DD feels very unhappy and unchallenged at school any ideas?

[NiftyTealCat]

Our dd is currently in Year 10 and is struggling with the atmosphere at school and doesn't feel like she actually learns a lot. She mentioned that she zones out during most of her lessons, she doesn't really enjoy any of her subjects much and she hates the atmosphere at school where people are mean to each other, I know that's probably the same in most schools, and there is lots of racism, xenophobia, homophobia, misogyny and bullying all of which is completely ignored by teachers even when it happens in their classes, again, I don't know if this is unfortunately the same in most schools. She doesn't feel like she can take another year and a bit at this school.

We tried talking to the school but nothing changed, and although she is in the gifted program at school, they only get to do these classes for about 20 minutes a week and more often than not it gets cancelled. Does anyone have any suggestions? Taking scholarship exams is definitely in question but anything that is too expensive isn't. She used to love school but now she feels like every lesson is just copy memorize repeat and there is no actual thinking involved, they are just trained to write exam style answers with practically zero though needed sorry for the long post many thanks!

I assume she has now selected her gave options and is 2/3 through their first year. I'm afraid the curriculum and syllabus is what it is. She will be taught what is on the GCSEs syllabus, as that is what is needed for her exams next year. She should be being encouraged to read around the subjects where she can - to extend and challenge herself beyond the classroom work. With languages that could be watching TV, films and shows in the other language, reading books language or books about the country and its culture. For history it might be visiting places of interest, watching documentaries, researching online, etc. I'd say most subjects can be challenged much further beyond the curriculum.

Can she not extend her learning outside of school? There are many websites and/pr apps she could visit which can extend and broaden her education. There may well be special interest groups in person too.

Outside of school does she have additional interests?

For maths - NRich is good.

Parallel run online maths circles where students solve problems together. They also have a lot of videos etc.

parallel.org.uk

For languages - Duolingo is good, there are also lots of foreign language tv on Netflix and similar. I am learning Spanish at the moment and watching original Spanish programmes like cable girls with Spanish audio and English subtitles. You can also often get cheap children's books in other languages from eBay.

Science - the royal institution run a lot of classes and lectures. They are in London but a lot of stuff is streamed to their YouTube channel,

www.rigb.org

Re the school issues - no, that isn't the same in all schools. Many schools, especially decent ones, will be tackling all of those issues wherever they can. Most teachers are normal people - they don't condone misogyny, homophobia, racism, etc any more than you do. They will use the powers they have to address it though will ultimately be limited to the school leadership and policies too.

Moving mid exam year isn't impossible but it is more challenging.
She would need to find a school who teaches the same exam board and the same course in the same order, with the same options. Or reconsider some subjects.

Or you could consider home school and trying to see if she can be entered as an external candidate at a school. I think you may need to pay towards the exam costs in those situations though and not all centres will take external candidates.

@evertheblue

Schools do not have to report racism to the council…

Also, you can get high grades in many subjects by memorising facts sadly, even at A’Level as you can learn and remember the evaluation points for different theories.

GCSEs and IGCSEs are not just about memorising and regurgitating facts and knowledge. Yes, you need key information but to score highly you need to be applying that knowledge to answer specific points in the questions. That comes from practise, and it's where reading around the subject can be useful, especially if looking at the highest grades.

She doesn't have the option to do what she wants in school time though.

There is very few marks available for memorising at GCSE,

That's just not true. There aren't always lots of marks for memorising alone. You usually also need to have the skills to express or use what you've memorised, but in most subjects you wouldn't get very far without doing a lot of memorising too. I teach languages. How can you demonstrate your ability in a language without having memorised vocabulary and grammar / sentence structure? How can you do a maths exam without having memorised formulae and methods? How can you do a history or geography exam without having memorised facts and information?

My son jumped ship age 13, and has thrived ever since. He is self taught and shortly taking his A levels. He knows exactly what he wants to do and has secured a place at Uni.
I don't agree with the "just suck it up attitude". That is the reason behind so many MH issues. Schools don't cater for students who are academically gifted, my son was absolutely bored to tears by the slow pace and very controlled environment. School only succeeded in destroying his love of knowledge and learning rather than encouraging it due to being taught by dull teachers with zero passion and effort.

I felt like this at school for the most part with the exceptions of Chemistry, Physics and Maths which I hated but also found difficult. However my main issue was being horribly bullied at school although this wasn't so bad during the GCSE years but by then I'd developed significant, enduring mental health problems and maladaptive coping mechanisms. But that was all down to the bullying not finding a lot of my schoolwork easy. Actually I was glad not to have to struggle with all my schoolwork on top. I enjoyed having academic success, it felt like something I could own and be good at when I felt failure in other domains of my life as a teen.

I would just suggest and support your daughter to learn and do other interesting things outside of school. I read widely during GCSE years, I went to my local library a lot in weekends and school holidays. I went alone, read a lot and borrowed lots of books. I started reading a lot of non-fiction at that time and learned loads on topics that interested me. I also joined the local council gym and would go there regularly alone too which was good for my health both physical and mental. I hated PE at school and was not sporty at all so it was good to find something physical that I enjoyed.

Perhaps she can start a campaign against bullying and racist etc language at the school? Something that might engage the kids and encourage the teachers to crack down? Trying to drive change is v important work and will likely exercise her mind and emotional intelligence.

As much as this is a lovely idea on paper, it depends very much on the personality and social status of the child concerned whether they can pull it off, or whether it makes them a target.

