PLEASE help...advice needed!!

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Hello everyone

I truly hope someone can help us

My eldest DD is 13. We have recently moved to Scotland from Lincolnshire (not a decision I'm happy with but DH needed to be near his terminally ill father which I support fully). It was a very fast decision (discussion - move = 2 months!)

My DD had done the 11+ selection tests quite sometime ago, passed very well & has subsequently been attending a High Performance Grammar School since she moved from primary.

She is a very enthusiastic learner with high aspirations. She adores school and has always loved learning.

Here is my issue...

I had limited time to research the scottish education system, priority was enrolling my 2 older DDs in school in time to start the new January term. We opted for a local High School based on recommendation from DHs cousin which I regret with all my heart now. I took time off work to visit Scotland twice with DD and expressly emphasised that she is highly academic and asked whether they could accommodate her needs. They assured me they could. So we moved and she started.

She HATES it. She is a year ahead of her peers academically and has done everything they have done. She is frustrated, bored and very down. Her peers spend all day on FACEBOOK in lessons & after I demanded a meeting with the head of year last week I was told the following....

she has been put into the year below the one she should be in because she has missed the first part of the assessments & coursework which make up part of their final examination grade at the end of their secondary education. So she is effectively in the year below her peers but there is no possible way of moving her up as she was not here for the assessments last June...but don't worry she'll be moving up with the lower year THIS June...!

I demanded to know why we were not told this back in November when we visited the school. They admitted that had we been told, she could have moved here earlier to stay with MIL and start school to catch up & therefore be placed in the correct year.

I am soooooo furious! They made the decision without consulting us, and tried to placate me with the most ridiculous "there there" I have ever heard! But DD will still be at least a year behind her age group & more her academic ability thanks to the ludicrous educational system here!!

Also in response to the Facebook comment I was told that basically teachers in our area have given up. The pupils don't want to learn so the teachers dont bother.

I made it clear that I will not allow them to fail my daughter because of their contrived views. I also got just a little upset after the meeting .

I am just disgusted that here is a child who is so keen to learn and achieve and she's begging me to sort this out for her. I just dont know what to do.

I have 3 DDs, one has ADHD & Autism so has a lot of intervention, plus I have a toddler of 2 & I'm expecting DC4 in 7 weeks. If I felt I could manage it I swear I would get her out & home school her.

PLEASE does anyone have ANY advice?

Also, sorry for the long post

Home School her or Boarding School....

If she's really motivated Home Schooling will work. You can join an online classroom and they do all the teaching for you....

I'd definitely home school, has she done any parts of her GCSEs in England yet?

Feel so sorry for your daughter. Try again at the school. I'm sure they could move her up a year if they really wanted to. She should be well able to cope if the others are on Facebook all the time. She should be well ahead IMO. Anyway, you have a lot to cope with right now in one way and another so the school are taking advantage of you perhaps? Try taking husband along to school. That might give the staff a wake up call? I don't have any experience of school system in Scotland so you probably need advice from a Scottish person on MN

I don't know anything about the Scottish system either, but I think this is outrageous.

I think you should contact her old school and hopefully you can get Head Teacher on side. Get HT to write outlining DDs academic ability, predictions etc. and then, surely, based on your DDs proven assessments, and former HTs recommendation, the current school can move her up. I truly for you.

This sounds shocking.

I dont know anything about the Scottish system but from Scottish friends they have always given the impression that they are ahead in the curriculum and not behind.

Might be worth investing some time in looking at other schools. As you and your daughter or not happy she isnt going to learn anything in the environment she is in.

The school sounds horrendous and I wouldnt waste her time in making her stay. FOr a school that allows students to stay on facebook all day they should be reported.

You say she is 13, does that mean she is in Scottish 2nd year? When is her birthday? The scottish system admits at a slightly different age to England, birthdays 1st March-28th Feb.
I can understand the difficulty in admitting part way through 3rd or 4th year because most standard grade coursework starts at the beginning of 3rd year and if you miss an assessment it makes it near impossible to catch up.

Is there another local school within travelling distance that might be better? That will depend on what part of scotland you are in because in some parts there is only 1 school for miles, but in many areas there are more than 1 & in main cities there are many.

You may not want to post the specifics in a public forum but if you send me a message I may be able to give more specific advice about schools etc (lived in scotland most of my life & daughter of schoolteacher & mum of teenager).
This definitely does not sound satisfactory, at dd's school facebook is blocked on school pcs and mobile phones are not allowed on during school day.

Thank you so much for replying. Some excellent advice.

I have actually looked a little into home schooling today and if I could research a little further I wouldn't rule it out! Especially with the online classroom advice! Would you have any info/links at all please?

