6...my 7 year old loves them at the moment. Lots of us have bright kids and not bright kids and we all worry. Actually a lot of people use private schools when they need their children to have extra support as the classes are so small.

You could look for selective private schools and scholarships but you will find at those all the children are bright like your son, and that he's bright enough to get in, but may not get the scholarship...the only worry is if you go down that route, is scholarships and bursaries can be withdrawn. You'd have to also show him the school and he could end up very disappointed. Also remember you need to fund the uniform and trips etc which are expensive. In addition schools put their fees up regularly....its a lot to consider

Good luck

Is this a joke?