Are superselectives for the very able or only for geniuses?

[Ouluckyduck]

because my dd is very able, but not a genius or a prodigy. Will she fit in?

My DD passed the test easily and was well over the cut off for 3 super selective grammars. She is a bright, hardworking girl but not a genius. 4 boys from her school also got super selective grammars and they are not geniuses either.

My local one has 8500+ applications for 180 places.

We're not in a grammar area but have comprehensives and then two single sex superselectives with no catchment as such - admission purely on ability.

The end result is that any child taking the test tends to have been tutored and many come from private preps, which puts many other children from poorer families at a disadvantage.

At least the superselectives we have don't result in the same level of top-slicing that happens in full grammar areas. Though the Council are considering allowing the existing ones to set up 'satellites' which will have an appalling impact on local secondaries.

My dd is very able - top of top sets and ahead of expectations. But I still think that her chances of getting into the ss schools are very very slim. If she tried the adjacent authority grammar tests, success is more likely statistically. I don't want her to be tutored really. The whole set up makes me sad.

However.... at least most of the local comprehensives have a strong & able intake as a result of the competition from the SS schools.

Superselectives are for the benefits of the headteacher and the staff not the students. How could you think otherwise? Interesting but accurate that they are know as superselectives not super results nor super music nor super sport nor super happines but just superselcectives - super an admissions process not super teaching

Well everybody i know who has children there is very happy with it, but I just wonder if dd will fit in.

And they do have super music and super sport and super results.

Haven't got a clue what jumjum means by superselectives being 'for the benefit of the Headteacher and staff' . The term 'superselective' merely denotes a grammar school which is not in a grammar school area such as Kent and therefore has no catchment area, so is likely to have more applicants per place.

Though a misleading term, superselectives do on the whole have the best results, but no superselective anywhere in the country would claim to cater only for geniuses. That would be absurd. They are for the relatively able to the very able and occasionally you might find a genius I suppose.

DD1 is at a superselective and is very able but certainly not a genius. She is very happy there and we are happy with it.

It is obvious that the job for teachers in these super selective grammars is much easier that that of a teacher in an inner city secondary school. I don't agree though that "superselectives" are not "super sports" or "super music" etc. the highly motivated, academically able children tend to excel in many areas such as sport and music. This should reflect in the school orchestra, sports teams etc

I have a child at a superselective,(pooka, think I am in your area) again able but not genius. There are a few children in each year that are gifted but the majority I think are very able.

Superselectives to tend to get very good results

I do agree with toomany, the children at the school are for the most part well motivated and there is less behavioral difficulties than seen in the local comps my other children attend. I think this means that they are easier to teach at and the children can work at a faster pace.

exactly the intake is super but what happens in many of the so called super selectives is not - teachers are riding on the wave of the long travelled intake not the intake riding on the outstanding teaching that all students should expect. Whose interest are the superselctives really serving?

@jumjum the superselective my DD attends could just as easily be called super-results actually.

Super selectives "tend" to get very good results. Really? Welll that's good of them with their super selective intakes.... pleezeeee - besides what's important is not the results but the other "stuff" that children gain from education;

• and by that I don't mean Grade 88 in Oboe and Piano or other certificates that superselctives seem to measure theire performance.

What do ou mean Jumjum?

MMM - if NW or StO, then yes, my area! :)

I think the current situation is bearable because in reality the impact of the SS on the comprehensive education in the borough is limited because of the sheer numbers involved and the sense that the comprehensives in general get a relatively large able intake. I'm an advocate of the comprehensive system though and I do worry about what will happen to the other schools if the SS schools are able to set up satellites. That really concerns me.

I'm also feeling heavily pressured by the number of people who are already (dd is in year 4) having their children tutored in order to have a better chance of getting in. I really don't want that for dd - I just want my dcs to be able to access the best education possible in a level playing field. I do worry that I'm living in cloud cuckoo land!

Jum could you please spell out what children in grammars are missing out on? I don't get your point. If a child can play grade 88 oboe that's a bad thing???

Jumjum, think I was being ironic. You are the one that said they are not known as super results.
Do you have an issue with them?

Easier? No, different. Staff are challenged in a different way: there are less behavioural problems to tackle in a superselective but there is the need to teach academically challenging lessons and keep up with the pupils every step of the way. Just as demanding, equally exhausting and no easier - just different.

The superselective my kids attend/ used to attend gets super results overwhelmingly as a by-product of super teaching to able groups. jumjum you sound as though you have quite a large axe to grind?

Cross-posted.

Blimey jum, what's your problem?

Pooka, yes sto.

I do have kids at two of the boroughs comps and am very pleased with them.

Problem is with the ss is how oversubscribed they are so it may come to tutoring or doing a lot of papers at home. Not in year 4 but year 5.

Good luck to your children

Thanks MMM. I'm feeling so conflicted at the moment. I know we have some reasonable options locally as well as access to the Bexley grammars. It's just that it seems so counterintuitive to me at the moment to be having dd tutored when she is enjoying school and performing very well.

It may actually turn out that NW isn't the right school for her anyway - will be looking round later this year.

OP, please be assured that your DD does not need to be a genius or child prodigy to fit in at a super selective. My elder DD attends one of these schools and while she is a very clever girl, I would not describe her as a genius. There may be the odd girl who is a exceptional and gets 100% in every test but they are unusual; in fact I can't think of any in her class, though some girls are gifted in a particular subject. Quite a few of her peers were heavily tutored prior to admission and continue to be tutored to this day, so that makes me think that hard work and supportive parents are important in getting good results.

One of the reasons she likes the school is that everyone is clever, they have good debates in class and most girls make interesting contributions to the lessons. She enjoys school, behaviour in the school is good, the teachers are able and interesting extra curricula opportunities are offered. Personally I would definitely recommend my DD's super selective as representing the best the state system has to offer.

Pooka, when you look at NW get there early. I hear it is full to bursting on the open eve.
I think you will get a feeling for the school that suits her the most when you look round them all.

Pooka one of the grammars my DD passed but is not going to as not first choice on CAF was NW. We started doing the odd bond NVR and VR paper mainly in year 5. She still had plenty of time to enjoy school and all her other interests and in the end it was worth it.

Phew TMC - that makes me feel a little more relaxed.

Will try and beat the crowds MMM.

Sorry for thread hijack by the way ouluckyduck.