Will a clever child do well in any school or is it important they go somewhere which will challenge them??

[ireallyreallyhatefootball]

Having a bit of a debate with ourselves about ds' school.

Ds is only in reception but seems pretty clever (don't we all think that of our dcs!? Based on what teachers said and it's fairly obvious) The level of teaching isn't the same as where he is working and the differentiation is very minimal. This might improve next year in year one and hasn't worried us too much this year as it is only reception.

BUT his school is mediocre for education according to every source going (ofsted, parents with children up the school etc).
The negative things mentioned in the ofsted are the same ones several of our friends with kids higher up the school don't like and the same things I have seen in reception e.g. lack of differentiation, not very organised, mediocre out of date teaching.

But ds is happy. His life is easy. If we moved him to a private school (which we can easily afford to be honest - and there is only one child in our family) he would have to travel 25 to 30 mins each way, leave his friends he has made etc. Longer holidays would be a pain for my work (I work part time in town and it's hard to manage normal holidays never mind longer private school ones). He'd have to get up earlier etc.

Lifestyle wise it is much better where he is I suspect BUT I fear that he is getting quite a mediocre education compared to other better state schools and some preps (not saying these are all good either)
Does it matter if he's happy and hasn't complained he's bored if he isn't doing as well as he could and coasts?

I wouldn't make any hasty decisions just yet. Reception shouldn't be about 'work' and it may be that when he is in year 1 things change.
My personal feelings would be wait until the end of KS1 before deciding. See how DS feels himself at that point. By then, he will have some idea of whether he is genuinly bored in class and may happily agree to be moved.

In answer to your title it depends on the child and how motivated they are. I had to move 2 of mine because although bright they were being allowed to coast.

Reception is a bit early to make this decision. DD was fairly ahead in reception and is now streaking away in YR1. The school are giving her lots of extra but I asked if an academic private school would be a good option for her and her teacher said that she would leave infants doing KS2 and the junior school would struggle to challenge her.

See how it pans out. For my DD, the hard thing about reception was making friends and getting into the school dynamic, not the work so your DS will be learning life skills.

If he is still ahead/very bright then move him to selective/challenging school at 7

I would also wait until the end of key stage one. Dd1 is in year 1 and is very bright (but also has Aspegers syndrome), she has been top in her class since reception (very small school and classes), i often worry that she's not getting the right work and she often gets bored. Unlike you, we don't have the option of private school (we can't afford it) even though we have several brilliant schools near by.

I think if he's happy where he is maybe its best to leave him where he is until he's older.

Hmm..if you can easily afford the fees, that I would definitely consider going private.

I'm generally not pro private schools, but then 3 of the 4 state schools my DC have attended have been fantastic. (IMO)

In your situation, it wouldn't be the fear of you DS not being challenged, it would be the overall education the school offers, and how it compares to that offered by private schools nearby.

I think I've been unsettled by learning all this negative feedback from higher up the school.

I thought exactly what many of you have said - it's early days, it's only reception etc. but now I'm wondering if it actually will be disappointing academically later on.

He has had a wonderful time this year though and has indeed come on a lot socially and with general confidence so it's been great for that.

I like the idea of sticking with it at least next year and then deciding then re year 2 and possibly moving at the end of year 2. As long as he continues not to be bored (and with reception being so play based it's easier not to be bored in that year so this might be more of a risk going forward?) I'd be able to ensure he is progressing at home a little bit anyway until that sort of stage.

I'd also be happier with him going on a (slightly) longer commute to school at 7 than I would be before then so I would consider schools then that I wouldn't consider now.

It depends on the child.

DS1 was always reasonably bright. His reception teacher told me (when she retired) that it wouldn't matter how good the teacher was that taught him, he would always do well. This seems be the case, he is nearly 8 now and is still very self-motivating.

DS2 however has a lot more problems. He is also bright, but seems to suffer from not being motivated. He coasts, and worse than that doesn't bother with work as he is bored by it and then gets into trouble.

It is probably a bit early yet though to decide, Year 1 is very different to Reception and you may find that things improve then.

It depends on the child and is probably more of a conern at late juniors/secondary level, rather than infants.

Infant level - happiness is key IMO.

As he has just presumably gone through the seettling in process recently and has made friends, it would be a shame to disrupt him again so soon. As others say, have another think at the end of the infants.

I wouldn't underestimate the benefits of being top of the class, either. I sailed cheerfully through two not-particularly-academic schools, went to Oxbridge with 3 A levels (whereas if I'd been at a 'better' school they would have undoubtedly wanted more qualifications) and had plenty of time to enjoy life & do loads of extra-curricular activities.

I reckon better teaching is far more important for those who struggle & need help to reach the basic required levels. Frankly, none of us need to speak mandarin Chinese at age 11 (we can always learn later), whereas we all really do need to be able to do basic arithmetic, deal with forms & write a business letter (not the latter at 11, obviously).

It doesn't really matter does it, at the end of the day? As long as he is happy.

Don't be too hasty, he's only in reception. He may just be an early bloomer rather than particularly 'clever', and/or he may get a fantastic teacher next year, or the year after, or the head of the school may change, or any number of other factors may come up.

What is the benefit of pushing him, even if he is clever? He should enjopy school, and not be bored, but apart form that it doesn't really matter.

But you also have to consider what the other school actually like.

