my english teacher once on parents evening told my mum that i'd written a poem review on "The Hunting of the Snark" by Lewis Carroll and she said "Suzanne has difficulty reading and writing and attention to detail as this was obviously meant to be Shark and she has mispelled it throughout the review" My mum was livid!!!!
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I never fail to be amazed by the ignorance of some teachers. And an English teacher at that.
This was when I was in year 7, or the first year or whatever it is called! it changed half way through my schooling as did the name of my school! no wonder I was confused!
my english teacher once on parents evening told my mum that i'd written a poem review on "The Hunting of the Snark" by Lewis Carroll and she said "Suzanne has difficulty reading and writing and attention to detail as this was obviously meant to be Shark and she has mispelled it throughout the review" My mum was livid!!!!
!
I never fail to be amazed by the ignorance of some teachers. And an English teacher at that.
Agreed Henry, What the hell that one would have made of the Jabberwock beggars belief.
my english teacher once on parents evening told my mum that i'd written a poem review on "The Hunting of the Snark" by Lewis Carroll and she said "Suzanne has difficulty reading and writing and attention to detail as this was obviously meant to be Shark and she has mispelled it throughout the review" My mum was livid!!!!
!
I never fail to be amazed by the ignorance of some teachers. And an English teacher at that.
This was when I was in year 7, or the first year or whatever it is called! it changed half way through my schooling as did the name of my school! no wonder I was confused!
I know. I've got used to it now what with Henry jnr and working in schools 5 or 6 times a year but in senior Schools they still call what should be yr 12/13 6th form. Make your mind up.
[cite]Posted By: JWADDICK[/cite]
[cite]Posted By: Henry Irving[/cite]
[cite]Posted By: suzisausage[/cite]
my english teacher once on parents evening told my mum that i'd written a poem review on "The Hunting of the Snark" by Lewis Carroll and she said "Suzanne has difficulty reading and writing and attention to detail as this was obviously meant to be Shark and she has mispelled it throughout the review" My mum was livid!!!!
!
I never fail to be amazed by the ignorance of some teachers. And an English teacher at that.
Agreed Henry, What the hell that one would have made of the Jabberwock beggars belief.
Can't think.
I can remember having an argument with a Geography teacher (yes, even then before you say it) about which was Iceland and which was Greenland. Had to get an Atlas out to convince him.
Its all about the teachers. I went to a Sec Modern most of the teachers couldnt give a monkeys , but some where A1.
must have been caned / slippered 5/6 times for not doing me spellings ---------- if i ever meet that old barstard ill knock the twat out and when he comes round i might tell him to look up dislexia .Always wondered why the chose a word like that to explain forms of word blindness ? taking the piss that.
Sis went to Townley rd and one of my cousins was head girl there -- always herd good things about it.
National performance tables can be read any number of ways depending on where the emphasis is placed.
What I will say (and I share the thoughts of KillersBeard) is that the difference between the likes of Chis & Sid (where I went), Townley Road (where my sister went), St Olaves (where my son is),BGS, Newstead Woods, BETHS etc etc is not all about which produces the best results but more to do with what you want your children to get from that school and how they will cope.
In my son's case we felt that he would need to be pushed in the early years of senior school as, without it, there was always going to be a danger that he was going to underachieve. It was a "culture shock" for him but he soon adapted. He is now old enough (15) to make his own decisions as to what he wants to do with his life and he seems to have found the right balance between school work & his other interests in and out of school (football, cricket, music, parties etc etc).
His brother is only 5 and it is clearly impossible to tell at this stage whether he will pass his 11 plus or not. What I will say is that, if he does, the decision process will not be influenced by how well or badly his brother has done simply because they are two totally different individuals. The only advantage we have is that we now know how the selection system works and having done the "tour" we have some knowledge of the stregths of the local schools.
So, in answer to the original question, from what you've said I would recommend BGS - providing, of course, having Mum there is going to be more beneficial than detrimental (if you know what I mean!!!) - Townley Road would, however, be a great alternative and would only be 5 to 10 mins away from BGS.
