The school has decided DD is able to join their new G&T programme

[KatyMac]

They were told that last September............apparently she can have Yoga, nutritional information (always assuming she can get school lunch & eat it in 30 minutes) and other classes

She doesn't have time for school never mind anything extra

While in her old school, my DD's infant classes had 10 mins of yoga each morning (the whole class) which they all loved. Sadly nothing like this in her new school, they don't have the resources =(

I'd have hoped that G&T activities could for the most part be taken within the school day (aside from trips and the like). Perhaps your daughter could be offered a lunch pass to jump the queue on days when she has the extra activities?

You could always see how the activities go and talk with DDs teacher if you think she's taking on too much.

Thanks kunoichi

DD is 14 & will love the idea of a pass at lunchtime, but as they are putting her in for 14 GCSEs (despite me asking not) I can't see it going far

DD is underwhelmed

She says she has enough to do with out them adding any more

Why are only G&T children allowed to do yoga or have nutritional information?

Tell me about it......

Plus why add additional classes & training for the children who are already heaving under the strain of "extra classes"

Dd G&T since year 1 and never had anything to do for G&T. Not even special work as such. School didn't even have any information on it. It was a complete waste of time. Now at high school and she doesn't get anything different and it isn't mentioned. But why is it yoga and things like that? Not academic stuff?

It's the G&T sports programme

What is this craze with G&T programmes? From what I hear they cause upset and anxiety espeicallky for those "left out".

It's bizarre - DD is doing 20 hours of outside school activity, she already struggles with the (14) GCSEs they have asked her to do & now they want to give her more classes

We will go & listen to the presentation but I think we are fairly sceptical tbh

I don't see anyhting wrog with a G&T programme if it is run properly. I don't think other children should necessarily feel left out either. DS's school has always taken children to do different activities at times (across all abilities) so it's not unusualy for a child to be doing something different from the rest of the class. DS has learning difficulties so is certainly not part of any G&T programme but as a parent I'd be hard pushed to point out the children who are and I doubt DS would feel "left out" by a few children doing a different activity from him.

That sounds a really good way of doing it

TBH irrespective of DD my main issues are that lower achieving children get extra help, and higher achieving children get extra help - but the poor buggers in the middle get nothing

DD is apparently dreading the meeting

I am embarrassing & she doesn't want any more classes

Poor poppet

KatyMac, I always saw it as the lower achivers got extra help and all the rest got nothing. It was like that when dd was at primary. She was left to do her own thing because school couldn't give her anything to do. She ended up doing work of the teacher such as teaching children to read or help them with maths etc. It was always me who was told to look on the internet for work for dd.

Why 14 GCSEs? Who in her later life is going to take any notice of whether she has 10 or 14?

I went to a super selective where we were only allowed to take 9 because the school thought it was much more advantageous to us to have 9 A*s than more GCSEs but a less pristine grade record.

Surely the school can't make her do 14? I'd be cutting that down for my child.

I was a swimmer during my school years. There was no such thing as G&T then but the sort of things they did to support me included not minding if I sometimes turned up a bit late because of getting caught in traffic after swimming before school, letting me go and use the school gym instead of doing random netball or volleyball lessons, not minding when I had Fridays off before big meets like nationals etc. They also just took an interest and encouraged me which really helped because it is sometimes not easy being a junior athlete- you get tired and can't do all the things your friends do so a supportive attitude is important.

because it's good for their statistics ?

What would she do in school during a timetabled GCSE class

I agree with you btw

Maybe her homework in the library so she didn't have it to do after school when she needs to be training?

That would be more like support!

She already does that during sports lessons; I went out on a limb in September for that

& I think a pass for an early dinner would really help (esp in winter)

14 GCSEs is ludicrous. Much better to do 10 and get all As and very high marks rather than scrape through As. Universities want quality rather than quantity

DD will barely manage B's tbh - I anticipate a nice row of Cs with an odd B here & there

Oh apart from the Distinction/Distinction* she might be getting in Dance BTec results this year

All the more reason to cut it down then. At least to 12. How good is she at working independently? Would she make good use of more private study sessions?

Is she a dancer then? Could she get her flexibility work done in school in untimetabled sessions?

Does every single kid do 14 GCSEs? If not what do they do about timetabling for kids who do less?

Well 14 is definitely no advisable then. What on earth is the school thinking? It must be to boost their own records. What have her teachers predicted for her? If she is good at sports and wants to continue with it to university level you need to look at the opportunites there and the GCSE and A levels required for admission. I assume Loughborough Uni is the top of the tree although I don't know much about sports science.

It will be Performing Arts school not Uni and probably at 16 not 18; which makes the 14 GCSEs even more laughable.

She can't be unsupervised as 'that's not allowed' so does her coursework outside her form tutors room

I'm unsure how much to 'ask' for tbh as they kind of suggested if she didn't do as school wanted she could go elsewhere & her friends are too important at this stage

Are you saying all her friends are doing 14 GCSEs? The world has gone mad!

I would seriously call their bluff on the 'go elsewhere' line. I doubt they want to lose your DD, or have you write a letter to the local papers Governors about what guff their G&T provision is.

I think you should ask for everything you think would benefit your DD. You are the expert in meeting the needs of a talented child, not them. Don't let them brow beat you into fitting your exceptional DD into their convenience based boxes.

You may not get everything you want but don't be shy of asking. Nobody else is going to fight for what she needs!

It is plainly ridiculous to let a child do 14 gcse's when they are predicted those kinds of grades

Can you encourage her to concentrate on the 9 or 10 most important for revision at least? It is probably too late I imagine for anything else now