any of your DCs starting S1 this august?

[strangerthongs]

I thought I'd start our own thread seeing as there's threads for S5/6, exams, uni etc.

V nervous about DD starting S1. High school's a whole other ball game isn't it? I remember being badly bullied and feeling overwhelmed in the first few weeks.

Does anyone know what books they tend to read in English in S1 nowadays, and what they study in History in S1 - my two favourite subjects when I was at schools so I'm curious.

In my DD's high school, they will be choosing subjects midway through S1 which seems awfy early (it was S2 when I was at school).

I wonder what the most popular subjects are...there seems to be some really cool options nowadays although I would hope DD will choose subjects that she is likely to actually use/need in her future career and not because all her friends are doing it.

Anyone else have a DC starting high school?

Thank you for the photo demented. I think the two zips is what ds needs right now. I will look for one.

Those kickers look good wax kind of like trainers.

Do you think your ds will manage ok with shirt and tie weebarra? My ds is not great with buttons and zips so I have to be careful what I buy for him. I discovered he can zip up an Adidas hooded top but not a Nike one because of the way the zip is on them.

I remember getting lots of positive comment when I wore doc martens in S2 or S3! I loved these shoes, except now when I try them in the shops, they are strangely not comfortable.

I haven't heard of some of those brands mentioned above. I am getting old!

I loved my docs too stranger. I just don't know about the tie. LS teacher said he could get dispensation to wear a polo shirt though.

Could you turn a tie into an elastic tie? I know that in our old primary school the younger children had a tie attached to elastic and they just slipped it over their head and under the collar

My DS just keeps his tie tied and slips it on and off by loosening it and tightening it. He also use to just have fairly loose shirts that he pulled on and off like a jumper and just needed to do the top couple of buttons.

DD has 2 visits in June - two full days, full timetable. Apparently they will be in their new registration classes - wonder how that works? I thought DD would get to say who 2 of her friends were to help with the transition but not been asked this yet.

Her teacher thinks she'll have no problems with the transition.

They also have a few more visits from high school teachers into the secondary.

Late to the show here 😳

Dd starts high school in August but will be having some extra transition days from Easter until June when they go for their taster days due to her additional needs (still awaiting full diagnosis but asd/dcd/social communication issues) so although she's really excited about going I am a touch apprehensive.

Regarding laces - dd can tie them but it takes a lot of effort and time and stresses her out loads so we use elastic laces from amazon. They come in all colours and just have a toggle for loosening and tightening. They're really long so fit in boots and shoes perfectly.

Elastic laces is a good idea dontfluff . I hope you can get the full diagnosis soon for your dd. I imagine it would be helpful to have it for starting high school.

Stranger I have been wondering how the registration classes are put together. My ds says he won't cope well of a certain boy is in his classes at high school. The boy just wants to distract others all the time. How to high school teachers deal with pupils like that?

Maybe have a word with the teacher in p7 who will speak with the liaison teacher. It may not help at all but could give them a heads up to a clash of personalities which wouldn't be wanted in class.

Fingers crossed they aren't placed together.

Thank you. Yes I definitely have my fingers crossed. His primary school are already aware of lots of problems my ds has had with the boy. But the whole class is in the same position. No one will want to be in his class! I feel bad saying that. Maybe he needs more support.

@DerbyRacer you may find that he's going for extra settling in sessions due to his disruption and the high school will be aware to place him with a class that could support this better.

I always remember when my ds started high school he was concerned about being placed with one child. It worked out that because of the sheer volume of new kids around that the disruptive child he was worried about actually calmed down considerably (and luckily wasn't in his class 😳)

Thank you dontfluff. My ds has autism so it is a worry how he will cope. It is good to know that high school can be better and calming for some children.

Yes my DD has one girl she doesn't like due to past incidences of bullying. I'd love DD to be in a registration class with her friends. It's a house system apparently which still doesn't make sense to me but I guess I need to wait to find out!

Next week in P7 they apparently have sex education and childbirth videos. Which doesn't bother me but DD isn't looking forward to it. I remember the boys throwing up when we watched similar videos so I told DD to keep an eye out for that

A friends school has a house system for registration and that means that the class has pupils from all years together so in each registration class there will be say, about 7, first year pupils instead of about 30.

That's an interesting system wax

Stranger I didn't know they show videos of childbirth in primary. I am quite shocked about that!

I thought DD would get to say who 2 of her friends were to help with the transition but not been asked this yet.

