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>

Independent schools have scholar programs and the resources to stretch able students. Look at selective boarding schools and consider 13+ entry. They test aptitude for entry and almost all of the very selective boarding schools offer 100% means tested bursaries (i.e. it's free for you). If your son is as able as you suggest he will be a very attractive student. While I don't consider her a genius or gifted by any stretch of the imagination, she is bright and able with aspirations. She attends a girls selective school for secondary. The curriculum they follow is far broader that state schools and the expectations on students pitched much higher. Extension work is available from every lesson along with super-curricular projects, essays etc. In addition to this are a broad array of sports, activities, trips, events, competitions and pastoral opportunities. She loves it, has made wonderful friends and thrived since joining in year 7. She was bored and coasted through primary school in her state school, always at the top of the class making next to no effort.. that isn't much to go by though since it all depends on the class.

If he is so clever then visit the private schools and get a scholarship!

Begging for school is very crass and frankly embarrassing!

Hi, OP

Your boy sounds super intelligent. But don't assume that being top of y7 is criteria for moving up a year. He fits into education well, can learn easily and has friends- this is the situation most parents dream of.

If he is in fact a genius there are many ways to find out. But, to me, he sounds like he is very clever with an interest in science. Does he just relay information well or is he undertaking experiments at home and engaging in heavily scientific discussion with likeminded people on forums etc?

Depending on where you are in the country, you could explore some extra curricular things. Chess is known to be a great way to encourage gifted children. Our DDs are not geniuses, but chess is something we play a lot with them and it is beneficial in some ways and a good way to bond.

Sorry you're getting flack on here. But, we do, as parents, have a tendency to assume our very smart children should be leapt ahead of their peers- very rarely do children benefit in the long run from this setup.

Top of year according to what I’ve been told

Told by who? I’m a teacher and we’ve never ranked kids as being the top and bottom. We compare them to themselves and their own targets.
I also wouldn’t personally judge anything on how many points he has for achievement either as different teachers record things better than others so they aren’t always representative.
School should be stretching him but he needs to know the curriculum as well as the advanced information. I’ve had students before that come across as mini Einstein’s but then score poorly on tests because they know advanced content but not basic skills.

You sound like a great parent wanting the best for their child.

I would speak to private schools as see what they suggest.

Did you read a recent post from a parent who’s child wanted to go to Oxford/Cambridge and she was feeling she had done her child a disservice by putting them in private school due to the classes run for state educated kids.

Speaking yo his current school may give you a better idea how they can push him.

We'll this is interesting because some people are sayig that reading all Harry Potter books by age 7 is nothing out of the ordinary and this comment seems to think it's a massive brag. Another person commented that HP were aimed at ages 4-7 which shows how stupid they are.

I've no doubt some 7yos could read every word in every HP book (mine couldnt), but can they honestly understand what they are reading? Did you ever sit and discuss the plot?

Does he do any activities outside of school, apart from things he does on his own? What are you doing to to develop other skills with him? A private school is not necessarily more academically rigorous, and you can add in extra things without having to change his school. It doesn't sound like he does music, for example.

Haha, just imagining me saying me saying to DS when he was smaller, you want to be a theoretical physicist when you grow up, don’t you honey, don’t you?! I had to look it up when he started saying it in Yr6 😂I might have perhaps said Astronaut but I’ve never told my kids what I wanted them to be.

He's a Big Bang Theory fan then.

Are you serious?
My daughter went to the local comp and is 23 now with a good job, fabulous car and in the process of buying her first place.
You are being ridiculous

Money doesn't buy brains (and that's from my mum who went to private school)

Genuine question, how do you know whether your dc is genius level bright or merely super bright and what is the difference? What is a genius?🤔

Putting a child up a year is a very bad idea and solves nothing.

If your DS is genuinely brilliant then my advice would be to go to the nearest very, very good independent school and ask to talk to the admissions person about full scholarships. A very, very good independent should be able to assess a child well enough to gauge if they want him on their books to boost the school. It's almost certainly not worth bothering with middling independents.

