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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Should I complain about this Headteacher's letter?

100 replies

ImperfectTense · 11/05/2014 11:03

Name changed for this...

Background: DD in year 10, has already done 2 GCSEs in year 9. Doing 2 more soon. Been staying late in school during the week and going in on Saturdays. DD's natural ability is B level (she has a spld). We received this letter from her Head recently which I assume it is sent to all exam students. DD is upset about it and wants me to complain. She feels pressurised and doesn't like the tone of the letter. The school is a comprehensive, Ofsted Outstanding, converter academy (recent). Any thoughts?
Thanks!

Text is below:

^Dear (name of student)

It is currently Bank Holiday Monday at 11.10am and I am at my desk writing to you, thinking about you; I am not doing what I came to school to do because I am worrying whether you are fully prepared for your forthcoming examinations. Have you/are you revising as I write? Are your revision notes complete? Are you testing yourself? Have you reduced your knowledge to some small notecards? Do you know you can write fast enough? Have you got in mind your exemplar answers? Have you been to all the exemplar activities? Have you considered that the examination boards are likely to have made it even harder this year? Have you ignored your friends when they have said 'I haven't done anything'? (They're fibbing).

Your future rests on your results. It is a time of pressure. It is a time of sacrifice. Time spent studying now will reap a reward. You are growing to adulthood at a time when educational qualifications are getting harder. I can only hope that you have grasped that and that you are working extremely hard indeed and I applaud that. I am sure that they will be successful. Remember, just being in school does not guarantee automatic success: you have to USE the time. Practically, I hope you have a revision timetable and that you are practising past questions in timed conditions - this is the key.

You know me sufficiently well to know that I am ambitious for you and want you to excel. It is, however, not something that I can conjure up for you. Please take these next few weeks very seriously and ensure that you capitalise on all of the support that is available to you.

With best wishes,

Yours sincerely

Mr X
Head^

OP posts:

Gileswithachainsaw · 11/05/2014 18:29

Do I ignore my friends, lying and saying they have done nothing?
No, I know some of my friends have done nothing for RE tomorrow

Arf :o

ZigZapZip · 11/05/2014 19:55

Is this a very selective/grammar/independent school or a non-selective bog standard comp?
I'm in two minds... IMO if this was sent out at a high performing selective school where there is a general working atompshere and a lot of pressure being put on students by parents/teachers/themselves already...Then I would not be happy.
If it is a school facing challenges with general low levels of ambition and a sense of apathy, then I would be more OK with it as it is trying to motivate unmotivated students!
But the tone is very strange and as others said I'd be worried he is too academically focused, just a sentence in there about where to go for help if they are worried would have completely changed the tone.

ZigZapZip · 11/05/2014 19:57

I know a school who get parents to write letters to their GCSE students encouraging them, much better idea IMO.

Original poster

ImperfectTense · 11/05/2014 20:04

Nocomet, that's perfect, thank you Miss Nocomet! That sums up how DD feels!

I am sorry I haven't been able to respond much during the day, I have read all the comments and they have helped to put my thoughts in perspective.

I think it is quite creepy for my DD to receive a letter posted to our home, addressed to her with those contents. (I assume all the exam students have received the same letter). DD is hardworking, has put long hours in and has this year been faced with an uphill task of doing two GCSEs as one year courses, neither of which she did last year (the school's policy is to drop most option subjects in year 9). Even one of her teachers regularly bursts into tears in class so it is not just the kids suffering.

I think the Head is a narcissist. The school is an amazing new build and he had ditched LEA control by turning it into an academy. The school seems to be run for the prestige of the Head and his cronies and not to provide a decent experience for the kids. I feel that the school wants to reinvent itself as a selective school. It was one of those that featured in the silly Tatler article and it seems the Head's ego knows no bounds. It is all about results of the school and not the welfare of the students. The school Governors are mainly there because they are either very rich or are high achievers in public life, they are out of touch with reality.

Despite it being a comprehensive school it is made pretty clear In assemblies and so on that anything less than an A/A* will leave you 'starving on the street' as my daughter put it. The clever children are made a fuss of and feted and win all the prizes, everyone else despite their personal qualities, their hard work, the overcoming of challenges is ignored.

I am still considering whether to comment (rather than complain). Most of the time other parents seem to just accept things, I am glad I am not imagining things! Thank you all again for your comments.

OP posts:

greyvix · 11/05/2014 20:39

I am going to go against the grain and say that I see nothing against this letter, which was sent in good faith by the head teacher because he does want the best for the students (as well as for himself and the school, obviously). Many head teachers will send a generic letter at this time giving the students last-minute advice. It will work for some; others will ignore it.
I would be worried, however, if the school felt that only A/A* grades were acceptable, and I can understand your DD's frustration. My own DD, at this age, wrote a piece of coursework based on her view that only the more able students were celebrated.
Good luck to your DD with her exams. She

TooBusyByHalf · 11/05/2014 22:11

I think it is awful. It's not supportive, and the first paragraph is terrifying whether you've done all those things or not. I wouldn't 'complain' exactly but I would definitely express concern as per EvilTwins post. Also agree 100% with chainsaw Giles.

Nocomet · 12/05/2014 01:12

Generic letters are never a good idea.

DD2 has received two bad attendance ones and an incredibly smarmy improved attendance one.

I very nearly taped her reading them out in her best sarcastic voice.

