In praise of comprehensive schools

[FreshHorizons]

It was cheering to see the Sutton Trust announce that 60% of Team GB medalists came from comprehensive schools.

I have finally come off a thread where certain people can't find a good word to say about comprehensive schools. They equate them with mixed ability teaching, poor behaviour and an inability to stretch bright children.

I would like a thread to celebrate the best of comprehensive education.

In my case it allowed my 3 , very different, children to be able to go to the same school without being judged by outsiders. It meant the stability of knowing one school over a long period of time and them knowing our family. It meant that days off and parent evenings didn't clash and that money was saved by handing down uniform. They were able to move up with the bulk from their primary school. They were able to mix with children of different abilities and backgrounds, as you do in adult life. It meant being able to enjoy education for the joy of learning new things, without the stress of an exam that would determine their path in life, aged only 10 or 11yrs.

Those things didn't really matter, although they were helpful.

What really mattered was that they could all blossom at their own rate.
They all got a good education and are now happily established in careers- the careers that they chose.

It wasn't all about the academic side- there were opportunities in sport, music, outdoor activities etc.

It would be nice to have some success stories. Please don't post about crap schools- start another thread for that if you have grievances you want to air.

It is the summer, the sun is out and some happy, optimistic stories would be nice.

I'm sorry- I have no idea what point you are trying to make.

The point is to highlight that grammar schools are still accessible for pupils who are prepared to work hard even if they fail the 11+ !

It also doubts the belief of many posters that failing the 11+ means the dye has been cast on someones academic future.

There is always an option available of grammar school for sixth form for anyone prepared to work hard or late developers !

Bertrand Whats going on at Simon Langton Girls !

Its not a plot instrumented by you to 'rubbish' grammar schools...

Big deal taking you in 6th form- when you knew you wanted to do A'levels at 11yrs!
I would love to know why those who can't cope well once in don't get the option of moving to a sec mod. I have never known that happen, ever.

In a comprehensive it is no problem to any pupil, they can move up or down.

Has anybody ever said that you can't transfer to a grammar school in the 6th form? Everybody knows that people can and do. I still don't get the point.

The point is to highlight that grammar schools are still accessible for pupils who are prepared to work hard even if they fail the 11+

Or rather that the 11+ isn't a great predictor of ability so the grammar has another bout of selection, gets rid of the ones who didn't make it at GCSE, and hoovers up the ones who should have got into the grammar if the 11+ actually worked as a filter.

And the kids who did well in the secondary modern are glad to go to the grammar to get away from their rubbish school, despite that school getting them excellent grades!

But in practical terms, while many kids from secondary moderns do get good enough grades to transfer to a grammar school 6th form, the style of teaching is so very different that they often find it very difficult when they get there, and are actually better off staying in their old school 6th form.

Fresh Well actually 45 grammar school children from Canterbury transferred from the grammar to the 'Comprehensive' (their words not mine) Canterbury Academy...

Do you know whether they transferred for year 12 or year 13?

And if they transferred for year 12 had already been rejected by the Langton? Lots are......

So the basic idea in Canterbury is that 11+ isn't very accurate and they are cooperating to get one comprehensive within 2 schools? - seems a good idea.

That would be great, Fresh, if that was what was happening. It isn't.

In the case of Langton Girls i wonder if the current going on's are a primary reason for the transfer of 30 girls to Canterbury Academy (not being local in Kent i am can only speculate).

Canterbury Academy must be offering something 'good' or different at sixth form because 39% @ GCSE (2015) is not a drawing factor for ex grammar school kids !

However, it proves that schools can be popular and successful offering 'exciting' courses.

This is another reason why posters should not pigeon hole schools with definitions indicating they have not moved on from the 1960s

Clarify 30 girls left Langton Girls sixth form (don't know how many went to the Academy ?

With your detailed knowledge you must know whether the moves took place of year 12 or year 13.

