Eton: what is the female equivalent, academically speaking?

[DiamandaGalas]

Eton:what is the female equivalent, academically speaking?

Well she is from the SE so I expect she's a lot cleverer than us (adjusts flatcap and goes to give whippet his tea)

snice-don't forget to feed the ferrets

Actually, to aid Xenia here a bit. The top performing state schools are clustered in the south too, even if you take population into account. Even if you take London and commutable towns out of the equation, this remains true.

Ferrets are DH's department MrsR -he keeps them down his trousers naturally

No one is denying that is where these schools are swedes, it was the comment that people are cleverer in the south

Sue, I love your last comment and agree wholeheartedly. Many people who leave school with no qualifications do very well for themselves with drive, discipline and an intelligence you can't get just from being educated.

Yes, interestingly my sister who has been agonising for nearly 2 years over whether her children will get into their next school at 7 (they have) told my brother and I there were 90 something applicants for 60 something places. That is really hardly anything at all in London terms if she's right in the figures she quoted.

I suspect some of the remaining few state grammars do get more applicants per place than some independent schools. The boys prep school system is different. Typically the school guides the parent so the silly parent who thinks their child is a genius when they are near the bottom of the class gets guided away from unwise choices and there are these pre qualifier tests at 10 for 13+ entry etc. so you have plenty of notice of your likely chances.

Just because the higher performing state schools are located in the SE, doesn't mean the parents of the children attending didn't once come from the north of the country. There are more jobs in the south east for graduates so the clever northerners are compelled to move down south for jobs and end up putting their clever offspring into SE schools.

Very true. My siblings and I are from the North and only my brother has returned.
In fact my DNA was analysed and 25,000 years ago my female ancestor was the Caucasus mountains. I don't know how bright she was however. Bright enough not to die out.

my grandmother was in service at Roedean. Not really relevant, just thought I'd share.

My cousin was head girl at Roedean. Not relevant either , since it was a long time ago - though she later read PPE at Oxford and she has a lifestyle anyone would envy today... (and her own daughter has just left school with brilliant results).

i love the comment that you meet a good sort of people if you go to cheltenham ladies - maybe, but my friend went and she hangs around with us all - from various comps

don't you get a better class of drug at posh schools?

Don't know whether the drugs are a better class, Kewcumber, but there certainly seem to be a lot of them judging from my cousins' experiences at Eton and Roedean...

I went from Roedean to Lancing college (academic scholar and head girl ) and met a lovely man who later became my dh- i also still have favourable contacts at all the main london agencies, trading floors etc.

Dh is still a member of the East India Club and i will admit that our aquaintances from school are often very useful

Certainly wouldn't be friends with some of the families if we had gone to a local comp [snob]. Not sure if there is a perfect balance of academia and social contact though- and obviously depends on the child!

I met a girl from Ladies Cheltenham COllege when I was studying. She was an interesting character.

It was interesting though that she felt that I was the one person she could confide in considering that our backgrounds were polar opposite (she white upper class and very rich and me black, poor and comprehensive educated). I was probably one of the few people in her life who accepted her for herself rather than what she represented or had. Pity she showed no curiosity about my background but that is what happens when you are a good listener.

She was very refined and I did admire that about her.

Def a better class of drug- usually gleaned from 'daddy's stash'

Cheltenham Ladies College girls seem to be lovely and unaffected, dd knows several and they are not at all snooty. I agree with the posts above that it is rather bluestockingy and not really socially 'smart'

DD's school team always thumps them at football and netball tournaments though, so I am definitely on the side of the state school sports wise

I live on the south coast and I read the Times top 100 State & Private Schools lists every year. I would like to know where are all these over performing schools in the south East? I read every year that cities north of London and including London have the best results. There are probably less than ten schools that are south of London that regularly achieve a higher than 50% GCSE pass mark! If they did I would move to be nearer.
In my local area the average is 48% unless you go to the local private school which does not have a playing field and is over-looked by a block of flats full of drug addicts and paedophiles.

I would love to see this country accept that the education system is failing our children. Unless you can afford to pay for expensive private schools then children regardless of ability are being betrayed.
Sorry it makes me a bit angry. I am most definetely not anti private school but wish education could be that good for everyone.

Xenia, "25,000 years ago my female ancestor was the Caucasus mountains" - explains your stony resilience!

The Times has a list of top 100 state and private schools out recently which is not for some reason on their web site and is the schools you would expect. The reason it is the best table is that it goes my A level results and also A/A* at A level in proper subjects not GCSE cooking and how many A C GCSE grades you got.

Ah, she was from there, not the mountains themselves. see www.oxfordancestors.com

Shame, really. Think of the creation myth you could create for yourself! Anyway, apologies for the tangent - just quite tickled by the typo.

As you were.

Ronshar "If they did I would move to be nearer.
In my local area the average is 48% unless you go to the local private school which does not have a playing field and is over-looked by a block of flats full of drug addicts and paedophiles.

I would love to see this country accept that the education system is failing our children."

I disagree because you are overlooking a number of factors.

1. Schools that do not academically select their pupils are likely to have lower pass rates compared to those who do.

1. It is illogical to expect that all children will end up with x amount of GCSE passes because not all are academically inclined or motivated or interested.

1. A 20% pass rate may be a huge achievement for a school when you take into consideration the starting point/ability for their pupils.

Looking at bare percentages does not give the whole picture. One of my local schools has just received an outstanding grade from Ofsted for the quality of the work that it delivers on behalf its pupils. The GCSE pass rate was 31% and they are delighted because the background of many of children means that it is a real achievement. Parents are lining up to send their children there.

My boss's daughter failed her GCSE Maths and got a D in English at her private school. Did her school fail her or did they provide her with other qualities other than academic success?

Not really very helpful, I know, but I went to NLC and loved it. As did my sister. And a lot of my (now adult!) friends, many of whom were not in my school year. So I would send my putative, as yet non-existent, although unknown baby in tummy now 4 days late so possible, daughter there quite happily

As I say, not very helpful, but I do like to sing NLC's praises when I get the chance