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Secondary education

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

Original poster

My D has been denied an automatic transition from junior to senior

84 replies

bird77 · 01/02/2022 22:35

Hello, I was wondering if anyone can help. My D has been asked to leave the junior school where she only joined in Year 5 after an initial assessment.The school now thinks her grades are not high enough for their senior.She is devastated-we all are -and I don't know if simply accept the school's decision or to fight for her place.Did anyone have a similar experience?

OP posts:
CoastalWave · 01/02/2022 22:37

Surely everyone has to sit an entrance exam for the senior anyway? Presume you're talking about a private school.

Did you move there in Year 5 simply with the intention of trying to get into the senior school more easily?

If she's been asked to leave, sadly I don't think there's anything you can do :S

Boombastic22 · 01/02/2022 22:38

Assuming private then there’s nothing you can do. I suggest you start applying elsewhere.

ChildHeadache · 01/02/2022 22:38

Do you want to fight to be at a school that doesn't want your child?

RampantIvy · 01/02/2022 22:39

If she needs higher grades to get into the senior school wouldn't she always struggle if the teachers are teaching at a higher level than she can cope with?

I'm assuming this is a private school?

Original poster
bird77 · 01/02/2022 22:51

Yes it is a private school.Doesn't have the reputation to be that academic either.To be honest, I don't really want to stay there and yes my fear is she will struggle in the senior school but I don't know if in the state school she will do any better.

OP posts:
AnotherNewt · 01/02/2022 22:54

Very shoddy of the school if they are letting you know only now, when it's too late to apply elsewhere

(I'm assuming she's in year 6 now. If it's year 5 still, then it's time to start planning where you apply in the next round)

Clymene · 01/02/2022 23:01

Well she'll get an education in a state school which isn't on offer in her current school

GU24Mum · 01/02/2022 23:03

What did they say to you about the Senior School when she joined last year -and was she assessed before they offered her a place. It's pretty unusual for a through school to take someone in that high up the Junior School then not let them stay.

Have they been advising you this year to look around? The problem of course is that if you haven't applied anywhere else, the offers are all coming out and although you'll invariant get a space somewhere,
it might. it be at the next best option if you'd known she wouldn't be staying on.

I'd get the current school to help you as it sounds as though they may not have been completely fair with you.

Daydreamsinsantafe · 01/02/2022 23:04

If the school is selective then this isn’t uncommon. Essentially they are saying your DC couldn’t work at the expected level.
Constantly having to doggy paddle would be exhausting & terrible for self esteem. I wouldn’t want my DC having to deal with that as I’m sure you wouldn’t. Find somewhere else.

noirchatsdeux · 01/02/2022 23:15

I have to agree with @Daydreamsinsantafe. My mother lied to the headmistress of a private school we interviewed at in Australia when I was 13, making out I had higher grades in Maths than I actually did, so I'd get placed in the 'top' set. This was 40 years ago, and the last school I'd attended was in the UK, so far easier for my mother to get away with the lie.

Having to collude with my mother's lie for the year I attended that school was so fucking stressful. It got to the point that I would hide in toilets, locker rooms, even not attending school at all on days when I had Maths lessons. I also intercepted the post so my parents didn't see my report card. I've never forgiven my mother for putting me through all that stress. My Maths studies never really recovered and it's the only subject I didn't even get an O level in.

Peanutgurgle · 01/02/2022 23:22

I’m sorry OP. It sounds like the school didn’t do a very thorough assessment initially which has led to a load of unnecessary upset for you and DD. Then on top of that you have to find somewhere else for DD. There will be something out there. Get looking and that productivity will help your DD and then be really positive about the options you do have. I too would ask you current school for support with looking. You have my sympathy but don’t let DD feel like she isn’t good enough though I recognise that that is a really hard thing to do.

Original poster
bird77 · 01/02/2022 23:30

@GU24Mum you got the point.She joined after a formal assessment and the school said they could not guarantee automatic transition to the senior but only in very rare occasion they don't offer a place.The school is saying is for her best and that she will be happier in a less academic school.but I do believe is especially for their best as they aim to get all A student in their senior.I personally think it is really unfair.

OP posts:
SeeminglyOblivious · 01/02/2022 23:37

The school is saying is for her best and that she will be happier in a less academic school.but I do believe is especially for their best as they aim to get all A student in their senior.I personally think it is really unfair

What's fair about private education full stop?

There are many children who DO have the ability but who'd never get the opportunity to experience this school at all. That's unfair.

Just pay for a different school with lower expectations.

HeddaGarbled · 01/02/2022 23:43

The school is saying is for her best and that she will be happier in a less academic school.but I do believe is especially for their best as they aim to get all A student in their senior.I personally think it is really unfair

That’s kind of the point of private schools. People wouldn’t pay to send their children there if they didn’t get better results than state schools. And they won’t get better results if they are open to students of all abilities, as state schools are.

suggestionsplease1 · 01/02/2022 23:44

I think that's pretty shitty that they were prepared to take your money (I'm presuming for private education) for 1 year and now expect you to go elsewhere after your daughter has settled a bit and made friends.

