Clash of personalities with teacher

[circular]

DD1 had an easy start in yr7, and was placed in top set for both English & Maths. In general, found everything too easy, and let her written work slip in English. Continually said that one of her two English teachers hated her, but took it with a pinch of salt - she can over exaggerate slightly.
But on meeting said teacher, I could see what DD meant. I was quite shocked that the teacher was consideriing moving DD down a set, even though she could see there was no lack of ability.
When I told DD, she said she would rather go down to set 2 than work with that teacher another year.
As it turned out, she stayed in set 1 for yr8, that teacher took set 2.
At the start of yr8, her new teacher questioned why she ended yr7 on a level 4, when she was clearly wayabove that. She was level 5 ks2, although resultant never sent through from prep school. Her target for eoy is 6c, which we think she would have reached or bettered.so it looks like at best there has been some personality issues that caused the yr7 problems, and at worst as DD says, the teacher simply hates her.

Now coming to the end of yr8, and their teacher has told them there will be about 4 or 5 of them movng down as there are too many brighter pupils in set 2.
Don't know yet if DD will be one of those moving down, but likely to question it if she is. Also don't yet know which set her last years teacher is taking. DD has said she will insist on moving down if said teacher is taking set 1

The worse case scenario would be foe her to moownsown to set 2 AND have that teacher. DD
is adamant that if this did happen, that teacher would do her best to spoil her GCSE chances by putting her down at the end of year 9.
There's also the issue that only the top sets get to do triple science, which she needs to do. And she would need at least a B in English to get into a decent uni. Which would not be possible if this teacher fixes it so she has to sit the lower paper.
All her other teachers say she is on track to get at
least A's.
Sorry this has been a bit of a rant, but we are genuinely worried of the damAge this one teacher could do.

OK, so I'm probably going to sound a bit harsh here, but OP, I think you're coming across as a bit PFB here.

Believe it or not, very few teachers would go out of their way to ensure that a student DOESN'T do well. Why would they? Their job is to try to help students achieve what they ARE capable of. It sounds very much like your DD needs to take some responsibility here, and learn that she cannot let her work slip just because she doesn't like the teacher. She is going to come across plenty of people as she goes through life who she doesn't get on with, but can't use that as an excuse - and (here's where I get harsh...) neither can you.

The school cannot cater for each individual student's preference where it comes to teachers, and an intelligent and mature student (as I'm sure your DD is) will understand that ultimately, it is HER future that will suffer if she chooses not to pull her weight in a subject - particularly one as important as English, whilst moaning that the teacher "hates" her. I teach many students who I find challenging or difficult, but would never say that I "hate" any of them, and would certainly not go out of my way to ensure that they underachieved -what would be the point?

Trafficcone - No a top score story in yr7 does not make a grade A student. It was just one example, several commendation letters home for various pieces of written work. Though cross curriculum, rather than pure English.
ALL her other subject teachers (not Art or PE as I didn't get to see those) say she is A/A* including the subjects that require much written English.
So there is something very wrong here.

I know what level her classmates are at as they discuss it, and my daughter doesn't lie.

No, I am not a teacher and my English is not good. But on the basis that O'levels were much harder than GCSEs and I acheived C/C, my daughter should be capable of A/B.
I am also gauging this on my getting an A for maths, which she is said to be at least capable of - and my maths was much better than hers at her age.

So this is a straightforward teacher at fault issue then is it?

Sorry, OP, but you lost any sympathy I might have had for you with
"I know what level her classmates are at as they discuss it, and my daughter doesn't lie"

I'm not suggesting that your DD DOES lie, but you are looking at it from only her point of view, and she is a child. She has decided the teacher hates her. The teacher doesn't hate her - why would a sensible, professional grown-up bother to expend energy "hating" a 12 year old? And then spend an entire year of her life ensuring that said 12 year old goes BACK a level, rather than moving on? Seriously?

And anyway, your DD has had nearly a whole yar of a different teacher, so her true abilities really should have become clear by now, if it's really a case of the Yr 7 teacher hating her and deliberately causing her to do badly. And if she's as good as you say she is, why would she be in the firing line to be moved down a set, when she's had ateacher who DOESN'T hate her this year?

I really aim failing to see your point.

ET, let's pop up to the staffroom and have an Irish coffee. Or we can just go straight for the gin whilst plotting the downfall of irritating students and their parents.

