In questioning a school that makes potential grade 7 GCSE pupils fear inferior

[Georgianattiude]

All the year 11s at my DD's 1 school were called into an assembly this morning and told they were to be split in to two large groups. The first group which DD is in was for pupils who are likely to achieve grade 8 or higher in all their GCSE's. The second grouping was for pupils looking at mostly grade 7 and 8s at GCSE. The room where DDs group were placed had an ex pupil and Cambridge graduate highlighting the virtues of hard work and how all this group had the potential to get into Cambridge or Oxford University.

The second group were DDs best friend was placed had a joint 1 hour talk from the Head of Sixth Form and Head of year 11 berating them for their prospective grades averaging below 6.5 or 52 points over their top 8 subjects. This is the requirement for entry in to her Grammar Schools Sixth form.

The head of year apparently rattled on at them that if they do not achieve 52 points they will have wasted their opportunity given to them by passing the 11+. The head of Sixth Form then said to the girls in the group if you can't get 52 points, you don't deserve to be in the Sixth Form here !

I found this horrible on two fronts firstly denigrating pupils who in most schools would be near the top cohort by making them feel stupid. Secondly and perhaps most importantly talks like this can cause mental issues in bright girls to come to the surface.

If this was supposed to be a pep talk to the two groups concerned, I can see it having a very negative effect on both groups actually.

My grammar was the same many years ago. I moved to an area without the 11+ to raise my children. It leaves a mark. I got straight A's but also had very high anxiety.

Not this exact scenario, but it's very much the kind of thing my grammar might have done. It was only when we all got our GCSE results and saw As and A*s we realised we were actually quite smart, as work to that level was being marked as a B- at most in class. Can't have those very intelligent girls resting on their laurels and risking the school dropping out of the top 10.
As PP have said they absolutely get the results but often with crushing damage to pupils mental health in the process. I know I left with plenty of As but also cripplingly low self esteem, a self harm habit, disordered eating and massive imposter syndrome as for so long I was told my best wasn't good enough, when it was actually brilliant.

@SacAMain - I didn’t even know the etymology was ‘blackened’. I have only known it to mean to ‘criticise unfairly, put down senselessly’.

@honestlyseriously can you elaborate any more on what you said?

I thought 9 was A * 8 was A and 7 an A?

it is crazy that anyone is berated over A grades.

You’re right.

I think in some schools there are bad As and good As .

I was constantly told at my grammar school that I was in the schools 'remedial' class . This was in despite of the school being quite selective and achieving even in 1991 100% GCSE 5 A- C grades.

Sorry I meant to say a nine was a double a star an 8 was a single a star and a 7 an a. What is this obsession with top grades? Dd is being encouraged to just do the subjects she is best at for A level rather than ones she enjoys but is maybe not so good at (but still a very respectable standard!)

If it’s a selective grammar most should be capable of very high grades at gcse.
My dc is yr13 at a grammar (not super selective)
Anything below a 7 (A) was considered unacceptable.
What helped keep things in perspective was knowing friends at other schools and talking about what an unusual environment it was. It’s easy for them to think they aren’t smart if they are ‘only’ getting 7 and 8s and others are all 9s.

Virtually everyone made the grades for sixth form.

The actions of the school seem rather desperate.
Having one DC get through GCSEs at a selective grammar, I would have been appalled at presentations aimed at ramping up stress.

Although, it’s a very good lesson in not tutoring children to get into selective schools - you can see many of the tutored children nosedive without the benefit of extra help once admitted into the school.

I don’t remember getting predicted grades.

I went to a Grammar School, this wasn't done like this there and shouldn't be done like this now. I do wonder where some of these teachers get their ideas, we seem to be going backwards rather than forwards. Is it any wonder that we have such poor adolescent mental health at the moment?