WWYD If anything?

[Thingsthatgo]

12 year old, yr 7 boy. Always been bright, and maxed out on his SATs in yr 6.
School have said that he has the highest CATs in his year (intake of 240), and that he is exceptional.
Boy is happy at school, working reasonably hard and has a gang of friends.
Would you do anything? Try for a scholarship/bursary for a private school at yr 9? Push the extra curricular so he is challenged?
Anything else?
(This is a disagreement between DH and myself.)

He's about to enter the teenage years which can be tough whether you are bright or not.

Personally a lot for me would depend on him. Does he want to do more? Is he interested in other things?

I personally wouldn't move school into year 9 as presumably you chose the secondary he is currently at and are therefore happy with what it offers.

If he has a particular interest (eg maths) then I would look to nurture it outside school - there are a lot of opportunities for all subjects.

Otherwise I would extend sideways - musical instrument and playing in a group, joining scouts/cadets etc for new experiences, etc etc.

You seem to be suggesting (without actually saying) that you think he won't be sufficiently challenged if he stays where is he? Do you know this to be the case? If you think he will achieve less highly at this current school are we talking about maybe getting the old grade lower at GCSE, or failing his GCSEs? Huge difference.

Unless the school is really not going to meet his needs, I think there is a lot to say for being happy and settled - it tends to result in good mental health and positive outcomes like high self esteem and resilience. These are much harder to obtain than getting high grades in exams.

As PP says, this may change as puberty approaches, but I personally would not move a happy child.

Bright pupils in all schools do well, I know of very ‘average’ schools where their best pupils still come out with all level 9 at GCSE. If you think he needs additional challenge then use tutors etc, I wouldn’t move him if he’s happy. School is more than just exams and he sounds settled with good friends. No guarantee this would be the case if he moved.

Ensure he has opportunities to extend his interests, both academic and extra curricular

Looking at the KS4 curriculum... are the GCSE options appropriate and what he's interested in or would he be better elsewhere (private or different state school)

I'd leave him exactly where he is and just keep encouraging him to aspire and grow outwards. School clearly recognise his ability, and there is nothing wrong with being at the top academically.

What are his passions? Encourage them.

Thank you for your thoughts. DH is saying that we should be doing more to extend him - maybe we should have gone private, what if he wastes his potential etc. I think he is doing just fine, and we shouldn't rock the boat, but I do have vague sense of 'what if we are

Keep him where he is, but look at making sure to extend his interests and consider sixth-form options. I’d be wary of the private route - he may get into a private school, but then if he applies to Oxbridge, his grades will be seen as less exceptional than if he gets the same (or even modestly worse) grades from a mixed ability school.

There is much greater variation in exam grades between students in the same school, than between schools. Any comprehensive will have some students who achieve all 8/9s (as well as others who don’t get 5 good GCSE). He is much more likely to be in the former.

Sorry - missed the end of my post 'what if we are not doing everything we can/the best for him'

How does school say he is performing? Is he fulfilling his potential or underachieving?

Going private would/will not necessarily extend him more, depending on the school he is at.

There are plenty of state schools with a group of high ability kids who challenge each other.

Some privates put a lot of pressure on the kids to get massive numbers of GCSEs which isn't necessarily best for them in the long run as some fall apart under the pressure (self harm, anorexia etc).

At secondary and at gcse it's important he gets the grades he needs to go on to whatever he wants to do.

There are some uni courses where you need to be super high ability to get in - so if he wanted for example to do maths at Oxford or medicine at all then maybe it's worth accessing outside support. But to be honest most private schools don't push that hard in ks3.

Have you looked into whether you’d actually get a bursary? If he’s as bright as you think, I would think that he would be on line for grade 9s wherever he goes. So what extra would private actually give? If he was less bright and more on the 7/8 level then yes private could push him to 9s but I would leave him where he is

Consider 13+ exams to a private school. E.g. Hampton Boys has it. Maybe he will got scholarship if he is so good. If you are not affluent then buursary.
In private school like that they would find a way to make education challenging for him

If he is doing well why move him?