On both occasions there were extremely good reasons why she was off school and she triggered the letters by about one day.

(As for RE there was a mix up they started off doing 1/2 course and the exam board changed things and it's ended up with everyone entered for full course. Since some of DDs drama group have done no work for something they choose to do. No work at all for RE they got lumbered with is probably 100% correct)

Nocomet · 12/05/2014 01:15

Oh and rereading DDs long post, I must apologise for putting in my dyslexic and my stupid kindle's typos

Everhopeful · 12/05/2014 08:27

Viviennemary, the letter is written by a silly MAN!

KatyMac, I'm with you, though my dd is much too young to have got this yet. I agree the timing of the letter is spectacularly poor and not written appropriately for one being sent to all Y11 and you're right that the ones who need a kick up the arse won't bother with it anyway.

It's one of my beefs with the UK education system in any case that too much emphasis is put on what they do up to age 16/18, when it is possible both to sit exams later (stuff happens: what about all those kids who, for whatever reason beyond their control, are unable to sit at a particular time? They usually manage) in life and also to carve out a career that is less exam-dependent, eg write a megabuck-earning app, or become a photographer.

I'm all for ensuring good focus, but this looks damaging to me at this point. Perhaps he wrote the thing last year for Y10 and forgot to send it! Still hardly motivating though, much more "do this or die" tone to my way of reading.

Everhopeful · 12/05/2014 08:30

Besides, I'm of the view that lots of sleep is as likely to produce good results on the day as lots of last-minute panicked revision...

dorasee · 12/05/2014 09:50

It's discouraging in tone. There are better ways of encouraging and inspiring students to work hard and to the best of their abilities. A confident head teacher would have guided students through a long-term morale boosting exercises, not handed out some last minute, uninspiring, panic-riddled drivel on paper.

StressedandFrazzled · 12/05/2014 14:10

It feels a bit desperate and last minute, but I think overall he means well.

ChocolateWombat · 12/05/2014 14:21

It is odd in tone and some of the content.
Wouldn't complain though. It is a matter of style and personal taste.

As we see on this thread, some people don't like it and others do. Unless the Head writes totally bland letters (and this isn't one) they will always provoke a response. OP you don't like it. Just move on and bin it if you want to. If you complain it will involve more thought and its just not worth it.

thecult · 13/05/2014 00:36

Way way too much pressure and personal. Its all pressure and no praise.

TequilaMockingbirdy · 13/05/2014 00:38

If I'd had received that 7 years ago I'd have pissed my sides laughing, as would my friends.

Just seems a bit full of himself.

northlondoncat · 13/05/2014 22:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

sassysally · 13/05/2014 22:31

It's so patronising it makes me cringe, but that's what teachers do- bang on and on about how important exams are and how hard you should be working.-

hottiebottie · 14/05/2014 01:00

My DD (and presumably the rest of the year group) received a friendly handwritten postcard from the head of year 11 yesterday morning, wishing her good luck.

MrsCakesPremonition · 14/05/2014 01:32

He is panicing and suffering from exams nerves. Writing the letter was his equivalent of designing a multicolour revision timetable using all his best stationery. It looks good but is ultimately nonproductive.

sashh · 14/05/2014 07:21

Good grief that letter could send a hard working less than A* student in to a tail spin.

I would be tempted to send Nocomet's reply.

I would also be tempted to write to the HT and say you do not appreciate a HT spending the bank holiday thinking about your dd and then writing to let her know. It is creepy at least.

And if you have copied that correctly I would point out that excel is a software program from Microsoft and that is not the future you want for your dd

JohnnyBarthes · 14/05/2014 08:38

Y8 ds was given a kindly but no punches pulled bollocking recently from his head of year in which he was at pains say that he didn't give a stuff about the school's results but he cared greatly about individual pupils'. I liked that - he's a great HOY (and ds is a lazy, procrastinating so-and-so like me )

pointythings · 14/05/2014 09:51

Based on this thread I am now going to open all correspondence from the school addressed to DD1 once she hits her GCSE year. Just in case. I don't think our head is that twatty, in fact she has been very grounded and supportive, but people do stupid stuff under stress, OFSTED is imminent and who knows? Thanks for the heads-up, OP.

That letter is awful, by the way. It should have been

sent in January, start of 'revision season', not on the Bank Holiday before the start of the exams,
written to focus on genuine support - yes, suggesting revision strategies in bullet points, but also suggesting strategies for wellbeing and accessing support.

It really reads 'me, me, me, think about me and my career'.

JodieGarberJacob · 14/05/2014 17:28

Why oh why are students still doing GCSEs in year 10? Let alone year 9. That's utterly ridiculous. This stock letter is aimed at 16 year olds doing GCSEs in year 11 and probably the same letter goes out to sixth-formers. Nothing wrong as far as I can see. Everyone's under pressure from Gove to produce the goods; the HT is judged on results so is using every trick in the book to get them.

PacificDogwood · 14/05/2014 21:49

jodie, so the end justifies the means? The end being the school's results, not the pupils??

jacketpotatowithtuna · 15/05/2014 15:52

The letter is meaning well and trying to encourage the studying and obviously the headteacher tried to be creative in writing. Nothing to complain about even if it does not fit everyone's shoes.

Please, please do not teach your DD to complain about everything; people have become ridiculous in this generation complaining and suing on every corner.

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