my son is going to the local bog standard comp

[southeastastra]

is yours? club

I don't see the inverted snobbery.

But where's the sneering? It just sounds to me like lots of positive stories.

Sorry Orm, I don't see the sneering either.

OP is this a bad thing or good thing for you My son is going to the bog standard comp [hurray and proud/boo and saddened]

MNetters can post as many Comps success stories that they want but various studies have shown that the intake for the top Uni and top Grad jobs heavily favour GS and Indie students.

Sure, there are lots of stories about kids from council estates/comps getting to Oxford and Co but statistically they are in the minority.

And no, I am not putting down Comps. There are some very good ones but, unfortunately for my early retirement fund, there are none within my catchment area :(

If celebrating the fact that you are sending your child to the local school is 'inverse snobbery,' does it then follow that celebrating the fact yours is going to a private school actual snobbery-?'

(have to ask as we didn't cover it at my big-standard comp)

All three of mine will be at the school down the road - the one which has some mummies clutching their pearls with horror -

I went to a big rough comp, loved it, did well.

I'm SO glad I had a comprehensive education instead of a selective one!!

I'm going to make sure my DD also has what I consider to be a good social (and socialist!) education. Hurrah for comps!!

Perhaps we aren't all aiming for our DC to get into a top Uni or get a top Grad job. It isn't the be all and end all.

I suspect even if I wanted to get DS1 , and (god forbid) DS2 into a top university I'd be pissing in the wind Even if I sent him to the very bestest most selective school in the UK.

Sorry but I cannot see why you would send your child to a failing school if a better one available or the term bog standard referring to its non selectiveness ??

I would be well chuffed if DS1 got into any Uni-I didn't know it had to be a 'top' one. Then again he may want to be a plumber. He's 12-who knows?

There is nothing wrong with plumbing they earn loads and very technical job you know and I agree top university what that all about surely you go to the right university for course and for individual surely we all have to aim high for kids

You can never get hold of a plumber imnot.

Sorry but I cannot see why you would send your child to a failing school if a better one available or the term bog standard referring to its non selectiveness

'Bog standard' does not mean failing. It means the majority of schools which aren't selective (by academic or 'faith' criteria). Probably also means it's not (yet) been academized.

Just a regular school.

Well obviously grammars and indies get more into 'top' universities - they have brighter cohorts on average - due to selecting their pupils. The pupils also have, again on average, backgrounds where education is valued so they tend to be encouraged to stay on to do A Levels. Finally (and this IS where the state sector couldl do with a kick up the proverbial), they tend to do academic A Levels, rather than Dance Studies etc.

However a bright child in the state system with a supportive home and the right combination of A Levels is no less able to go to Oxbridge than their independently educated counterpart.

Oh Grimma our bog standard comp has become an academy, does that make it not bog standard?

Just bog standard makes it sound as if not good that all if you count the school as you described that my two eldest go to it is bog standard then but wow no way would I call it that it is excellent with an outstanding Ofsted

sparkling - academization seems to be roughly either (a) pretentions of being above BS (may or may not be in actuality) or (b) some desparate means of retreiving a failing (sub-BS) school.

Goodness knows where 'Free' schools fit into the scheme of things...

Grimma you seem bitter about the education system did you have a negative experience oh and ours is an academy now as well

Grimma you seem bitter about the education system

No idea where you got that from! Our local 'bog standard' is a very good non-academized comp. The 'failing' comp has recently been academized (hence my view that 'academy' status can have variable meaning) ; so has the neighbouring area excellent GS (which is where DD goes, as it happens, but she'd have been fine at the BSC if that's what she'd preferred)

"Perhaps we aren't all aiming for our DC to get into a top Uni or get a top Grad job. It isn't the be all and end all"

I guess we are motivated by different things then.

A friend's 15 year old DD wants to be a Vet. The career officer told my friend that his DD is predicted Bs and Cs in her coming GCSEs. Unis get so many applications that they immediately cull any applicants that don't have a range of A*/A for GCSE science subjects BEFORE they look at predicted A level grades.

The friend is trying to be positive in front of his DD but he knows his DD has little chance of getting into her dream job.

At an adult level, I have a friend who has a 2ii Physics degree. He was telling me that ads for research jobs invariably say that one needs to have a 1st, just to get one's cv pass HR. At the age of 21 he knew that his career as a reseacher wasn't even going to get started.

I want my DCs to choose their careers as opposed to their qualifications making the choice for them. Armed with a good degree they then can decide whether they want to be a cook, soldier, engineer, lawyer. As opposed to some career officer telling them, at the age of 15, that they can't be a vet .

But what's the point of getting a degree if you want to be a chef? And what's the point in your friend trying to be positive in front of his dd when she clearly isn't cut out academically to be a vet?

And if you want to be an engineer it's much easier (and cheaper) to go to univerity and make sure you do engineering, not just some random degree. Horses for courses and all that.

Adverse - that was our local secondary too. We're a few years further down the line and couldn't be happier! Head is still there which is great.

She should stay positive and with right support and guidance [God I hate it when teachers make assumptions] you can do anything you want to do be realistic yes but with damned hard work you can do anything !!