Happiness over Academic results

[lottysmum]

For the first time in my daughter's education she seems really happy and chilled out....

We moved her out of a middle school into the only secondary school in the borough because she had been bullied and I felt a new start would be good....(so did she)

Three weeks into the new school year and its seems to be the right decision, she's happy chilled out (has really spread her wings with nice initial friendships) ...she knows now why she had problems at middle school and I'm really proud and also relieved that she has settled so well (touch wood).

However, she's bright has allot of natural ability and I suppose my major worry is now that she will coast through school not achieving all that she could ... but I really like having that happy child at school !

Both her dad and I have done OK but could have done so much more ...so is happiness more important than achieving your full potential....?

Being bullied and unhappy doesn't sound like a great recipe for reaching your full potential- I'd say her chances have just improved significantly.

A happy child means a responsive child....My niece also had the same problem a few weeks ago..She also moved school and has now knuckled down. Does her prep and is asking about doing extra Spanish...

Let them settle make friends as having friends is just as important as academia.

It has been only 3 weeks since she left a situation of bullying!

Let her enjoy her new school make new friends and enjoy her new school.

If she is happy she will succeed. Support her and encourage her but importantly let her enjoy it!

Breath and relax. probably for the first time in years. I know it was like that for me. Happy children perform better. end of story.

I mean for me personally, and also for ds...

Happy children learn, stressed upset children wont. Confidence is a key skill in life much more important than anything else IMO.

You can pick up / expand / progress your education at any time. You cannot undo a bullied childhood.

My DS's form tutor reckons that the most important thing to work on in Year 7 is ensuring that the students enjoy coming to school. You can work on any academic issues as they advance through the school, but it's very difficult to undo any problems caused by not enjoying school. This is local comprehensive, rated as outstanding, with a real cross section of the local community - free school meals up to millionaires, students taking more vocational courses to those achieving a whole host of A*s at GCSE.

I was bullied and unhappy at school and therefore achieved much less than I could have done (still all 10 GCSE's A-C) but I am aware of how much potential I didn't achieve. I only became genuinely interested in education again last year (at 30) and I'm now taking the degree I should have done years ago.

Happiness is much more important in my opinion.

When you say 'Happiness over Academic results' - you've no basis for assessing what your DDs academic results would have been in the first school, or (as yet) what they will be in her new school. If you're concerned because school A had a much better league table listing... well, chances are your DD would have underperformed there. Or if she had got better results there, it would have been at a huge cost to her which could in future limit her real potential to move forward as a confident adult.

'Full potential' is so much more than a shiny crop of GCSEs.