PixieOnaLeaf - I acknowledge she has been lazy in some of her written work in yr7(English only) as she was bored. Much of what they were teaching she had done in yr3 or 4.
I did not expect the teacher to sing her praises- but I would have expected her to tell us sooner that DD was not producing the work and try to find out why.

Both my husband and I came aware from that first meeting feeling there was an intense dislike.

I appreciate what you say about peaking early - but other subject teachers (Maths,Science,Hisory,Geography,MFL,RS,Drama) say she IS Grade A. And G&T in 3 or 4 of these.

Ok so she had problem teacher for Y7 then
"At the start of yr8, her new teacher questioned why she ended yr7 on a level 4, when she was clearly way above that."

OK I am following you up to here. But she has now been with this new teacher who thought she should have been on a higher level etc. And you feel he might move her down to the lower set.

Why? Does this mean she is one of his weaker pupils so far as you know? If so, you need to deal with whatever areas of her English work need improving.

Do you know why she is still not getting equivalent grades in English to her other subjects with this new teacher? Where is he finding fault?

EvilTwins - No of course it is not a straight teacher fault.
When she first said the teacher hated her I dismissed it - until DH and I met the teacher ourselves.
She has done fine this year with a different teacher. This years teacher said she was doing fine at parents evening, and could not understand why she had problems last year.
We came away with he impression that she was average for the set.

We do not KNOW she is in the firing line to be moved down. She thinks she is as she was last year.

I've not said she is good at English - it is her worst subject.

ZZZenAgain - The new teacher isn't finding fault as far as I know. Said reading more would help her creative writing, but we knew that anyway.

Am trying to get to speak to her teacher this week. Intend to get her assessed by an independent tutor also, and some help in any problem areas.

As I said previously, English has always been her worst subject.

She's practically the youngest in the year and quite immature, so maybe her imagination is taking time to develop .

I think it sounds like she'll be alright. Teacher seems approachable, she is a bright girl and she can manage literary subjects so she can manage English too, given the right direction and a bit of zeal. If she had a particularly unpleasant year, it may have generally killed off enthusiasm for the subject. Can however be turned around IYAM. There are tricks to tackling creative writing if it isn't really your thing - or perhaps methods is the right word. She doesn't have to be Kafka but she can do some vocab building and she can get some tools on board for doing creative writing.

Actually if you started a thread asking for advice/recommendations for that kind of thing, you might get a lot of help. Good luck with the talk

Thanks ZZZenAgain.

Strange thing is she actually quite likes English.

Her enthusiasm has only just built up again, but I can see her losing interest if she ends up back with that teacher next year - whether it is set 1 or 2.

Goblin - have you got hobnobs?

GoblinChid - still unclear on the expected level jumps.
You said initially that a full level a year is the norm.
Our school (form teacher talking generally, not DD specific) seem to think it's 2 grades.
Does it differ from school to school?

And to quote myself
'
Children are on average supposed to make a full level progress over two years.'
Each level has a number 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 etc.
Each level is divided into sublevels. The sublevels are lettered.
So, like a set of steps.
1c, 1b, 1a
next level
2c, 2b, 2a
next level 3c, 3b, 3a
etc.

My biscuit box is a cornucopia of delights, name your biscuit and it will be virtually yours.

And again
Two steps a year refers to the sublevels of c b and a
So over two years, for example, you would progress from a 4a in Y6,
5c and 5b in Y7,
5a and 6c in Y8.
Or from a 5c to a 6b in Y8,
By Y9 you should have moved through 6a, ending on a 7c.

Too sludgy still?

O levels were harder than GCSEs. If you compare papers there's a lot more content and difficulty.

I can still remember some of the key names after two decades.
But that was over a thousand children ago, certainly don't lie awake wishing them evil.

The little rapscallions of Yesteryear, parents themselves and possibly posting on mumsnet.

I'm doing GCSEs now, courtesy of DS, and the maths is a lot harder than I remember O level. Especially the Statistics bit.

I did scoff at one of my students's AS Maths revision guide the other day and point out that I differentiated at O level. Not as much as I scoffed at the heading in the GCSE RE revision guide that said "Funerals are sad"

Actually though, I think O levels and GCSEs are different. Apples and oranges.

Yum. Hobnob and Bailey's for me please.