I had read that HS children have issues with examinations in Scotland as they havent been assessed on the curriculum scale iyswim, mind you I would happily ferry her to exams in England so she could sit GCSEs the good old way I did!! We are only 30 mins from Carlisle so she could pop across to sit her exams I'm sure??

Part of her work at her previous school counted towards her GCSEs, the ICT exam they sat is considered a GCSE qualification. I contacted her old school yesterday afternoon and they were appalled by the situation! I have requested some support from them so will await their return call.

I think the worst thing is feeling that we were not fully informed of the procedures etc when we visited prior to enrolling her. Having had a very frustrating conversation with the new headmaster today it seems that she should have been assessed and her previous work presented so they could have made a decision back in oct/nov 2010.

He also had the audacity to tell me that he has spoken to all of her subject teachers it seems that (quote) "whilst she is a very able child she the staff do not feel that she is of a level to be moved up to the correct year". This is after teaching her for 6 weeks with no knowledge of her abilities in her last school!!! and sending home a report with excellent on each subject performance (how did they come to that conclusion??)

I did remind him that these are the same teachers who allow the children to use facebook during lessons, which he angrily refuted, which I then offered to show him proof of! He claimed that school pcs are unable to access facebook, although children ARE allowed phones in class, the majority of which are blackberries/iPhones with 3G!! I also assured him that my DD is bored senseless and has admitted to me that she switches off completely in lessons as she feels it's pointless. He also informed me that he is arranging a CAT test for cognitive ability to see if indeed she is as academic as we say!!!! Once again I signposted him to her old school and offered a copy of her 11+ results.

Isn't it disgraceful that there is nothing in place for students who start mid term? I have downloaded an interesting Scottish document which claims that the emphasis is on what's best for each individual pupil!!

I am very cross and have made the decision with DHs support to phone other schools and research home schooling.

Also when I have a few spare mins I will PM about the Scottish schools, thank you!!

If you are interested in an online school, here are some links -

Interhigh My DS did his IGCSES with them

BriteSchool

www.firstcollege.co.uk/

It is easier to do IGCSEs than either GCSEs or Standard Grades, as they can be done solely on exams at the end of the year, and don't need marked coursework.

Sorry to hear your school have been so crap - in general I'd say the Scottish system is good, but that doesn't stop individual schools and head-teachers from being useless!

amum I cant thank you enough for the links and the positive feedback about exams. It is such a huge decision and DD and I have had a lovely talk this afternoon about the possibility of homeschooling. She would still like to visit a couple of schools to see if they are any better.

She did also say that it would be nice not to have to feel the need to keep up with her friends and be picked on for wanting to concentrate and work hard. Many (although I'm sure not all) children seem more bothered about appearance and possessions than education at the school. Such a shame.

One thing that the head of year admitted to DH and I in the presence of our DD is that she never sent her own children to this school because she knew they would not have done as well as they did! One is a marine biologist and one a gp. And for the head of year to admit that, I feel, speaks volumes!!!

I just love the wealth of fantastic info offered here on MN, it's priceless-thank you!!

www.ltscotland.org.uk/parentzone/index.asp

Please contact your local SMP as soon as possible,take these issues outside of the school It appears they will not act unless under duress and sometimes they need a wake up call.Keep fighting!

Where did the head of year send her own children? Sounds as if she is local and her kids have done well. Just a thought. Maybe you could go down that route? Is it a fee-paying school and if so are there bursaries?
Home schooling is fine but your daughter may want to be in the company of other youngsters IYSWIM

Could you send her to school in Carlisle? The travelling might be worth it to have her back in the English system?

Hello everyone...my huuuge apologies for the delay in re posting! I felt it would be more productive to come back with some news.

I have been around the houses, back & forth and made little progress . I have found a lovely school which would be a 30 mile round trip away, but we are still faced with the same issue!!!
They have said that they will only take her into S1 as she'll be starting S2 in May anyway. My point, which I am sick of repeating (!) is the LEARNING she will receive in that year group. We have scoured the Subjects taught along with the actual course content & modules covered in each subject throughout the year. She has DONE all of it already at school in England a year ago!!

They then suggested that we enter her for CAT tests ( the same principle as 11+ tests in England)...she has DONE & passed them in England, was in the top 5% hence the High Performance Grammar School she attended. I have offered to send them copies of her 11+ results, along with reports from her English school and yet we are no further.

I have discussed the home school option, and have faced a lot of criticism already. There are concerns from MIL & FIL, our health visitor, and friends that she will not be "socialised" if she is not at school?!!! She has 2 sisters & a brother on the way, plenty of friends is part of a young carers group as DD is disabled.

