To ask how old you think the child is who wrote this?

[Fluffylikeacoconut]

I suspect I might get some snarky comments but I’m genuinely curious - people with more experience than me (which is zero) - what age would this be ‘typical’ of. Handwriting is joined and very good.

I am typing it exactly as it is written - spelling and punctuation.

The fire lit a spark - not only in my mind but in a foot deep pile of sharp kindling. It began its first meal, desperate for the first taste of fresh air. It ate and ate until it was sated.
You could feel the tension, taut in the air as the fire grew and grew. Below, the river looked up mesmirised as it slowly crossed beneath a bridge.
The fire danced on, waltzing with the twiggy fingers of the trees, the soft silky coccoons of leaves and the old, moldy, spiky kindling. Ash floated around me like little fairys and once again the fire opened its menacing jaws. As soon as the fire strocked a bright leaf dripping with sap, its thin flamey hands turned to a cold silver and then to stone black. The fire turned and tried to flee before it suddenly disintigreated.
Now the old forest is gone but the ecosystem begins again, I watch the very first bud blossoms bloom. I savour the moment and watch as the old forest rises again, new and beautiful.

Coming back to read some of these responses and am literally shaking my head in disbelief. It's like a 'critique-off' where the goal seems to be to appear as un-wowed as possible.
Let me assure you that this is not common fare in most primary schools up and down the country, despite all the indications to the contrary on this thread.

It’s very in line with what they’re taught in year 4.shows she’s listening well to teachers instructions and taking it all in and keen to try which is great. I’m shocked people can’t imagine an 8 year old doing this… looking through my daughters workbooks from year 4 which have sat on the kitchen table for me to flick through since July i will upload some of the pages from this time in the year along with a piece of work from my daughter who was at ‘expected depth’ in our local but good state primary. Your daughter is clearly very bright and keen but please don’t compare her to her ‘brighter’ brother you will give her a complex.

It really, really isn’t. It’s actually what you’d expect with a year 4 who is good at English.

Lots of people are saying it looks like ChatGPT so I asked it to write me a descriptive piece about a forest fire and it came back with:

The forest groaned as the fire swept through, a ravenous beast with an insatiable hunger. Flames licked the trunks of ancient trees like greedy tongues, curling and coiling as they devoured bark and branch. The fire roared, its breath hot and fierce, crackling with glee as it claimed more territory. Leaves curled in its embrace, turning to ash in its hands, while dry pine needles fed its fiery maw. It moved with purpose, leaping from tree to tree, a predator in search of more prey, leaving a trail of smoldering ruin in its wake. The forest trembled, but the fire would not be stopped—its appetite was endless.

10-13

This!!

Very impressive writing OP. I do think your daughter is very talented. I would have thought it was writing by a child in year 6 or year 7 at the least.

It's very good for an 8 year old but it is a technique they learn, at our school all expected and beyond kids will do this kind of writing to varying degrees. At 8, the kid is engaged, bright and enjoys school and is probably a passionate reader. If anything, this thread shows that standards at state primaries must be vastly different.

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. Most MN users are middle class and lots of them send their kids to private or leafy catchment schools. There is a huge variation in standards and this is very clear in year 7. Not only have I found a huge disparity in the levels of writing in the different types of schools I’ve taught in but even within a school you can usually take a good guess at which one the feeder school was for that child.

Ex teacher here.

8/9

I was going to say unless you're a teacher how could anyone possible know? I never get these types of posts!

My youngest probably could write something similar but my older boys who are very dyslexic absolutely not.

I think it's very good. I also think if she's a reader (which I suspect she is, as she has a great vocabulary) and has been inspired by something she's read which is possibly bringing out the "ChatGPT" accusations!

@Frozenberries, AI is energy-intensive and contributes to global carbon emissions, please don't use applications such as ChatGPT it for things like this. Seems like a silly point to make perhaps, but it is important that we are aware of how our use of technology impacts the climate.

As does posting on MN @TheCentreCannotHold

@LaliBoo , that is true, absolutely! We all need to be mindful of our choice of energy providers and ensure our energy supply is, where possible, as green as we can feasibly manage. Social media use is definitely part of a bigger picture in which the rise in the use of AI for entertainment and personal assistance needs to be evaluated for impact as it is disproportionately energy intensive.

eh? If I go on the ChatGPT website I’m contributing to Carbon emissions? I had no idea about that. I just wanted to show the difference between the chatGPT and the child’s work so people could see.

You've got a wonderfully talented 8yr old there. Rule 1 of Mumsnet is that they generally detest any one who posts with anything high achieving – they dislike high earners, great husbands, gifted children and anything celebratory. They will generally only respond positively to anything celebratory if it's getting over a critical illness or chucking a bad man out your life or losing a lot of weight.

Enjoy your child's successes and hang that on the fridge.

Lol

This is hilarious to me.

This is standard if no special needs? OP already stated that her DD has been labeled gifted by her teachers so clearly not standard at her school.

Also you can be gifted and have special needs. They aren't exclusive.

11yrs old

That's a beautiful piece of writing.

I'd say the child is 8-11, probably gifted, an avid reader or owns a Descriptosaurus and/or is prepping for 11+.

My bright 11 year old doesn't write like that! Am shocked that so many people are saying perfect to normal for an 8 year old. Really?

I don't see any (many?) putting down jealous type comments.

In some schools this sort of writing is standard for year 4-6. The child might have heard those lovely words in a story that's part of the topic they are working on. As said this style of writing is a technique, can @Fluffylikeacoconut clarify if her dc's school teaches writing like this? The child has squeezed many (too many) words into the little blurb but that's fun at this age, playing with words, sentence structure, when taught well, it makes children feel very confident.

I agree with a pp who suggested schools should in addition teach how to write expressively, exploring and drawing on authentic feelings. That would add a very good learning dimension.

Adding to my last post, that as suggested before, OP's child must be obviously soaking it all up, a keen learner who runs with what she is taught. Wonderful!

It is isn’t it? My daughter isn’t gifted lol😆she just doesn’t study or have any tutorial but got greater depth in subjects and Reading level above her age range but I’d hardly say they used the word gifted 😁

I don't think you understand what "imagination" means.
I know you won't agree that you don't know what it means, so let's leave it.

Starbright885 · Today 07:45

"Around 8-10 ? Pretty standard for that age if there are no special needs"

Come off it.