Any year 8 parents of prep school children?

[lemononline]

Dd sat scholarship in Feb. We are on a bursary and have gone back to the school to ask for more help. We are both SE and have no income. DD has 'projects' to complete until the end of term. I'm really struggling to see what we are being asked to pay for. No leavers trips (including a residential away) dinners or anything. The whole school has been offered 20% off.

Essentially I think we have to pay to keep the school open for after lockdown. Are you not getting any provision at all? Feedback on work DD is doing? Contact for advice? Have the school furloughed many staff?

Maths - watch Hegarty videos and make a powerpoint, English read a book, Music, learn a song and perform it, Geography - make a powerpoint...It's just not meaningful. I'd rather take the term with no teaching and no fees as that's what we are getting - though i think latin might actually be teaching... We have to go along with it though as 'if' school gets back before the end of term, dd would be gutted to miss out on any leavers things with her friends. Just stings to be asked to pay for this when money is super super tight (non existent).

That doesn’t sound like good value for money. My ds is year 6 at a prep school in southwest. He has a timetable with lessons set in google classroom, some digital activities, some manual. Work has to be turned in at set times (usually that day). He has to register with his form tutor at 8.30am and has Zoom tutor group meetings once a week. He is getting feedback from most of his teachers (not all though) on his work.

It does sound like fairly lack lustre provision - is it just perhaps because it's year 8 and the final term is usually a bit of a jolly? Mine are both younger and our prep can bea bit disorganised at times but they've done a full time table of tailored work with teachers available for feedback and help.

Yes, because my dd has already done her scholarship exams, her class has been left to it really. The other classes who are still working on CE are probably getting more teaching. I'm an ex teacher and know I could do a better job than that! Dd won't entertain me teaching her though as she's doing what her teachers have set...not a lot 🙄 I didn't expect this term to have great academic weight but I really am not happy about trying to scrape together money for... 🤷‍♀️

Why dont you ask for her to join the CE class?

Slightly different as it’s a boy in yr 8. My DS is in a very small school and in a class of 12. Zoom teaching is easier and well-organised and the school were on-top of it when the lockdown was announced.

Half the class still have to do CE and the school are keeping up the tuition as they are going to take it in June. It’s a full day from 8am to 3.30pm including 20 mins of exercise daily with toilet breaks and lunch. Also they are aware with the boys moving to their senior schools they need to show that they are up-to-speed with the subjects and can hit the ground running. CE results are used to group the boys into sets for maths, English etc.

As far as I know only one parent has asked for a discount. The school are paying the teachers their full salary during the lockdown.

Consider that we are very lucky under the circumstances. And the boys behave pretty much as they do in the real classroom.

Post scholarship time in year 8 at prep is a bit like time after GCSEs. School is basically over. Our school usually does rather exotic subjects during the last term of year 8 for the scholarship class, like ancient Greek and Russian. It's more about the leavers play etc at this stage. Teachers focus on CE teaching as those exams are usually after the scholarships exams. At least you safe the money for the residential trip/leavers dinner etc.

If your dd was in a scholarship class she will have completed the CE syllabus already the previous year. It would be incredibly boring for her to join online CE classes. Could you find an interesting private project for her to fill her time? I understand it stings to.pay fees for not much teaching but that's a bit of the reality for scholarships classes even in normal times.

At least you safe the money for the residential trip/leavers dinner etc.

Those costs re all inclusive at or school. I wouldn't mind so much if they were learning something on their own that was new, that would stretch them - instead its make a poster, make a power point etc on things they have already done.