Totally agree but she could start with the teachers and ask for school to be a zero tolerance zone for bullying and racist etc comments, it sounds toxic for everyone.

Or a parent could complain.

yes, schools have to report exactly how many racist incidents have been reported to them, that is statutory. There is no way around that. So if racism is being reported to the school, they WILL be recording it - they have to

I think she maybe feels she has outgrown school and is a bit contemptuous of immature behaviour. Nothing wrong with that, but she has to go through the exam preparation and engage with her teachers about how to improve. Where English is concerned, read, read, read. Victorian literature and then look at the historical reasons why Dickens, Gaskell etc wrote what they did. Twentieth century world literature. Read quality news articles from both left and right leaning to identify bias. Read biographies not hagiography. Travel literature can also be a good source. She could attempt to read Chaucer and then research how language has changed over the centuries. And that's without looking at writing for herself.

Brilliant.org is very good for autodidacts, although it only covers Stem subjects.

@evertheblue

record yes, report no.

well, that is a but pedantic! Record, and the council collects the records then

You can always homeschool her and let her finish her GCSEs independently (most top students reteach themselves the material anyways) and then either continue homeschooling through A levels or send her to an independent sixth form or tertiary college. Reach out to homeschooling groups near you (most are on Facebook)

If you want something more "official", there's King's Interhigh, Oxbridge home learning, or open study college.

You could even skip and have her do her CertHE or DipHE via Open University.

DD is gifted I try and make school a smaller part of her day and have her involved in other things that stretch her and deep dive into the subject more. School is a means to an end but utilising the skills taught in different ways is useful in making the rest of it more interesting

On Eventbrite you can sign up to all sorts of remote courses, DD does a relaxed creative writing one run by a published poet, we attend virtual poetry night etc too. There are similar for art and languages too.

You can always homeschool her and let her finish her GCSEs independently

Have you studied like this yourself? I can tell you that for complicated reasons I was forced to take my A’ Levels by myself - and after a lifetime of school and all its structures it was a virtually impossible task. It’s incredibly difficult to motivate oneself in isolation - hard enough for three subjects, let alone 9 or 10 GCSE’s. And how would she manage the Sciences?

I seriously would not recommend removing her from school at this stage. It might be different if she’d been homeschooled all her life.

School are teaching what is required for the exams. Enrichment needs to come from clubs, societies and learning new things herself. What does she do outside of lessons?

Pulling out of school is a big decision but can be the right one for some people.
A few pros and cons:
An advantage of home/online education is that you can go at your own pace, and also stagger the exams over 2 or more exam sessions (Eg June and November) rather than having to do 8+ subjects in one session.
If pulling out, she may have to change exam board for several subjects. e.g. for sciences you need to do IGCSE not GCSE (to avoid practicals, which you can't get signed off). English language is also commonly taken as an IGCSE to avoid the spoken component which is difficult to get signed off as a private candidate. You'd also need to budget something like £200 per subject just for exam entries and find an exam centre that takes private candidates. The costs add up. At this stage it is probably possible to join an online class working towards (I)GCSE over two years. there are also distance learning providers offering correspondence courses. Being ready in 4 terms to take a bunch of (I)GCSEs via home-ed would be a steep learning curve.
A levels can also be done via home/online education. Wolsey Hall, NEC, pembroke online all offer A level courses. They can again be expensive - budget something like £500 per subject for the exam entries. For sciences you also need to consider the practical endorsement. If required, this can cost 600 to 1000 per science subject. Many home-edders choose to study GCSE's at home, then go into a sixth form college for A levels.
Look before you leap. Home Ed is a viable option but is not at all an easy choice. She might want to hold her nose until the end of year 11, but plan an exit to an alternative school or college from year 12.

If she doesn't like the UK curriculum, which is very much stuffed with facts, and would prefer something more thought-provoking, she might prefer the IB curriculum instead of A levels. This suits high-achieving all-rounders but can generally only be taken in an IB school.

There is lots of information on the wiki below

https://he-exams.fandom.com/wiki/HE_Exams_Wiki

I have taught some very gifted students for whom GCSE is a piece of cake for them and the content itself provides very little challenge...getting 98-100% in end of tests/exams. However, they do not hate school and I believe it is possible for them to thrive and be catered for, even at GCSE. These students volunteer to do a lot of cocurricular enrichment and leadership things in school and clearly have a rich extracurricular life out of school (e.g. music lessons). In lessons, I cater for these students by stimulating discussions and extending the theory beyond GCSE when I judge it to be beneficial, with very clear guidance for everyone that this is not required GCSE knowledge. The GCSE is the exam they take but teachers are not obliged to only teach what is on there. As a teacher you should be guided by the class and the students. One key characteristic many of my gifted students have as well, is that they are always asking questions that go beyond the required syllabus: in fact some lessons can go off at a bit of a tangent but it is driven by student curiosity, which also benefits those who are not the initially curious ones. I would encourage your daughter to think of questions that she can ask to extend her learning and be proactive in seeking these out (either from the teacher or other sources) that will deepen and enrich her learning, both in and outside of the classroom. This will also prepare her for the next level of her education, which should be more challenging (although still maybe not massively so).

That sounds wonderful, @Poppet77.

Sadly, I am too busy sitting on the behaviour of the ones who are not really capable of or prepared to do my subject to have much capacity to do that.

I suspect my experience is more the norm these days.