OFSTED SITE

I wonder if there are any parents out there currently looking for schools for their children, I've just gone through the selection process to find my youngest a secondary school placement.

It seems to me after this experience that there is a futile exercise that gives merelytheillussion of choice where none really exists...

In one example my daughter sat an enterence exam for a School that does consistently well in exam results.. They had two sessions with at least 400 children in each session, competing for 160 places..

So it doesn't take Einstien to work out that unless my child has an IQ eqivelent to a genius she isn't getting a place at that school.. I spoke to another father (Black) who told me his son had sat no less that 6 enterance exams for 6 different schools.. When we talked further it turned out that both our children had sat two enterance exams for two separate exams on the SAME day..to me this is ridiculous and potentially damaging psychologically if his child fails in ALL 6 schools..what messages does this send out..

If our children as i half expect do not make it, there is not real viable alternative the other nearby options are not an option..sending my daughter to a failing school where they can't even retain teachers, maintain discipline orprovide a full cirriculum is to me is akin to sending her straight to prison or a life of pushing babies..

So what do i now do..I can't move house because the situation is the same everywhere, even if i get involved with the school, the staff turn over means that it will be a lottery if I can maintain any sort of consistency and now there is a threat because these schools are being shunned by parents..that even these schools may close...

Am i then only one who find this situation frightening and a major concern....especially as this situation is now trickling down towards the Primary school system too...

Hi Kunjufu

This is something that gets me down a lot. But before I get into it the whole thin,exam entrance exams thing for state secondaries is awful, they actually have to take people from three difference levels not just the most intelligent which is just as hard for children to meet a particular standard. My daughter has just turned four and we have decided to send her to private school which is a nightmare because we cant really afford it, but I don't think that I have a choice.

We live on a road with a primary and junior school and they are both awful and thats where she would have to go and it's really not fair. She started the private school nursery just before she was three and my mother paid the fees but she can't afford it now so it's up to me. I couldn't bare to take her out of the schools because she loves it and is doing extremly well plus the majority of the children are black which is great.

I do think that if you could move to a catchment area that is good but there house prices are usually more expensive and there majority of children are mostly white, and I don't think that is a positive. The system diffinatly knows how to keep our children from not succeeding. The situation seems impossible I don't want my children is failing schools. There is so much politics within the eduaction system it's seems unreal!

There are many brilliant schools but they end being privatised in different ways e.g they become Catholic schools or foundations schools that are funded by the governers and not the LEA.

The other day I was in tearstissuesob because of the thought of having to send her to the local school because it is so bad. I've had people tell me that I'm a snob and that it's not just about education in school children can succeed in bads schools. And I've tried to explain that isn't just the point. It's the fact that in some schools where teachers aren't happy because of the enviroment they take it out on the children the majority of people in my family and my husband work within the eduaction system and they tell some stoires of how they treat out children and how they break there confidence. It's truely scary!

What can you do if you dont have the means to go privately what are you going to do?

It seems to me after this experience that there is a futile exercise that gives merelytheillussion of choice where none really exists...

We recently had the same thing. Checked out a few local schools and only one had a good report.....and a healthy waiting list!! They say that you get an advantage if your child has siblings already in the school or lives within the catchment area.We're in the area but with the amount of children here a few rows of houses just surrounding it would pack up the school. So why bother taking the application??

Another apparently good school did the decent thing and asked for our address to tell us straight that we didn't stand a chance. So we ended up choosing a school near by (not rated as too good with OFSTED but from experience so far it's much better than the recently outstanding school that our daughter was in before. For a start she has homework already. I like.

I'd say don't be fooled by the reports though. WhenIwas in diubt aboiuthow good the school was I asked a mother who had a child at the school and she said it was fine. We just have to keep up with teaching her at home either way and she's bright so I'm sure she'll be fine.

I totally agree with you fizzy B

I just posted this on another site:
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Quote:So what I would think would be really cool would be a bunch of educators get together to create a super competent on-line school. All software developed to run fine on computers between 1 and 2 GHz. These machines can be obtained for less than $300 now. They should cover grades fron 6 to 16, junior high thru college on-line. I don't know what is involved in accreditation though. I think it should be possible to blow these over priced colleges out of the water. And work with the voucher system.

umbrarchist

ps - I suppose in England the school system is even more of a system of social and class control.

My friend's daughter was being pushed into a "failing" school. However, she met a governor for a good school who told her to keep pushing for her first choice and coached her in what to say in the interview. Her daughter got a place at a good school.

Another word of advice. If you have a good Catholic (or Church) school in your area, and you're not of that faith, push for it. These schools have a duty to take non-faith children. This applies to both primary and secondary schools.

my secondary school was CoE (st martins in the fields (south london) and there were many students there who were not christian. they were given teh choice of what to study for RE

so yeah i agree push for it

I thought about the Catholic option, but I just couldn't reconcile it with my principles..therefore I let that go...and to be honest I really resent having to compromise myself in that way..

The fact is instead of getting better..I geeting the impression that education is fast becoming two tiered, where those of use unwilling or unable to break through these artificial barriers are condemned..I think its appalling that our children have to be pushed in this way at such an early age..

i homeschool and private school because the politicians are against school choice in public school

K, my intended choice was to choose a school elsewhere other than England - or at least have that option. Even if I could pay my way in england chances are the children would be the handful of Africans in the place.

Those stats regarding 400 applicants for 160 places just goes to show it's all gone pear shaped - and you know the schools are choosing those with the best potential of making the schools pass rate look good. Last one to leave england turn out the lights.