That's a really disruptive experience for her and very poorly judged of them to allow that situation. They should have assessed better initially or been more supportive in the last year. I think I'd be kicking up a fuss.

Fridgeorflight · 01/02/2022 23:54

Are they proposing to support you in finding a suitable alternative? They've left it really late to tell you, so I'd expect them to pull strings or use connections to sort this out.

Fantasea · 01/02/2022 23:57

The private sector is brutal like this and hasn't served your DD well. They shouldn't have taken her in year 5 if they weren't confident she would be able to transition to year 7, that's very hard on her. Saying that, they can't get the impressive results at GCSE they need to maintain their status as 'exclusive' and attract fee-paying parents if they accept all abilities. The reason private schools get such outstanding results isn't just due to the higher standard of teaching but that the children who would have got lower grades, haven't been admitted in the first place.

Luredbyapomegranate · 02/02/2022 00:03

@Fridgeorflight

Are they proposing to support you in finding a suitable alternative? They've left it really late to tell you, so I'd expect them to pull strings or use connections to sort this out.
Yep, this is what I would focus on.
Ozanj · 02/02/2022 00:18

[quote bird77]@GU24Mum you got the point.She joined after a formal assessment and the school said they could not guarantee automatic transition to the senior but only in very rare occasion they don't offer a place.The school is saying is for her best and that she will be happier in a less academic school.but I do believe is especially for their best as they aim to get all A student in their senior.I personally think it is really unfair.[/quote]
This is how selective schools operate. They take your money during primary with genuine seeming promises and then select secondary based on the 11+ (in some areas they will even reject existing private pupils who have passed the 11+ to scramble for talented state educated ones who they feel will excel better at GCSE / A Level). You are better off pursuing a non-selective option.

JessyCarr · 02/02/2022 00:30

Is she currently in Y6, or still in Y5?

Daydreamsinsantafe · 02/02/2022 00:33

It’s worth saying that not all private schools are selective. My DC isn’t & has never been. In fact they take a lot of children who have left other independents in situations like this. Their results aren’t what they are at the selective but they are above national average.
It’s true to say that selective school, grammars included, are onto a winner from the offset.

Another independent in the area doesn’t have notable academic results but is renowned for sporting achievements & facilities. Really depends on what you want & are happy to pay for.

blueshoes · 02/02/2022 00:42

I think 'off rolling' to keep the school's grades high is poor form. Sure, if the child is struggling to keep up at all, perhaps a less academic school is more suited. But if it is the difference between getting a B rather than an A, then that is gerrymandering or a form of massaging the results to make the school look better than it is because it is really the school's job to polish up the students.

My experience of ds being in a very academic school which prides itself on top results is that the parents are given a lot of notice that the child is not coping with the academic rigor.

As her parent, do you feel that your dd is struggling to keep up in her current school? Has the school given you a lot of feedback prior to this or have they just sprung this on you. If the school said nothing and your dd is almost halfway through Year 6, then this is very poor form to take 1.5 years of school fees to drop your dd at a crucial juncture. If it is Year 5, then the only thing you can criticise is their selection process needs to be better.

dreadingthetime · 02/02/2022 04:41

Really feel for you. Which part of the country you are? I would suggest you look for very good non selective independent schools near your area. One with nurturing environment. How were the parent teachers meeting like in this school? How were her grades during year 5? I know it is easier said than done, but may be this entire situation will actually help your DD. Even though it is late, but if you start ringing the schools around you now, there will be schools still with places or who also run late applications. How is your DD coping with this news. It will be good for her own confidence I feel if you can change her school and she can have a fresh start in senior school.

FranklyMyBeer · 02/02/2022 08:29

@HeddaGarbled

The school is saying is for her best and that she will be happier in a less academic school.but I do believe is especially for their best as they aim to get all A student in their senior.I personally think it is really unfair

That’s kind of the point of private schools. People wouldn’t pay to send their children there if they didn’t get better results than state schools. And they won’t get better results if they are open to students of all abilities, as state schools are.

Disagree. We knew our children would get equally good grades in local grammar schools but choose private for all the other reasons - there is added value. There are also plenty of private schools which do not achieve anywhere like top grades across the board and fall behind top state schools in that regard - but people still choose them for their children. Ultimately, there is a right school for every child. OP's current prep should be helping her to find it for their D.
FranklyMyBeer · 02/02/2022 08:33

@Fantasea

The private sector is brutal like this and hasn't served your DD well. They shouldn't have taken her in year 5 if they weren't confident she would be able to transition to year 7, that's very hard on her. Saying that, they can't get the impressive results at GCSE they need to maintain their status as 'exclusive' and attract fee-paying parents if they accept all abilities. The reason private schools get such outstanding results isn't just due to the higher standard of teaching but that the children who would have got lower grades, haven't been admitted in the first place.
Again, wrong. There are private schools for all abilities. You have to find the right one for your child. And there are super selective intakes in some state schools - they even chuck children out midway though if they look like they are going to bring the average mark down.