League Tables work when both your kids go to the best school around. I don't care what else is avaliable. We ( my wife and I) did everything possible to get our two boys into the Grammar system. We achieved what we wanted and do not care what anyone else says. We are overjoyed that our kids are in the selective stream and at time of writing-thriving.
Grammar schools are fantastic IMO but will not be around for much longer, just glad we got the benifit.
[cite]Posted By: Chirpy Red[/cite]League Tables work when both your kids go to the best school around. I don't care what else is avaliable. We ( my wife and I) did everything possible to get our two boys into the Grammar system. We achieved what we wanted and do not care what anyone else says. We are overjoyed that our kids are in the selective stream and at time of writing-thriving.
Grammar schools are fantastic IMO but will not be around for much longer, just glad we got the benifit.
I know that sounds like a load of arrogant crap, and it is, but I don't care!
Chirpy cant see anything wrong at all with what you said. All parents would do the same if given a choice. Diane Abbot the very left wing lady has her kids educated in a private school she said (and says) much the same.
Although i went to a Sec Modern the upper classes (not royalty) were streamed, i count myself very lucky to have been in the top class as the lower ones werent taught at all as far as i remember they were just controled. Shameful when i think back on it. No wonder back then so many left school with out even the basics.
"I know that sounds like a load of arrogant crap, and it is, but I don't care!"
Not at all Chirpy and given the fact that Crown Woods clearly never taught you how to spell I can see why you think that way!!! (No need to respond 'cos I've known you long enough to know what's coming). In any case, it's about time they had a spell checker on here that would "benifit" all of us.
"Diane Abbot the very left wing lady has her kids educated in a private school she said (and says) much the same." As did Harriet Harman when she sent he son to St Olaves (although not private it is selective and a long way from where she lives).
League tables are a scam. Say you have a class who are unlikely to pass. Enter them as private students (all schools are open as exam centers to anyone off the street) and hey presto! Their results dont appear on your school statistics. Unless they pass. In which case they will. Go for the feel of the place, not the league tables.
[cite]Posted By: A-R-T-H-U-R[/cite]League tables are a scam.
Say you have a class who are unlikely to pass.
Enter them as private students (all schools are open as exam centers to anyone off the street) and hey presto!
Their results dont appear on your school statistics.
Unless they pass.
In which case they will.
Go for the feel of the place, not the league tables.
That's the way it works here in Oz too, the "league tables" here are an absolute crock of shit.
The private schools filter the kids very cleverly so that once they get to Year 11 (the year before they take their exams) the really under-performing kids are "encouraged" to find alternative schooling in the state system.
Even then, those kids that get to stay in Year 11 at private school here are simply not allowed to take the HSC in Year 12 if the school thinks they will perform below the standard they require, the student will then typically be encouraged to repeat a year to catch up or even drop out without taking the exam.
This, of course, leaves behind only the best performing students in the private schools who obviousy obtain very good exam results and keep the schools average passing % and league position artificially high.
The state schools suffer the double-whammy of having a whole bunch of disruptive and disillusioned 15 year-olds dumped into their Year 11 classes and also having to share their already meagre resources among even more students which pushes them further down the performance tables.
We are still considering whether to go private or state (Catholic system) but won't make the choice on league table performance alone.
League Tables huh? You get a school that selects its students at age 11, only teach to the tests, and then you will top the league tables...simple really (there are other tricks of the trade too), if that is what you see education as, then look at the tables and get in to the school with the highest results. After all the results are gateways to opportunities. Personally I think league tables are a complete crock of chite, a complete crock of chite chite chite....mind you I have been a teacher for 33 years what do I know? Henry, if you're talking about Bishop Justus (new school....good facilities), are you sure? Architecturally it might make an impression on a brief visit, but is the school a practical place to work? Go back and look at the space available to teach Dance for example. Also I know two teachers there who are absolutely ace, but I also have students who have started there and then wanted to transfer out (to my own very ordinary seeming school). Architects don't have a clue in school design. I have never met a teacher who has ever been asked anything by an architect about the design of a school, or even an extension, or an add on. If you want a true measure of a school, go during the day, look at the toilets, sit in a year nine RE lesson, or Music or French, (subjects kids often dislike) look at the amount of chewing gum stuck everywhere, and ask the headteacher what they're doing to make the experience of lessons interesting for all the kids, ask about class sizes (are there any lessons at all, in any subject, where the teacher has more than 30 students in the class) because thats how they spend their hours. Ask the headteacher how many actual hours they teach, ask to see the headteachers office, if it is spick and span...beware!! Don't ask about homework, schools only have it to shut parents up....anyway, the best way to help your kids achieve is to take a real interest in what they're doing, not simply leave it to the underfunded state school to sort out.