They never did that with ds, he was part of a group of 4 very close friends, who were never in any trouble, and every one of them were put in different houses (I dont believe that was coincidence!)

It didn't matter though as they were then in different classes anyway. They still met before school and at lunch.

Some of the classes the teacher told them where to sit, in others they got to choose initially and where shuffled if there was to much no see. A couple of classes he was very unhappy who he had to sit next to but sometimes they need to just accept and get on with it.

not sure I'm happy about the prospect of DD being in a registration class with senior years, especially when they are all still getting used to the school environment.

I think it's meant to be a positive thing so that they have support from class mates right across the school and are seen as individuals rather than just a sea of first years. It seems to work okay from what I've heard. Also usually means that siblings are in same registration class.

Vertical systems have pluses and minuses as do horizontal. It is quite nice for S1s to have friendly, familiar faces across the year groups. Can ask for help if lost etc. Spreads the workload when it's a subject choice year. Try speaking about options to 30 in a 10 min registration slot. Older pupils can break the ice when new S1s are sitting terrified to speak to each other (though transition programmes mean I've not seen a scared S1 for a long time) and seniors are usually prefects , peer mentors etc so can have really positive interactions with younger pupils. Makes information sharing about family circumstances so much easier.

What do you think about the Scottish School League table? Would it put you off a school if it were near the bottom?

Yes and No. My younger DS is just about to leave one of the highest ranking schools. I do/did have lots of issues with them but the academic success isn't always down to the school just as lack of success is not necessarily down to the school either. Teachers and staff are just like people anywhere. The vast majority will be doing everything from a brilliant job to an acceptable job. there are always some that wont be great and there is always the fact that you just can't please everyone.

So, I am sure that the more poorly performing schools will still have a good range of decent teachers and there is still the opportunity for your child to do well. Parental support will be the biggest factor determining your child's potential. However, the biggest difference as I see it is the lower levels of disruption and disciplinary issues that the more successful schools have. It's that that wastes teaching time and reduces the quality of learning. Some of that will be down to pupils being in classes/schools that they just don't have the capability to be in but there is nowhere else for them to be.

A friends DD goes a school a lot further down the table my my DS goes to. They have always offered much more in the way of extra study sessions, Saturday school, Easter school etc. However, they have constant disciplinary problems with the younger pupils in particular but this impacts on the senior school as teachers are called from classes to deal with it. I'd say at primary level our DC were similarly bright. My DS has achieved better academically than her DD but her DD has definitely tried harder and studied more and had more school support. It's a data set of 2 so not exactly a significant sample though.

Another yes and no. Ds in s3 is doing really well at a low performing school. Friends dc have come out with 7 As at nat5 and highers are looking very promising.

It is lower taking as it has a 50% intake from deprived areas. The kids that get support from home do well but unfortunately not all get the support they need.

I have a work colleague at a high ranking school which has I think 7% from deprived areas and gets good results. But she has said the schools pupils also have one of the highest dropout rates from uni as they are too used to being spoonfed and can't cope when they need to be more independent at uni.

yes and no here too

I was torn between the high school she is now going to (second lowest performing in our LA) and a high school in the next authority which is in the top 20 best schools apparently.

However, I do know some people in their 20s who went to this lower down school who have done academically well - eg one from a deprived part of the LA who got a first class honours in Law from Glasgow.

I think as PP say, its very much a combination of factors such as teachers and family support, and solid friendships, that help a child to do well. Whilst I obviously want my DD to get the best grades possible, happiness is much more important.

I don't think these school league tables reflect vocational learning such as foundation apprenticeships, extra curricular clubs or good relationships with local employers in terms of work experience, careers fairs/talks, or any other good things like volunteering or fundraising that are all good experiences for a child to have.

The league tables shouldn't just be focused on grades.

I also know lots of people who went to private schools or the best state schools, who couldn't cope with university. I agree that they are often lacking in life experience.

I don't find the league table that was released recently helpful. The only statistic on it is what percentage of pupils achieved 5 highers. The schools near the top must be delighted but I don't think it is good for the staff and the pupils to see their schools at the bottom. I would hate to be saying to people my ds is at a school ranked 339 in the league table. It sounds awful.

The school my ds is going is in a good position but our catchment school is between 200 and 300 on the list. Which would make me think it is not a very good school. I think we need another kind of league table with more information. Or perhaps not having a league table would be better.