Do any LEAs still have the 'first/middle/upper' (ie 4-16) school structure anymore?

[miljee]

I'm just curious, really. I did (UK) village primary 4-11, grammar 11-18. Private schools in Australia, particulary new ones are getting into the P-12 structure, as in Preschool to end of education, year 12, all on one site. They tend to make a big song and dance about HOW IMPORTANT the middle years are ie yr 7-9 ('Middle school') so as to get state to private parents to commit a year earlier! (state schools do years 1-7, 8-12)Does anyone see any advantages/disadvantages in the different ways of going about it?

i am SO glad the middle school system was phased out here.
Rubbish IMO

Two areas in the STaffordshire Moorlands have the Middle school system, Leek & Biddulph but they are trying to get rid of it.

It goes 4-7, 8-13, 14-16.

Our area has just changed, 2 years ago, from the middle school system. They thought that children having 4 changes of school - first school, middle school, secondary 12-16 and 6th form college was contributing to poor results. And they said it didn't fit well with the national curriculum stages.

It always seemed to me to be quite a sensible division of the ages - it keeps the tinies away from thundering great 11-year-olds, and it keeps tiny 11-year-olds away from thundering great 16-year-olds, and I agree with sunshinefairy about 9-13s needing their own identity as they don't fit easily with little ones or big ones.

There are always problems with sites and buildings when you start messing around with the established system though, and there's never enough money to do it properly. (Or enough sensible central planning probably.)

There are still a few first/middle/upper schools here in Worcestershire. The majority of the county consists of Primary & Secondary. There are also a few Infant and Junior schools

they closed four (i think!) middle schools here in the last 5 years, now they all have to go to one super school. the land is being used to build new housing estates.

it's such a waste and so sad i cried when they knocked down my old school. we had such fun there and there wasn't any pressure. it had great art/carpentry/cookery/science rooms. what a waste.

Most schools in my town are primary, but there's one infant that links into a middle. I looked round the infant school and it was lovely. Very nice atmosphere.

i think leicestershire still has middle schools, i'm pretty sure my younger niece who just turned 13 is at a middle school, her 15-yr-old sister is somewhere else.

i think leics is quite militant about its own system - i've not heard about it being changed.

Norfolk has both currently - but are phasing out the middle schools I think. The middles schools that are left tend to be in the towns I think.

Thanks, everyone- and, sunshinefairy, are you currently in Qld? We're refugees from the Sunshine Coast. I can see the benefits of a 3 tier system myself. I wouldn't worry about the "changing of school" aspect so much even though my 2 DSs are a bit 'delicate' as surely all the kids move together? The change from a small village primary to the rough and tumble of a full on grammar (at 10, for me!) was far too big a shock. I think an advantage is the ability to subtly 'up the ante' in terms of expectations on a new site with a new ethos- we get that to an extent with an infants/juniors set up here, BUT we don't get away from the 11 year old and 16 year old sharing the same playground 'problem', come secondary school. I can also see what a problem with KSs and SATS it would be!

Kirklees still has a middle-school system, but I think I've heard that it's being phased out.

My kids will do infants (up to age 7) then junior school (7-11) and secondary, but that's more 'normal', as they will still go up to secondary school at the usual age.

Are you in Kirklees Ellbell?

We're in south somerset and they do both systems here, but dd will go to the same first, middle and upper schools as her dad went to, and his favourite school was his middle school - its got a very good reputation. I went to school in Dorset - to a grammar that used to get the best results in the county, but they closed it down - wish dd could've gone there too.

I'm in Kirkless Sarah. And DS is at a first school. I heard a rumour about them phasing out middle schools, but there is no way they could fit another class in DS's school - it is already very crowded.

LittleB where are you? DH wants to move to South Petheton in a few years (he's rom Chard), we still do carnivals in Ilminster even though we're commuting from WALES atm .

Think there was an article in the Examiner Bozza a while back about them creating " super primaries" to replace the middle schools. My DSes will also go to first school and I'm currently working in a middle school and think it'd be such a shame as it's such a nice age group.

I do not like the idea of superprimaries. I have also heard a rumour that they are thinking of moving to just a September intake for reception - have you heard anything on that front, Sarah? I am particularly interested because 2yo DD is a May baby and so would be affected.

Hi Sarahhal and Bozza

I'm not actually in Kirklees, though a very good friend is. I'm actually in Wakefield MDC area, and it just happens that round here there are two infant schools that feed into a single junior school.

Wakefield is one of the few LEAs (I understand) that still has three intakes a year. So my dd1, who is a May baby, didn't go full-time till the April before she was 5 and only had one term full-time in Reception before she went into Year 1. Our school is now looking to move to a single-intake system (or perhaps a twice-yearly intake if that won't work), though the school would have to find a way to fund it, as Wakefield won't pay for the kids to have a place till the term in which they are 5.

I really hope not Bozza as DS2 is August 25th and I'd hate him to have to go to school a week after his 4th birthday. Will put some feelers out today and ask if anyone's heard about it.

we have some middle schools. i can't really see the point

ellbell I have a friend who lives in Wakefield (well actually Middlestown) and she has that. You also get 2 weeks at Springbank, don't you? I think that is a good idea.

Sarah I get the Chronicle on a Friday and it was in there a few weeks ago about the possibility. I have a friend who's DH is a headteacher at a primary in Kirklees so I will ask her about it. And also my other friend who is a governor at DS's school.

The London Borough of Harrow still has first and middle moving on to high school at 12+. Up until this year the high schools ended at 16 and the kids went to college. This year several of them have reopened 6th forms.
It is a huge problem I think - many children go private or into neighbouring boroughs at 11+.

I am in Ossett, Bozza, so very close to Middlestown.

Two weeks at Spring Bank are great... for everyone except me. I'm a lecturer and that ALWAYS coincides with our exam period. My parents are taking my dds to Eurodisney this year, while I stay home with my marking !

Mitbap's reminded me of another reason why our area changed away from the first-middle-high school system lately. They "lost" a lot of children to private schools or schools in nearby areas at 11 as many parents wanted their children to go to secondary school at 11. So that contributed to making the secondary schools underperform. Apparently.

I am in a village in Norfolk. Here we have first, middle and high schools.

But things are changing come September, the middle school is becoming a junior school and will take children from year 3, instead of year 4. The children will move on to high school at the end of Year 6 instead of Year 7.

Of course the school uniform is being rebranded with Village Name, Middle School to Village Name, Junior School and ditching collar and ties in favour of polo shirts. Dd is gutted as she likes wearing a tie!