If you could re-imagine the secondary school system, what would it look like?

[EveSix]

If you could rip up the way secondary schools are structured, and start again, with a view to create truly inclusive learning communities in which all could thrive and fulfil their unique potential, what would it look like?

How large would schools be?
How might catchments work?
Where would resources be allocated and funding spent?
What about the curriculum?

You can plot changes commensurate with the level of taxation you feel comfortable with / the percentage allocated to schools; if you feel education is worth a greater bite of the cherry of taxation, you can suggest more comprehensive reform.

I'm not feeling brilliantly imaginative at the moment, but I'll kick off: as a parent of a DC with SEN who finds school an utter sensory overwhelm, I would like to see secondary schools shrink to the size of medium sized primary schools. I think young people often do well in smaller settings where they are known to all staff.

A 'stages not ages' approach to learning in some areas of the curriculum, such as Maths and English, especially in areas with a high level of language need, ensuring the needs of EAL learners are met.

I think each school should have a sufficiently staffed resource base where learners who require learning support are able to work in an environment which supports their learning needs.

I'd love to see a new take on qualifications to complement traditional GCSEs, with a much easier availability of academically suitable alternatives, preventing pupils from essentially being set up to fail.

Increased options for PE: so many young people properly hate PE, and never really recover any sense of joy or pleasure in exercise after secondary school. It's a massive missed opportunity for public health. I'd like to see competitive sports for those who are that way inclined, as well as gentler options for those who loathe coerced exercise or team sports: yoga, pilates, walking orienteering, gym, aerobics, zumba, archery or darts, pool, fitness theory, Nordic walking or just a regular walk in the neighbourhood.

Anyone else?

Twisty,
"What people are suggesting is actually attainable, if they are prepared to pay higher taxes."
I couldn't agree more. Somehow, someone has done a huge number on the electorate, with so many people thinking that taxation is a bad thing. I grew up in a country where taxation was, by and large, seen as a golden ticket to better services and progress; a huge collective effort of betterment.

And not specific to secondary schools, but worth saying: radically reform the inspectorate of schools. So much of teachers time and target-setting and strategic development in schools is entirely informed by a fear of a damning Ofsted inspection. It creates so much extra work and anxiety and invariably impacts the education of children in a negative way.

If covid taught us anything it’s that the general public need far more science education not less. The number of grown adults who can’t do percentages, don’t understand the different between a bacteria and a virus, confuse correlation with causation etc etc. See also “I’m not having a covid jab, they’ve got neutrons in” and those who don’t understand energy price cap PER UNIT not per bill. Maths and science taught well are vital to us as a society.

We need special schools and PRU equivalents so that comprehensives run more smoothly and children who need specialised support get it. (I've no experience with PRUs but I mean a place for children in the comprehensive system whose behaviour is too extreme) The people I know with special school places often have extremely long commutes.

We need more investment in educational psychologist services and CAMHS so diagnoses can happen in a timely manner. I believe that the current wait is 2 years and that's a long time for someone who is struggling to hang in there.

The exam system should be changed. Strange how many countries can cope with exams at 18 rather than 16 and 18 (not to mention SATS etc) There are strange anomalies like no GCSE Foundation English

If children don't pass the formal assessments like the phonics test then there needs to be guaranteed government support to bring the child up to speed.

Teacher training probably needs to include more stuff about special needs. I read on here that SN was covered in an afternoon which shocked me.

In a perfect world with endless money and time...
I would remove uniforms.
I'd start it later, teenagers need more sleep.
I'd encourage teaching outside as much as possible in nice weather.
I'd swap out learning about things like mitochondria to learning things like first aid.
Swap a lot of the textbook and worksheet stuff to practical things like learning maths by baking - measuring out ingredients, halving or doubling recipes etc

What’s the limit on moving up? There are thousands of adults in the UK with English and maths skills below yr 6 level. Are we having 18 year olds sat with the bright 8 year olds? Or just for maths and English? What about the 25 year olds with discalcular? Are they still sat with the 8 year olds? What about those who excel at maths but are crap at art?