Also if your DS is genuinely brilliant he will get into Oxford or Cambridge (if that's his thing, by Y13) regardless of an independent school background.

You could push him academically, encourage him to excel, maybe look into bursaries for ‘top’ schools - most will have entry at 13+. What’s the end result though? He gets 9’s at GCSE and A* at A level? He sounds like he’d get that anyway at his current school without the pressure and hassle. Or maybe you’re thinking exams super early and Oxbridge at 14? I’m not sure what is best for your child, but I’d not want that for one of mine. If I was you I’d encourage your child to learn the skills that will make him happy - the ability to make friends, to socialise. Get him involved in sport so he is fit and strong and healthy. Get him into music/dance/theatre so he has other options for socialising and an appreciation for the arts. Basically, if he’s strong academically look at what else he can develop to make him into an all rounder. There’s so much more to life than academic success. But he’s your kid, so up to you really.

My son is at grammar school, greased gave grades in 12 subjects. He's now taking three A levels and holds the record for the 100 and 200m sprint.
I'm sure he'll be ok if he decides to go to uni or do an electrician /plumbing apprenticeship.

I thought the same with my ds.

Things change though.

In the end, he did fabulously and got new money A stars in both English exams and History but couldn’t even scrape a D in maths and things like IT were a total train wreck.

He’s 20 now and he got to where he wanted in the end by doing a btec just for the ucas points (couldn’t do A levels without the maths) and finally scraping a c grade in maths, he’s doing brilliantly in a degree apprenticeship.

But he didn’t turn out to be the little genius I definitely knew he was at small - a reading age off the charts at the age of 9 meant jack shit later on.

I was deviated I could send my little Einstein to private school.

The best thing that has ever gone in his favour isn’t academic success by the way. It’s his confidence, general demeanour, the fact that he’s utterly likeable and his ability to speak to everyone with respect.

He’s talked himself into some amazing things and is in a really good position in life already because of that.

I look back at myself and fucking cringe.

We had a kid who already had GCSE Maths before she joined us in y7 (state school). She was previously home-educated. Nice enough child but lacking in so many other areas - not great socialising skills and was unable to clap along or walk to a beat.

What she did was attend lessons with the rest of her peers but worked through AS then A level Maths and FM in the classroom alongside her peers. One of her timetabled Maths lessons coincided with another member of the department being free so she had an hour's tutorial with them each week which set her up for the next week's lessons. Interestingly, whilst a good and avid reader, she was not hugely better in English than able peers and found some subjects really challenging. She took her A levels in M & FM alongside one of my DDs, despite being 4 years younger.

So if this is a real post, ask the school what they are going to do to stretch and challenge your DS. Infrequently, I have kids who join me who are grade 8 on an instrument early in KS3. Whilst they may have high level skills in that niche area, it does not follow that they are a great composer or improviser, or that their listening skills are highly developed. It is part of the skill of being a teacher to ensure that every child makes progress, and tailoring your lessons to achieve that.

My eldest was into stuff like that in year 7, they were allowed to choose a book as a prize at the end of year 7 and chose "Why does E=mc2?" They are bright, but not a genius. It's not that wild of a claim.

Eh what? For seven year olds. No, they are not.

Jealous much

Ime dc with do well anywhere if they have the right attitude. Dd1 is exceptionally bright - 100% in 2 of her year 6 SATs with the rest just a few marks off full marks. We looked at independents as we felt state would be doing her a disservice. We were fairly underwhelmed. So perfectly nice but nothing we loved more than the state option. I’m so happy we chose state because of the wonderful young lady she’s becoming (now 14). School does stretch her with extra projects in their inspire club aimed at the most academic dc, but she also challenges herself.

OP it's unreal the amount of jealousy here 🤣🤣 You sound like a wonderful mum trying to do the absolute best for her son.

There is no reason why he can't carry on the way he is going, do well in his exams and go to Cambridge.

If he complains he is bored tell him to think himself lucky that he does find it so easy as not many children do. He can do other work/ research about things he is interested in, in his own time.

I’ve worked in schools and I’ve never, ever once known a child’s parents to be ‘told they’re top of the class’. This doesn’t happen