If you want to challenge him look for extra curricular challenges and spend your money on those

If he's exceptional he'll do well wherever he is. In the state school I work in we have students who get A* at GCSE in every subject studied and the same for A level. That's the best you can get so why move him if he's happy.

I’d leave him be. Make sure he’s doing a good range of non school based activities as well as doing well at school- sports (team and individual), music, scouts etc

we have a similar sounding son who is now in year 11 and on track to achieve 12 very good (A /A*) GCSEs. He wants to stay at the same school for sixth form. If they’re happy and well supported, a change at such a key stage of their lives might not be positive.

Is he happy at his current school and does it offer him options for GCSE that you are happy with? If the answer to both is yes, I wouldn't move him, but would be prepared to support with tutoring in areas he is interested in.

If he's in Y9, you may have left it slightly too late to make it an easy transition to a private school as well?

Leave him as he is, encourage him to read and read and read and read and have fascinating hobbies. Why would a private school be better?

Someone has to be top of the year! If you’re happy with the school and he’s progressing well then is there any point rocking the boat? DD is similar - exceptional apparently (zero common sense though!), but I’m not sure what she’d actually gain from being in a private school rather than her current state school (comp.) It’s a good school and there’s lots of opportunities that she’s taken up plus she has time to do all of her hobbies!

Thank you all - you've pretty much said what I've been thinking; he is happy, he has loads going on and a lovely bunch of mates. Seems to be on target for good results. Just doubted my own judgement.

Yes but I remember at the age of 12 I was happy at my school and kids around me. But by the age of 14 -15 I was so bored of my friends who didn't need as much intelectual stimulation as I did.

Go for 13+ and ask for deferred entry and see how he is.

I think there's a big difference between "put him into private school" and "do nothing".

Opportunities to, e.g. learn to code/play an instrument/pick a hobby, read around his subjects, go to interesting talks/lectures, engage with interesting podcasts and (most importantly for me) meet like-minded individuals, are not doing nothing.

Sometimes that means seeking out interesting opportunities for a talk or a panel in the next town or the next city. Or finding interesting books to recommend until they're happy going off and finding their own. They might have been doing that for so long already that no intervention is required (I had been ordering in unusual books to the library from 10 onwards I think), but if not I think it's giving them the tools to expand their knowledge. And then the conversation and discussion and debate to expand their mind.

My DD is 12 and in y7 at a non selective private school.

also top of everything with straight 9's predicted in CAT 4 tests (lots of 9.9, so even if she gets straight 9s at GSCE school will "loose value" on her)

She is top of school in maths challenge and some coding thing too.

She is happy where she is (was in same independant school for primary too)

She has a scholarship (but this doesnt do anything for the many trips she will go on)

She does lots of sport, in many school teams, she is heavily involved in scouting, and also does lots of music, singing and playing instruments.
She does lots of park run and is challenging herself on zwift so she is physically pretty fit.
She is very well traveled and reads a LOT. She enjoys cooking and gardening (especially growing fruit / veg which we eat)

She is happy and that's all I care about. Not sure how challenged she is but she's in all the top sets (where they are set) and her teachers are good at challenging the brightest.
She also trys her hardest (even though she doesnt need to).

My DD could have gone to a couple of top grammar schools (did amazing in her 11+ and got the place) or could have gone to some selective independant schools further away, which may have had more of the very bright children and you can only get in if you pass their exams, but we chose to keep her more local, in a non selective, so has a broader range of children (including tops sports people, and artists who may not pass their 11+ but who have other amazing talents) where she is happy, and I don't regret my choice (yet)

Thank you all for your suggestions. DS does quite a lot of extra curricular activities, and has joined every club he can find at school. He is not sporty, and hasn't found an instrument that he loves, but is very passionate about acting.
I think I should stop worrying so much.