Secondary Y7, no room in top sets so DS kept down any suggestions on how to approach the school?

[yohoohoo]

Looking for advice really on how to address the school please.

DS is in Y7 and in was put in tiers C & D at school when he started last Sept. They only move pupils around once a year. So since starting in Sept in lessons he finishes the work quickly and then sits with nothing else to do even when he's told the teacher hence he's bored whilst waiting. Homework isnt taxing when he gets it and he either does it straight away (10mins at the most) or leaves it till the day before as he knows it's easy and wont take long. He says most of the time he is bored as the work is really easy. We told him to stick at it as it was early days. Assessments show good marks/results for him. Im not saying he's a brain box but I know he can do much much more than he's currently working to.

So now we can tell it's taking his toll on him - he's bored and unenthusiastic about school, nothing seems challenging enough for him. They have just finished assessments and some will move up and down accordingly (only do this once a year). The results we've had back so far are excellent.

He's been told this week by his tutor and another teacher which he also asked that although he is getting top marks there isnt any room in the tiers A, B, and C unless someone gets moved which is unlikely so he will be left where he is most probably.

Secondary School is all very new to me, and I do understand the challenges schools, teachers have. I have though about emailing Head of Year to ask them if this is the case what can be done to give him work to extend lessons or to motivate him more.

Having the same sort of problem with my Yr 7 child OP. Unfortunately, her secondary is an Academy, and make the rules up as they go along. I have got absolutely nowhere - emails, meeting after meeting etc, and they will not budge. Unfortunately I have nowhere else to go. Dof E aren't interested, neither are Ofsted. My next step is my MP. This may sound dramatic, but absolutely at the end of my tether with it all. Hope u get better results than me

I think there is always a bit of this. My DS's school sets for maths in year 7 and there was lots of rhetoric about it all being to play for in the Nov exams, no one should despair or be complacent etc. In the event, the reality is that if someone goes up, some has to go down as there are two classes of equal size to begin with and whilst it is lovely to tell a child (and his highly involved parents) that he is going up, it is pretty grim to demote someone.
In the event ds came third in the year in the exams so they really had to put him up, so top set ended up 2 boys bigger than set 2 and all the overlapped results were ignored.
(Selective independent)

The effect of setting is interesting. In our maths situation I spoke about up thread, in the November exams there was quite a bit of result overlap at the boundaries of the two sets. By summer only one set two boy beat the bottom set one boy - the two groups really pulled apart.
I don't know whether this was because inherent differences of ability came through a the work advanced or because of the different pace and style of teaching in the two classes

Ds has been in lower sets a few times due to numbers, it has never concerned me because the school are good at challenging them.
And often ds would prefer to be top of the lower set, than bottom of the top set.

That sounds like streaming (same pupil group for all subjects) rather than setting (different pupil groups in different subjects). It's much more difficult in that case. If he is not considered able enough in all areas to be in A or B, I'd actually be considering moving to a school with a more sensible system. We had setting at my secondary and I was top set in English but one from the bottom in Maths. With your school's system I'd have been in bottom groups for everything and had no chance of achieving my potential. Ridiculous.