obviously the league tables show a percentage of who got what, not who were forced to not take the gcse so they didn't affect the league tables. not a good school!!!!!!
I am currently in Bexleyheath school in year 9 and i really love it there. Ok there are a few dheads but it's a decent school Bexley Grammar was not my choice nor Trinity but i know someone who went trinity and got 15 gcsce's and now is in one of the best college in England!! But i would recommend any school apart from Welling. But make sure that is right for you cause i rejected a grammar school because i wanted to be at the top of a normal school then bottom of a grammar school.
As I said back in October we are blessed with so many good schools in our area, each of which will have a different "bent" and cater for different needs but all of which aim to give the child a decent education. My eldest is lucky enough to be going to one of those:
I went to Bexley Grammar (left in 91). I loved it there, am still in touch with mates and now I get to work late while everyone else goes to the game! At least I have a job I suppose.
[cite]Posted By: suzisausage[/cite]obviously the league tables show a percentage of who got what, not who were forced to not take the gcse so they didn't affect the league tables. not a good school!!!!!!
Are you refering to BGS? Sorry Suz but what do you know about it these days? I have two boys there, a lot of our friends have children there. It is not a good school, it is an excellent school.
well done morts,very good effort morts-genius-jnr!
yes my daughter got her place at townley thanks. small stressful waiting for the postie this morning,you sort of think she has her place but there is just that nagging doubt.good luck to other parents in same position today.
For what it's worth - BGS came highly respected when I was looking at Grammar schools but I was out of the area for that one.
Of my primary year there were 3 blokes that went to Grammar schools
I had the straight choice of Wilmington Grammar and Dartford Grammar. Dartford Grammar was far too snobby for my liking so I opted for Wilmington. Not a brilliant school but certainly a damn sight better than Dartford West where most of my mates went!!
Had a couple of mates at BGS who seemed to do alright out of it - one of them, Matt Panting, used to do the match commentary I believe on Millennium.
[cite]Posted By: suzisausage[/cite]obviously the league tables show a percentage of who got what, not who were forced to not take the gcse so they didn't affect the league tables. not a good school!!!!!!
Are you refering to BGS? Sorry Suz but what do you know about it these days? I have two boys there, a lot of our friends have children there. It is not a good school, it is an excellent school.
nope. I'm talking about Townley Grammar. I know nothing of BGS or very little as I didn't like it when I looked around it when I was 10, but I have lots of friends that went there and loved it.
all i was saying is that league tables that are published don't fully take everything in. they are not fully reflective. If I kid got a D in some subjects, they were often told not to take the gcse in that subject.
The school were more interested in getting the a students to a*'s than helping the d students get c's. it was easier to remove them from taking the exam as they could hide that in the league tables.
That happened at Townley, and if you're not at the top of the grammar school, you can get left behind.
Comments
This was when I was in year 7, or the first year or whatever it is called! it changed half way through my schooling as did the name of my school! no wonder I was confused!
We're going to help him all the way to fullfill his dream.
Agreed Henry, What the hell that one would have made of the Jabberwock beggars belief.
Go Zoe
I know. I've got used to it now what with Henry jnr and working in schools 5 or 6 times a year but in senior Schools they still call what should be yr 12/13 6th form. Make your mind up.
Can't think.
I can remember having an argument with a Geography teacher (yes, even then before you say it) about which was Iceland and which was Greenland. Had to get an Atlas out to convince him.
must have been caned / slippered 5/6 times for not doing me spellings ---------- if i ever meet that old barstard ill knock the twat out and when he comes round i might tell him to look up dislexia .Always wondered why the chose a word like that to explain forms of word blindness ? taking the piss that.