I'd like smaller classes (max 20) in a smaller school. A max of 100 pupils per year group. One afternoon a week given over to sports (dance/ swimming/ yoga/ gym etc) and sports competitions with other schools. A four week summer break and a two week break at May and October half terms should be brought in. Drawing skills should be taught along with Maths and English. School buildings should be fit for purpose and have great facilities, that goes without saying!

I like the sound of the American system (minus the big class sizes).

Kindergarten until age 6.
Small/local.

Primary / junior or middle school for 6-13 year olds.

Then high school for 14-18 year olds.
Big specialist campuses where classes of different degrees of difficulty are taken regardless of age.

Loads of extra curricular.

Summer school.

Extra credit.

Grade point averages rather than 3 subject grades.

Specialist maths teaching from day one in primary (I know that's not what you are asking about), with differentiation for kids of different abilities.
University level classes offered to children who can do A levels (or equivalent) early. Flexi-schooling for kids who want to do music or dance or have particular academic interests- so encourage individual learning like the best of home education, but combined with group teaching for subjects which it suits.
Read a LOT more books without over analysing them- small groups, discussion, no teaching to the test.
Sciences taught in a much more creative and insightful way from early on, not so much dumbing down, more time to go deeper into fewer topics- perhaps more like the US system, where kids just do biology for a year, then just chemistry, then just physics, but the contact hours are much much higher during that one year.
If schools have uniforms at all, they should be worn by everyone: teachers, staff, children, admin team, like in some places in South America, and they should be very relaxed

Full hour for lunch.
Relaxation of uniforms. No ties. Maybe just a polo shirt / hoodie with jeans etc. Trainers fine as they're more suitable for walking to school.

Definitely scrap uniform- my DC uniforms (normal state school) have always been expensive, uncomfortable and rarely suitable for the local weather. I really can't see how that helps their learning.

All schooling would be far better funded. Yes this will cost more, but it will be worth it in the long run as the young people will become adults with better mental and physical health (saving money on healthcare etc) and productive members of society (whether this is as artists, carers, entrepreneurs, scientists, academics, tradespersons etc). Definitely more worthwhile than, say... a train line that goes no where or paying the PM's mates. Teachers will be paid a wage commensurate with the level of education and training required, hours worked and responsibility expected of them. This will mean that more subject specialists will go in to, and stay in, teaching.

PE, music, drama, art etc will be taught at various levels. This would include high level classes for pupils who already have a talent and want to excel- allowing them to work with other similarly talented sportspeople/artists. There would also be classes just for enjoyment where pupils would be encouraged to try a variety of sports/arts with no purpose other than having fun.

Far better careers coaching and advice in secondary schools, and from an earlier age.

The catchment system a few describe is what happens in Scotland. The grammar/comp/11+/ applying to several schools is like Greek to me. State schools here have a catchment area assigned and you go to that school. You can apply for an out of catchment school though. It creates a huge divide though. Everyone knows the best schools and those attract the highest house prices and they perform the best.

A school tracksuit is a uniform, and not one that everyone would like. I'm all for ditching uniform, but I think kids should wear their own clothes. Other countries seem to manage fine that way.

As a teacher I don't think moving up by ability rather than age subject by subject would remotely work logistically or pastorally. It would make timetabling impossible, and subject matter in some areas would be difficult to pitch at an age-appropriate level if you had a big age range in classes. And I agree that small secondaries wouldn't work.

I would ditch league tables, reduce class sizes and reduce teachers' timetables (rather than increase their pay). Introduce more vocational qualifications. Possibly ditch GCSEs altogether (lots of countries don't have important exams at 16) and go for maybe just a pass/fail in maths and English, with some in-school continuous assessments / grade averages for other subjects to determine which subjects a student could carry on with (maybe a slightly broader range than 3 subjects like A Level).

I say this hesitantly (not least because I work in a grammar school and would have happily sent my dc privately if I could have afforded to), but... private schools, grammar schools and faith schools would have to be banned if we want any kind of fair system. Everyone should go to their nearest school. Parental choice creates an illusion of fairness. It still wouldn't be totally fair, because wealthy people could still choose to move to expensive areas with the best schools.

Scrap uniforms, ofsted and pointless data and exams.

smaller schools, no more than 1000. Proper SENd centres attached to every school, so that SEND pupils have a chance of inclusion.

