Class rankings, secondary school

[Blipbip]

DS is year 8 in an academy for G+T kids (I know, but it literally states this on the sign at the gate). It's a small branch of the main state school science academy and puts a huge amount of emphasis on academic brilliance. I guess that this is to be expected in a school like this, it wouldn't have suited me but DS loves it.

They have just sent out the progress report based on the recent high stakes tests. On the report they rank the pupils - against how they performed in their last high stakes tests and also against everyone else in their year. This means that every child in the year knows exactly where they are ranked. Although, obviously, they don't know where everyone else is ranked on paper they do talk to each other and the top kids tend to be quite competitive about it.

I wanted to know if this is how all secondary schools do this, or even other specialist G+T schools?
It makes me feel quite uncomfortable and I know that I would have hated that competitive pressure when I was in school.

[TeenDivided]

Didn't happen in my DD's comp. (How depressing would that be for lower set kids!).

I suppose you get what you choose. A school specifically for G&T kids is going to push them. If they are all due to get 8s & 9s anyway they might as well introduce peer competition I guess.

[sheepdogdelight]

My DC's secondary school certainly doesn't do this. Children are encouraged to worry about their own result only and doing as well as they personally can, not how others are getting on.

Obviously there is a certain amount of comparing but this would only be within friends/the same table in class - they wouldn't be remotely close to a whole year group ranking.

[modgepodge]

Very very unusual these days. But perhaps not unexpected in a school like you describe. Does your son hate it? If so perhaps it isn’t the right school for him.

[Blipbip]

@modgepodge

Very very unusual these days. But perhaps not unexpected in a school like you describe. Does your son hate it? If so perhaps it isn’t the right school for him.

DS loves the school, it's me that feels uncomfortable about it. I don't think that its the rankings that he particularly likes but the fact that it's a small school with small classes so very short queues at the canteen . He certainly doesn't feel phased by the rankings or the competitiveness. He is lucky to be very good at the subjects that they value the most, it means for the first time in his schooling he is getting challenged in class and can't cruise along.

[BlusteryLake]

It goes with the territory really.

[Blipbip]

@TeenDivided

Didn't happen in my DD's comp. (How depressing would that be for lower set kids!).

I suppose you get what you choose. A school specifically for G&T kids is going to push them. If they are all due to get 8s & 9s anyway they might as well introduce peer competition I guess.

DS chose this school, it isn't even in our town. We went to the open day and he wasn't at all put off by their emphasis on very high achievements. He studied really hard fro the entrance exam and has never doubted his choice despite having to travel a fair distance on the train to get there (there is a perfectly good secondary school within 1/2 a mile of our house).

[ichundich]

My DD goes to a private school, which is very open about students' scores. After tests, some teachers will ask in class who had what amount of points, tells them the average, etc. My DD generally knows how others did compared with her. I don't really like this at all.

[ethelredonagoodday]

My daughter is at a comp also in y8, and has been selected as part of their G&T group. She has normal lessons, but she is asked to attend additional sessions from time to time, and in the holidays, with other G&T children from across the city. That's it really. We are talking once a half term maybe?

No other treatment which would mark her out in any way.

In testing, DD knows how she performed, and sometimes will have an idea if anyone outperformed her, but only from informal discussions. To my knowledge there's no listing of results...

She's fairly competitive, but only in terms of not wanting to let herself down.

[NellyBarney]

In my parents time, dc were sat according to results, to the class primus at the front etc. Most schools moved away from that, for good reasons, but kids still compare their results with each other and try to figure out where they stand. In such a highly selective school, everyone should be performing fairly equally though, so ideally competition should be focused on where the class stands collectively in national results, or where teams get to in national competitions.

[LetItGoToRuin]

@NellyBarney in my DD's grammar school, the students are actively discouraged from comparing results with each other. Another child in my DD's class was even told off for trying to add up her own marks from a maths assessment (the individual questions had been marked, but there was no overall score.)

At parent induction, we were reminded that the children at this school have been used to being the brightest in their class in primary, and some might struggle with the realisation that this is no longer the case. We were all encouraged to help our child focus on their own personal journey.

I'm sure the students are still well aware of who is good at which subjects, and many will try to compare results, but I'm pleased that class/year rankings and competition is discouraged.

This is a girls' school. Perhaps this approach is an attempt to manage perfectionist tendencies amongst high-achieving girls?

[ArmchairAnarchist2]

Whether it's published or not they know. DD has just received her marks from her final set of mocks. They know which set they are and were openly discussing the results in class.

[Griege]

My child goes to a specialist music school - so in some ways not dissimilar. I would be shocked if they initiated this type of approach - it adds pressure and can contribute to mental health issues.

[3littlebeans]

Our grammar school discourages this. Really not health tbh.