There has always been a lot of movement between the two Langton 6th forms- the schools prioritize very different subjects.

There has also always been significant movement away from the Langtons for 6th form because a lot of the kids are fed up of single sex and of a very "school-y" environment.

In any case, I see very little relevance in a discussion about 6th forms whe we are talking about the 11+.

In Hampshire EVERY child moves for 6th form as almost none of the schools have 6th form.
But at 16 the kids are moving under their own steam choosing which subjects they plan to carry on.

the 11+ is entirely driven by the parents not the children.

I notice sandy is not filling in the details I've asked her for......

The 300 Kids from DCs Comp went to the following Destinations

• around 20 straight into apprenticeships
• around 20 to City College to do boat / engineering courses
• around 20 to Totton College to do garage type courses
• around 10 to Sparsholt to do Rural courses
• around 70 to Eastleigh College to do Health and Beauty type courses
• around 80 to Barton Peverill to do Arts based A Levels and BTECs
• around 80 to Peter Symonds to do science based A levels and BTECs

I'd be interested to know what the options are for the kids of Canterbury and Thanet - not just the ex Langton ones, but all of them

Talkin , Is there such a difference in emphasis between BP & PS that no-one went to PS from your DC's school to do humanities subjects.

(Sorry to derail 11+ discussion) .

Caspian
Those are rough approximations based on the years I have observed.
Barton has one lab per Science subject, Symonds has 6 (Physics has its own building). Symonds has over 800 per year taking Maths.
Symonds' art building is old and pokey. Barton's is fantastic and new and lovely. Their drama space is astounding. Their humanities teaching is stronger.
You can do both at both, but there is a clear split in emphasis.

Its why I support kids having a choice at 16
and am against parents inflicting a choice at 11

There are no statistics to suggest the movement between schools was anything other than for YR 12 (Lower sixth) Why would there be large scale movement for YR 13 (Upper sixth)

Anyway my knowledge is gathered from the statistics posted at 10.47 this morning !

I would have thought Bertrand would have been far more informed than me about the local intricacies of school admissions in Kent.

Interestingly though it does appear that Clarendon and Chatham Grammar in Ramsgate and Dane Court Broadstairs actively seek to encourage 'social mobility' .

This evidenced with 124 non selective pupils admitted to their sixth forms .

Interestingly though it does appear that Clarendon and Chatham Grammar in Ramsgate and Dane Court Broadstairs actively seek to encourage 'social mobility' .
This evidenced with 124 non selective pupils admitted to their sixth forms .

I see no link between your two statements.
The Grammars lost a load of kids at 16 and replaced them with kids who were poorly served by the 11+
That says nothing about social mobility and everything about budgetary pressures in schools and the weakness of the 11+

Sorry Bertrand just noticed what the confusion is/was

I meant to say the 30 Langton Girls did not take up a place in their sixth form at Langton.

I did not mean to confer they left Langton's Sixth Form once they had started.

Ah. A significant chunk of that 30 will have gone to the Langton Boys. And a significant chunk more to CCA.
What about the 45 boys you said went from Langron Boys to Canterbury Academy?

Bertrand / Sandy
As fascinating as the finer points of Canterbury Grammars are ......

WHERE DO THE REST OF THE KIDS GO FOR YEARS 12 and 13 ?

What are the options for the non A level stream around the Wansum Channel ?
I've given an approximation of the split around here

Where do the East Kent kids go - pretending they had the relaxation of having attended a comp?

Its the bit that goaded me into getting angry with Reallytired on another thread
the utter non recognition of the hundreds of thousands of kids each year who leave year 11 NOT planning to do A Levels.
They exist.
Deal with them

www.kentadvice.co.uk/item/919-transfer-to-grammar-schools-in-the-sixth-form.html

The 45 refers to the total no of grammar school pupils admitted to Canterbury Academy it does not specifically state the numbers from each of the three Canterbury Grammar schools.

Any way the info is from the link posted .