More non- contact time for teachers.

All the badly behaved nasty kids do just leave and let the rest of the children get educated.

Hard hat on! As a parent I want choice.

I want to be able to send DC to a school with the culture and ethos that suits them eg bright hardworking child doesn’t suit a school strict on uniforms, lots of homework and a clock ticking down to exam dates as an incentive. Some parents like that and their children thrive on it - they can fill their boots - but I don’t and it makes my DC anxious and why would I want that for their childhood? I don’t know what the answer is because what about children whose parents aren’t aware of their needs or are unable to advocate for them? But I agree with the comment above that catchments reinforce expensive geographies and so the current system doesn’t really help anyone.

Key Stage 3 (Years 7-9) should be Comprehensive Middle Schools that have a clear catchment area so everyone simply just goes to the local one.
Key Stage 4 (Year 10 upwards) should be a mix of comprehensive schools plus more schools that specialise and pupils have to apply to go to a specialist school - that could include Performing and Visual Arts schools, STEM schools, Academic (ie Grammar) schools.
Every town/area should have a comprehensive KS4 school (could be on the same campus as the Middle School), in areas with smaller populations the specialist schools could be on a shared site and pupils are in a specific stream (ie the Arts Stream, the STEM stream) rather than separate schools so facilities such as sports can be shared.
GCSEs need to be completely changed. Everything should be one 3rd coursework, one 3rd regular tests, one 3rd final exam.
No or very basic uniforms.
Major investment in SEN schools.
Major investment in job and career advice.
More community based activities done via schools to give students chance to appreciate and respect their community and take part in activities that are nothing to do with getting a grade out of it - but simply for the act of doing.

@heartofglass23

The American system has many drawbacks, starting with financial disparity. The wealthiest areas have the best public school systems and best services because they have the most expensive homes with the highest property taxes. This applies to extra curricular activities as well as academics.

Also the cumulative GPA system is extremely damaging if you suffer one bad grade.

Also, you routinely hear of kids going to university without basic maths and English skills because there’s no “standard” across the board. Each school grades on their own standard, which can vary widely across school systems. Kids who were “straight A” students in their not very challenging high schools are overwhelmed when they get to Uni.

On the plus side, most public schools don’t have any uniforms.

It would be like the direct payments scheme for adults with learning disabilities. All children paid a standard amount, some with extra needs paid a bit more. It would then be up to the parents to source the provider. School type place maybe, tutors, home education, whatever fits the needs of the child. Like with ALD if parents wanted to opt out of this, they could and the children would get a standard provision, but I would have wanted the direct payments to get what best met his needs.

Education policy decided by people who have actually worked in Education not politicians who want to recreate the education they had .

Oh and no grade boundaries for public exams. Just the score. If I'm recruiting and academic ability is important I want the kid who got 100%

@Lizzieregina One bad grade in the US system gets balanced out by all the other grades, and there are many- several each year for four years for 6 or 7 or 8 classes or more... It is not all about GPA either- universities look at the detailed transcript, so all the grades you got for 4 years, based on effort, ability, testing, class work, etc. A pattern emerges which takes everything into consideration.

You are right about the disparity because of funding, but it is not so simple. I went to a school with a very high proportion of kids on free school meals which is considered one of the best schools in the country (difficult multiple choice entrance test which attracts lots of poor and hardworking immigrant families). There are other anomalies all over. The result is a situation where there are spectacularly wonderful and spectacularly terrible schools- not something that you in the UK would want to emulate, but there is a lot of good in the system as well as a lot of bad.

What I would like to see /eventhough I wouldnt call it change of system/ is the uniforms being ditched, personal locker for every student, descent place to eat lunch and descent cooked lunch being provided.

Everyone should go to their nearest school

allpropertealstheft what happens if they don’t want to go to their nearest school? Is the child/children then denied education?
Would you allow home education?

Lessons in critical thinking from an early age.
Differentiation for learning styles / preferences as well as ability
Cross-subject projects, with increasing independence each year
Compulsory choir, orchestra or band
After school homework club, with no expectation to work at home outside of that unless the student wants to