Y7 and already done GCSE and A level Maths

[Sally65]

I am tremendously frustrated about not being able to find a suitable school for my DD aged 12. She was last in school at Christmas of Y2 but she stopped going due to refusal over boredom. Funny thing is her teacher at that point did not think she was at all smart since my daughter's boredom was so intense she just switched off entirely. Anyway, I let her stay home and play and then decided when she was turning 11 to get her caught up for secondary. In just 4 months doing no more than 30 minutes a day and working alone, my daughter completed the whole GCSE maths syllabus and begged me to let her take the exam. I reluctantly let her and she scored an A star this past January still aged 11. Then she studied by herself for A level maths and did C1, C2 and C3 and has probably done very well since he was getting 95% + on past papers. Her ability and standard in all subjects is very high. However, I cannot find any suitable school for her - no local school will accelerate her. I am a single mother in a difficult financial situation so I cannot afford the private sector. We live in NW London. Any ideas please.

Gosh I don't know. In an way it is a problem I would like to have considering my dd's attitude to maths - but I realise it is a serious problem for you.

Have you thought about getting her IQ tested and maybe seeing if Mensa can give you some advice? I know in the US they have schools especially geared to children with a very high IQ but I don't know of anything similar in the UK.

How is she with other subjects? If she went off to study maths say sometime soon, would she be at a level in her other subjects and emotionally at the point where she might be able to cope?

You let her stay home and play from year 2 to year 6? Do you mean you have home-schooled in that time?

How is her competence in other subjects? How is her literacy? I'd she's a strong all rounder then you should look into scholarships in private education. If she's behind elsewhere which is likely if she's had no proper education for a number of years I think you're going to struggle.

I have just seen that you posted her ability and standard in all subjects is quite high. Sorry I missed that first time round.

I really don't know, it is a shame if there is not some good possibility for a dc like her to do accelerated exams and move on to tertiary education. Hope someone has some good advice for you. I think if you continue to HE, do a couple of GCSEs a year so she has those under her belt and try in the meantime to get a scholarship at an independent school so she can do Alevels there and be generally prepared to apply for university.

Many top London girls schools are offering generous bursaries e.g St Paul's Girls ( thats where Id start) ring them tell them about her and see if they can help.

If I was in that position I think I'd phone around the independent schools and explain my situation re DD and finances. A lot of these schools have scholarship funds and the right school would be interested in having her I'm sure. Good luck!

During her time out of education (between Y2 and Y6 before I started home educating her formally) she read avidly, more than a book a day on average. She also watched many documentaries so she has a great vocabulary, general knowledge and writing style.

The problem with independent schools is that they have no bursaries between 11 and 16 except for current students who fall on hard times. Does anyone know a goo public school with a full bursary at age 13? Though I think I would miss her too much to send her away to school.

I would not want her starting uni early because she is still a kid, and very average for age emotionally.

Which independent schools have you spoken to? I don't know about girls schools but all of the senior co-ed schools I've spoken to offer bursaries for new pupils. Some link them to scholarships and others don't. It sounds as if your dd wouldn't have any problem obtaining a scholarship so would certainly be able to get a bursary if your income level qualified.

I agree with Bico, as far as I'm aware all the major girls' schools offer bursaries for those with qualifying income levels. Some also offer scholarships of a high value, eg Francis Holland over a fee reduction of 25%. However if your daughter was 11 in January she would be entering year 7 this September and all the entrance exams for those places were in January this year. I think you will need to contact all the schools, speak to their admissions departments and ask their advice. Make a list of boarding schools and work through it. You could use the school league tables to work out which schools achieve the highest academic results, however the schools around the top 50-75 might offer a better financial package as they will be keener on attracting your daughter.

Would you consider boarding school? There's Christs Hospital which has a lot of bursaries.

OP there are schools which offer generous bursaries to new pupils and although if your daughter is going into yr 7 she's missed the normal cut off points for applying I would still get on the phone to a few bursars. As I've already said I'd start with St Paul's Girls if I was you. Also look up girls day school trust.

Accelerating in subjects other than maths (and sometimes modern foreign languages if the student is bilingual) is rarely done. If that is what you're looking for be prepared for disappointed. If you're looking for your DD to be stretched beyond the curriculum then you may have more luck.

I don't know of any independent schools which wouldn't consider a new child for a bursary in intervening years, assuming the criteria were met . Many have an intake at 13+, not just the "public" ones. Have you actually approached any , you need to speak to the bursar and admissions office.

If anyone knows a school that would let her study Further Maths A level (and possibly Additional Further Maths) whilst still in KS$ age group, please let me know. St Paul's is too far for us. We are in Harrow.

NLCS have already confirmed no bursaries available.