We pulled DS1 from one school which was independent and very well regarded - DS1 got accepted through a reasonably rigorous admissions exam and interview.
But when the children arrived the teachers did a quick impersonation ofthe spice girls manager and put each child into a neat little box with a bow on it.
DS1 sank beneath the radar and achieved very little for a few years all the while the same children were praised and treated like mini kings and queens.
We finally realised what was going on and pulled him - he was sooo happy , looked around a couple of schools, got into all of them but we let him chose his favorite.

I remember his class teacher actually said 'oh are you really going for xxx school - they are not that likely to accept you'. DS1 was offered a scholarship there ( but didn't actually go there )

He has regained his zest and personality and is still doing really well.

My very longwinded point is and that the child has to suit the enviroment to get the best - whereever you send them. And even a good on paper school can have huge faults.

i was massively ahead of my peers as a young child, a straight-a student in secondary school and generally about 'average' at university [goes to show that 'bright' can sometimes just mean developmentally ahead]

but anyway, my opinion is that children should be primary-schooled in mixed ability classes and empahsis should be on socialisation, developing self-confidence and community.

at secondary it might be worth thinking about your child's own personality and whether they would benefit from 'being stretched' - that depends more on the child's personality imo than their intelligence.

I feel that a child that isn't stretched (even slightly) would never learn how to learn and study.

DS1 was like that and coasted his way through primary and secondary school but hit a wall later when he had to study and didn't really know how.

A bright child in a poor environment won't do well. They will become bored and will lose interest. It's unfair to make any child coast through school.

I wasn't stretched at school, I spent more time counting the spots on the ceiling because I had nothing to do then learn. I wasn't sent to the sort of school where I could ask questions.

Find the school that works for your child, don't make them fit the school as it never works.

Depends on the child, depends on the family. I spent most of my out of school hours teaching myself things with the support of my family; it would never have occurred to me not to ask questions just because I wasn't stretched at school.

But that was partly because of my family, mainly I think because of my own personality (my elder brother who had the same family did not have the same drivenness and need to find things out). It never occurred to me that indifferent about school might be the same as indifferent about education. Education was what I did for myself: school was where I went to have a nice rest.

Dd has spent about 50% of her time off sick for the last 6 years, but is extremely well educated because she cannot stop reading.

But clearly this doesn't work for everyone; you need to be a certain type of character.

Interesting, especially what you say Fluffles. DH (ridiculously and annoyingly clever) managed just fine in a state primary -says he wasn't bored - and then went to a fiercely academic private secondary school, Oxford etc.

I meanwhile went to a gently selective private school all the way through and was bored silly much of the time - the pace of lessons was too slow - and spent my teenage years writing notes to my friends. Underperformed a bit until sixth form when the pace picked up and I did very well.

I think these experiences colour dh and my views - he thinks ds will be like him and not get bored whereas I worry more.

Time will tell. I've found this thread so useful - I definitely will wait until at least the end of next year to think again. He is so happy that I'd feel dreadful telling him he had to go to another school at the moment when it's not that bad and he is progressing.

Any more views welcome though.

I've always underperformed, I left school with 1 A'level, managed to get into Uni to do a HND, went back later and was a B- away from a 2:2, now doing another degree. I have no time management skills, very little essay writing skills, crap at exams but I know my stuff. The school I went to was dire, I was in the top classes for everything but most of the class messed about, I achieved the highest grades for GCSE (1B, 5Cs). I think it does depend on the school, in some environments there's no support or it's not acceptable to be bright. I couldn't learn like this and years later I'm still trying to work it out (by myself), I still want to study medicine, I'm not any closer though.

Ds on the other hand starts a top academic private secondary in September, I think I've encouraged him because I don't want him left in limbo like me.

I wouldn't underestimate the value that peers bring. If you are 30 mins away from a school, chances are that peers will be spread far and wide. That will make ut hard to do stuff on a weekend or school night.

Come to think of it, not only did I manage to keep myself interested and educated throughout my comp education, though being academic was definitely not the done thing there, but dh who got a scholarship to a very good private school, where he really enjoyed himself and thought the teaching interesting and had lots of hardworking peers, still managed to be completely lazy about his work and fail his A-levels (and his GCSEs weren't much to write home about either). He must have left himself in limbo somehow.

Private schools are not necessarily right for all children, you look for the school that's right for your child.

I would leave it for now, enjoy the lifestyle. You can reassess when he's 7.

Both DH and I went to average state primaries but then went to very pushy priavte academic secondary schools. I think its nice being able to be a child and play at primary school age. DD is at a state primary and is probably in similar situation but she is happy has nice local friends.

There are other ways to challenge him outside school.... also make sure you speak to his y1 teacher at start of next year and ask her how she is going to challenge him.

The weird thing about dh is, this should have been the right school for him: he admits afterwards that the teaching was very good and stimulating and he thoroughly enjoyed the trips and outings (we had nothing like it ). I have seen his school reports and it is clear that his teachers were desperately trying to get him to pull himself together. Basically, he seems to have no idea of what hard work looks like or any desire to actually do any. Strange, he is not a lazy adult. Perhaps he was just immature and there was nothing anyone could do about that.

It sounds like things would have been the same for him in any other school cory.

MumNW - I'm a bit worried about coming across as a pushy parent if one of the first things I say to the teacher is to see how he/she will challenge him. I was sort of assuming the reception teacher would let them know of where ds is at? Is that naive??