My son (8) started school off really well, in reception, year 1 and year 2 he was one of the best readers in the class, his maths was well above average and he was doing really well...in year 2 they had to split a class with year 1 as there were not enough kids to make the class up and they did this by ability so the "slower" ones in year 2 were mixed with the brighter year 1's...my son was placed in the proper year 2 class with his friends and got on great.
Anyway when he started year 3 they again had to split a class so all of the "brainiest" year 3's were split with the "not so bright" year 4's and the rest were put into a normal year 3 class...this included my son.
I was a bit disapointed as I though he would've been with his friends again in the higher class but it didn't bother me that much.
Anyway, in this class are all the kids who are way behind where they should be, the kids with behavioural issues and the kids who get no help at home etc...there is one table where the "brighter" kids sit and my son is on here with a few of his friends.
The thing is he's no longer doing so well, he's stopped trying with his reading as he said it's too easy and boring, at home he brings home a level 9 reading book...at school they make him read a level 4 so that he's reading the same as the others. The split class (where his friends went) are learning 8 times tables etc whereas my son's class is only doing upto 4x tables as the others cant cope with the higher ones etc.
Anyway he was bringing homework home that was pretty simple stuff (stuff he'd done in year 2 but he did it anyway...yesterday 3 parents went into the school to complain that the homework was far too hard and so last night he brought home a sheet of number lines where he had to complete the patterns...
example - "109..108...107....... I mean, come on!! that's year 1 stuff! my 6 year old could do that.
My son scribbled all the answers down without even thinking about it, its ridiculous.
So what can be done? the teachers insist that the brighter kids are not being held back by the slower kids but surely they blatently are?