Gifted In Science

[HinHin]

We will be moving to UK next year from Australia with our boy age 12

He is 5 years ahead in Science and 4 years ahead in Maths. He had his first external exam (equivalent to GCSE level) at the age of 9

We can not afford London

Can someone suggest what schools we should look at for 13+ entry

[thehugemanatee]

When I was at school I took a first year class at the local university. Not sure how it was all arranged. But if he's that far ahead , look into if he can take some college or uni classes while he's at school (mine was an evening class).

[yeOldeTrout]

Aren't a lot of university lectures open so that anyone from the public could walk in, or ask to sit in as long as they weren't disruptive? We had a thread about that & the consensus seemed to be "It can't hurt to ask."

[JustRichmal]

HinHin, your attitude to learning seems similar to mine. I too do not want dd to go to uni early, but while she is enjoying learning I see no point in slowing her down just because she is going faster than most. I too do not care if she is brighter or not than others; the goal is learning, not competing.
However, from this thread you will probably gather it is not a universal view. Lots of schools, as well as parents, do believe a child's rate of learning should be capped. You really do need to not just find a good school, but find out in advance what they would do to educate your ds.
Do not assume because he was educated with year 12 in Australia the same will automatically happen here.

[Maarias]

I'm confused. If he's making basic arithmetic mistakes he's not that advanced. My DS is a science nut too but makes mistakes in basic arithmetic. I would never consider moving him ahead as basic Maths is vital. Btw you need really good basic maths skills for all the Grammars and top independents so personally I would just work on that first before moving him up a few years.

[HinHin]

Thanks marrias just to clarify that he is very careless hence making basic arithmetic mistake. He is one of the top students in the IB level 1 maths class this year but occasionally got the easy calculation wrong but never have problem on the harder questions. For physics, he just became top of the year within year 12, so this has justified his advancement. From what we discovered in his advancement this 5 years, since year 4, he tends to do better in the more challenging questions, hope this situation will get better when he gets older
He might lose his interest in learning if we put him back to the normal age class in U.K. This is something we try to avoid

[Maarias]

Hi again I do understand. He sounds like he has similar interests to my son but obviously not as advanced. He has just done 11plus and confused everyone because he gets complicated maths but struggles but makes silly mistakes on basic maths.
He also loves science. It's his hobby and he reads about it avidly - he always impresses older scientists with his in depth knowledge of the subject. Personally I would never do anything with that right now - he can't write great English yet and it all goes hand in hand IMO. That's just my view. Good luck with everything.

[Ta1kinpeece]

Richard Feynmann went to normal schools in his correct year group right through.
His parents made him work hardest on the subjects he was less good at.

If your son makes arithmetic errors he will fail in a Physics degree.