Secondary school league tables are out

[LondonMother]

This is an interesting one for people in SE London.

[Yellowtip]

Sorry, caps lock .

[prosopon]

Mordionagenos has become russiansonthesquare or were two parents confused? Confusing. Still lets say there was a misunderstanding - I'm mildly interested in the reason any school gives for making students take A level General Studies.

Yellowtip I imagine a few students do know exactly what they want to do at 15 and enjoy having 3 years to complete their studies. However I notice the sixth form at your school is quite a lot smaller than the numbers taking GSCE. Presumably quite a few decided it wasn't for them as they left. I know some medical schools will still take students after 3 years, pity their choice is restricted.

If you force students to make GSCE choices at an early age then perhaps you need to make them take more than the normal number of subjects, it isn't necessary for any other reason. Allowing a wide range of GSCE options and forcing students to take 4 A levels doesn't make up for limiting career choices at 15. It's a very strange thing to have done.

[Yellowtip]

prosopon I'm not sure what your agenda is but DS1 is reading Medicine at his first choice college in Oxford as is one of his closest girlfriends from school. She got all four med school choices and he got three out of four (the other two were Imperial and Birmingham, so not quite bottom feeders either).
He's just been ranked in the top ten in his year there. Honestly, it's fine.

Your use of the word 'forcing' is very odd.

[Yellowtip]

I also spoke to DS for ages this afternoon. He rows twice a week and goes out drinking/ clubbing on average four nights a week so the school seems to have instilled a decent capacity for work/ life balance as well. All good :)

[prosopon]

I thought this was a discussion about the deficienices of league tables, yellowtip, and Colyton is a good example of why they aren't reliable. I thought the website said they all have to take 4 A levels, hence forced.

If I was in the market for a secondary school I'd be asking some hard questions about the 20 students who seem to have left the school after GSCE and before A level, how the school deals with students changing their mind on options and at least one other thing the data suggest are problems. One parent claiming a school is great does not make it so, 20 students leaving is a red flag. But we don't all share your obsession with the school.......so just talk to yourself.

[GrimmaTheNome]

I'm surprised they don't count igcses I thought they had now being approved for state schools.

There are these accredited igces which are counted nowadays.

[Yellowtip]

prosopon I can only assume that you're a parent with issues, so I think you need to be asking the questions since I'm pretty content. I can't see anywhere that I've said anything either way about the school, I've merely taken issue with your dodgy take on the med school stuff, a subject I know about first hand.

[Mellisa]

Does any one know how good old palace whitgift school is if I don't want to live in croydon which areas around Croydon shall we consider for good girls primary state schools and decent living standards.