No English setting at comprehensive school

[gramercy]

Ds is in year 8 at a comprehensive school.

He is becoming increasingly down-hearted at the fact that English lessons aren't set and are pitched rather too low.

For example, I posted a while ago that when studying Gothic horror, they 'studied' Scooby Doo. This week he said he felt depressed as a whole double lesson was devoted to going over what verbs and adjectives are in the most basic way and everyone having to supply examples.

He is desperate to study something more meaty. I know people will say "Oh, if he's bright he should learn things himself" - but he is 12-year-old boy. Never in a month of Sundays is he going to get stuck into Fowler's Modern English Usage of his own volition.

Now - the question is - should I contact the Head of English? I hate putting my head above the parapet. I really don't want to be the pushy parent, but I feel the school is letting ds (and no doubt several others) down by this too inclusive policy.

Any views?

abr1de they are building skills that are needed for the whole of the English language and literature course which covers a lot more than just literature essays. English in schools is very wide ranging taking in critical writing, speaking, creative writing and the study of books, plays and poetry.

My DCs school uses the mixed ability classes in key stage 3 to cover all these skills in an interesting way so that when they start year 10 they have a good basis. They have written essays using point of view or rhetorical devices I was just using some examples to show that mixed ability teaching doesn't have to be so limited in its scope.

As an example DD2 did read Great Expectations in the first term of year 10 and got an A* for the coursework essay she wrote on it as the work done in key stage 3 built up the skills necessary. DD1 did exactly the same with Jane Eyre. DS has written essays on Midsummer Nights Dream and about the characters in "The Road" and is actually better at English than his sisters.

what i learnt in GCSE mixed ability English - how to draw anatomically correct male and female nudes in postage stamp sizes.

Cortina I agree that the success of mixed ability teaching appears to hinge on whether the teachers 'believe in it' and are trained sufficiently.

I think success in setting has as much to do with the schools management and administration.

I too went to a school which totally mangled it's abilty setting structure. It also made a hash of it's year 7 mixed ability teaching!

I think there are no easy answers. I'm sure there are many schools where mixed ability or setted teaching work well - but there are many more which fail. And imposing one or the other approach and thinking you've solved the problem, completely misses the point.