Scarily I will utterly echo what Happygardening has said
you need to start parking your tanks on the lawn of the top girls schools

NLCS - Xenias girls went there : go see them and point out that this is less a charity case than them being able to take the credit for your daughters results
SPG : again, talk to them and see if they can help you with travel
otherwise the GDST may have ideas
and do be willing to consider boarding
Christs Hospital is odd but in a good way
other boarding schools might be willing to let her fly
and you'd then be free to do your thing in term times

Alternatively, if you want to continue home educating her, why not let her try some of the many free online university courses now available. Like Coursera.

All great advice. In fact we are already using Coursera, EdX, Udacity and Canvas to source phenomenal courses of study. The only real thing lacking is social interaction which she now needs as she is entering adolescence.

You can get the social interaction with other h

Sorry- posted too soon. With other home educated children. You live in an area with a very large number of home ed families. There is a harrow home ed email list and a north London one.

What about Wycombe Abbey?

All the indies have some forms of bursaries available - they have to - but you may be too late as they will have a quota in each year group. It would have been better to get her to sit 11+ exams. Look at schools which have 13+ entry and you may be better off. Definitely talk to bursars of the schools directly for advice.

Just a note of caution. I totally understand your worries about keeping her advanced etc. I was accelerated as school. As was my mother. I wouldn't recommend it to others tbh. While at Oxbridge I also met a 15 yo who was there when the rest of us were much older. Very awkward, not enjoying it at all.

Personally, would suggest getting her into a good school and perhaps letting things even out a bit. A good school will accelerate her in the areas where she needs it (although not necessarily to the extent you might believe appropriate) and help her advance in other areas, e.g. social, or things like science, art, history, music - etc. If she is very bright she will continue to be very bright and capable even if she (in your opinion) 'coasts' for a while. Life is a marathon not a sprint.

I agree with Bico, do contact Wycombe Abbey, a great girl boarding school for the very talented, and high achiever.

I thought state schools were obliged to provide an education suited to the level of the child.

My dd is in a similar situation. She is is in home ed and will be looking to do GCSE maths next year in the equivalent of year 6. We are hoping she passes the 11+. We would then want her to follow A level maths in year 7 and from initial enquiries this would be possible.

Are there any grammar schools in your area? They do sometimes get places in higher years.

Also the UKMT maths challenges offer something other than simply accellerating through levels.

You can go for scholarships instead of bursaries (I know, they are very similar and at some schools one and the same) these will be easier to get at some schools because they are more about academics and less about money, however at some schools the bursaries will be worth more or you can try for both. There are fewer bright children than there are poor children. Proofreading this, I realise that statement could be offensive but I mean it as in it will be less competitive for your DD.

Here are some school suggestions.

St Mary's Calne offers 13+ scholarships for academics, sports, music, choral, and all-rounders (sorry this doesn't make grammatical sense). It is a girls school. Friends sent their DD there and if they didn't offer a subject they brought in tutors so she could study it. Very supportive.

Wycome Abbey- for 13+ you would have to enrol NOW. Good school. Scholarships are only worth 5% but they offer means tested bursaries.

Cheltenham- for 13+ you would have to be applying ASAP. Scholarships available for 15% off fees at 11, 12, 13 and 16+ and means tested bursaries can be applied for as well.

St Swithurn's- you would have to apply around August/September. Scholarships are 20% and bursaries are available. Again, lovely school.

Princess Helena College: Very nice, quite small. I am not sure if their bursaries are only for clergy and armed forces or open to all, but available at 13+ and very friendly registrar who welcomes enquiries.

There are heaps more schools, for example try this list.

Schools will snap your daughter up once they hear what she is capable of. Sorry these are all boarding, I wrote if before I saw your location.

Around Harrow, I have heard of St. Helen's which has a very positive inspection report but I have not really considered the school so looked into it. They offer scholarships and bursaries but their main admissions points are 11+ and 16+.

There is also Peterborough and St. Margaret which seems ok but doesn't have a sixth form (40% A*-A at GCSEs).

What you would get in (the right) private school is a tailored timetable that allows her to complete classes to her level (even if that means some classes at the local uni/with Yr 13/with a tutor) and also gives her a sense of belonging in her own year group.

You need to be upfront with the schools. Don't enquire "will you be offering bursaries for 2014 13+?"

Say, "my daughter, currently year 7, has completed her A level in mathematics and is advanced in many other subjects. She is not being challenged enough at home/at her current school and I want to know if you would do a better job. What could you offer my daughter?"

Obviously not those words. If they seems interested, mention you would need a bursary. Perhaps try again with NLCS?

Also, this is a bit cheeky, if she is home schooled you could re-enter her for Year 7 at these schools to get the entry bursaries/scholarships and then have her accelerated to year 8 or 9 .

Do be careful with accelerating her more than one year beyond her age group. It becomes difficult socially and I know that's what you're worried about from your post. My older sister was accelerated and found it a bit tricky from about Year 11 onwards (although she was bullied from Year 3 or so until Year 8 so she wasn't a social butterfly). She hit her social stride at university but the no drinking/can't go to movie nights/can't get a part time job etc made it hard for her.