I am very tired of fighting for the best for her and feeling that our only option is to give in as all the schools in southern Scotland operate the same.

We have looked at Carlisle but the travel would be a huge issue, in terms of distance & accessibility. I just don't know how we would get her there. There are 2 Private Schools in our area which afaik, operate an English curriculum. HOWEVER they are £4000 a term and with only DH working, 2 Mortgages & 4 DCs we could never afford that . I know very little about funding and the qualifying criteria. I feel we are going to fail her.

I'm currently 8 months pregnant and am rapidly running out of time & patience with this situation.

How can it be soooo hard to resolve this problem??

when is her birthday? If she is 13 she could / should be in S3 not S1

If she is 13 she should be in s2 at the moment and s3 from august. Ss is usually a good starting point as that is when most schools start their standard grade / int courses.

Thank you everyone.

She is 13 in 2 weeks so apparently should be in S1 even though her classmates are JUST turning 12??! If she had been 13 in Feb she'd be in S2, but I fail to see how that is relevant to them as they are using the argument that she has missed nearly a year of S2 courses...even though she has covered ALL but a few of the topics in her previous school.

Also yesterday I got a text from the school saying she had been marked as absent after I dropped her off in time! I called and they explained that there was an error, she was in school but the head of year had whipped her away to sit some CAT tests!!! After we had said do NOT make her sit any exams without our knowledge and especially not the CAT tests!! She has ALREADY sat the same tests in England, passed them with high scores and we don't see why she SHOULD have to sit them again!! I asked why the results from the same tests she sat in England cant be used to assess her...and they said its to do with one company they have to use (translate....MONEY!!!).

Also I asked why they had never requested DDs file from her old school with her progress and current attainment levels so they could make an informed decision about which year she should be in...and apparently they have. A week ago!!! She has been there 3 months and they only requested it a week ago right after I had an argument with the head!!

I was so I actually cried when I got off the phone!

I just feel that the England/Scotland thing is an issue in that they are refusing to acknowledge ANYTHING she did and achieved in England which is disgraceful.

DD is at a point where she wants me to look seriously into home schooling now, so we can continue the English Curriculum at her pace. I voiced my concerns over the social aspect but she is very mature and simply said "mum, I've known these people 3 months...my real friends are in England."

So...at this point we are teetering. I have just found out that in Scotland you actually need PERMISSION to remove your child from school

Thats all I need.....another hurdle!

You do sound quite hostile toward the whole system in Scotland, which may be influencing your daughter. Being unhappy (justifiably, I think) with one school still leaves a big jump to giving up on them all and home schooling!
Seems you have already found an alternate school you could try. Yearwise, you need to get someone to have a proper look at how much overlap there is between what she's already studied and what would have been studied in the year she has "missed". If there is a sufficient overlap, you have good reason to request she is moved up - perhaps with a tutor to fill in the gaps (lot cheaper than private education!) But if you find out there is not, then no matter how clever she is it's not possible for her to do well without covering the actual content. If you're going to make a go of it in Scotland, I do think you could try to find some positives about the schools here. Driving her over the border to go to school certainly won't help her socially! Good luck.

I totally feel for you! As a parent of a child being diagnosed with adhd and aspergers I feel like all I do is jump hurdles for school. My son is bright but hums and dirupts in class when he is not engaged.
Since septemer I have been under the microscope...social services were involved to "find out what is going on at home", they found nothing and have closed the case. I have founght for every referral and full diagnosis is expected but should take months!
In the meantime my bright child is not having his needs met and school have an amazing ability of making out that the issues are somehow my fault. I have found talking to staff highly disempowering and they talk down to me as a matter of routine. They do not implement the things agreed in meetings, and ring me about things at work that could wait or be emailed, while not ringing about more urgent matters.
Im fast coming to the conclusion that it is "factory schooling" ( a phrase used by my sons SENCO!) and any child that does not fit their pigeonholes is seen as a problem...even if that is that the child is bright!
Home schooling is an option but I have been warned here (south of the border) that it is vewed negatively. It could cause you more issues. For me..I need to work, Im a lone parent and wouldnt financially survive without working.
I am ringing other schools in the area to see if another school are any more positive in their approach to my sons needs with a view to moving him (not ideal due to his autistic traits!) and writing to the head and govenors about my concerns. I dont know if you have tried these options.
Instead of ante natal classes I wih I had taken circus skills for the juggling and hurdelling that is needed for parenting!
Best wishes and good luck x

Gordon's school in Surrey www.gordons.surrey.sch.uk/
is a state boarding school, so you only pay boarding fees not school fees as well. Is meant to be good academically and is very popular.

have you posted on the home ed board? Am sure there will be people in the area who home educate that you could meet up with to find out what's available locally.