Sis went to Townley rd and one of my cousins was head girl there -- always herd good things about it.
What I will say (and I share the thoughts of KillersBeard) is that the difference between the likes of Chis & Sid (where I went), Townley Road (where my sister went), St Olaves (where my son is),BGS, Newstead Woods, BETHS etc etc is not all about which produces the best results but more to do with what you want your children to get from that school and how they will cope.
In my son's case we felt that he would need to be pushed in the early years of senior school as, without it, there was always going to be a danger that he was going to underachieve. It was a "culture shock" for him but he soon adapted. He is now old enough (15) to make his own decisions as to what he wants to do with his life and he seems to have found the right balance between school work & his other interests in and out of school (football, cricket, music, parties etc etc).
His brother is only 5 and it is clearly impossible to tell at this stage whether he will pass his 11 plus or not. What I will say is that, if he does, the decision process will not be influenced by how well or badly his brother has done simply because they are two totally different individuals. The only advantage we have is that we now know how the selection system works and having done the "tour" we have some knowledge of the stregths of the local schools.
So, in answer to the original question, from what you've said I would recommend BGS - providing, of course, having Mum there is going to be more beneficial than detrimental (if you know what I mean!!!) - Townley Road would, however, be a great alternative and would only be 5 to 10 mins away from BGS.
Grammar schools are fantastic IMO but will not be around for much longer, just glad we got the benifit.
Although i went to a Sec Modern the upper classes (not royalty) were streamed, i count myself very lucky to have been in the top class as the lower ones werent taught at all as far as i remember they were just controled. Shameful when i think back on it. No wonder back then so many left school with out even the basics.
Not at all Chirpy and given the fact that Crown Woods clearly never taught you how to spell I can see why you think that way!!! (No need to respond 'cos I've known you long enough to know what's coming). In any case, it's about time they had a spell checker on here that would "benifit" all of us.
"Diane Abbot the very left wing lady has her kids educated in a private school she said (and says) much the same." As did Harriet Harman when she sent he son to St Olaves (although not private it is selective and a long way from where she lives).
It seems really good! Please don't send me to Trinity, Dad!
Say you have a class who are unlikely to pass.
Enter them as private students (all schools are open as exam centers to anyone off the street) and hey presto!
Their results dont appear on your school statistics.
Unless they pass.
In which case they will.
Go for the feel of the place, not the league tables.
That's the way it works here in Oz too, the "league tables" here are an absolute crock of shit.
The private schools filter the kids very cleverly so that once they get to Year 11 (the year before they take their exams) the really under-performing kids are "encouraged" to find alternative schooling in the state system.
Even then, those kids that get to stay in Year 11 at private school here are simply not allowed to take the HSC in Year 12 if the school thinks they will perform below the standard they require, the student will then typically be encouraged to repeat a year to catch up or even drop out without taking the exam.
This, of course, leaves behind only the best performing students in the private schools who obviousy obtain very good exam results and keep the schools average passing % and league position artificially high.
The state schools suffer the double-whammy of having a whole bunch of disruptive and disillusioned 15 year-olds dumped into their Year 11 classes and also having to share their already meagre resources among even more students which pushes them further down the performance tables.
We are still considering whether to go private or state (Catholic system) but won't make the choice on league table performance alone.
You get a school that selects its students at age 11, only teach to the tests, and then you will top the league tables...simple really (there are other tricks of the trade too), if that is what you see education as, then look at the tables and get in to the school with the highest results. After all the results are gateways to opportunities.
Personally I think league tables are a complete crock of chite, a complete crock of chite chite chite....mind you I have been a teacher for 33 years what do I know? Henry, if you're talking about Bishop Justus (new school....good facilities), are you sure? Architecturally it might make an impression on a brief visit, but is the school a practical place to work? Go back and look at the space available to teach Dance for example. Also I know two teachers there who are absolutely ace, but I also have students who have started there and then wanted to transfer out (to my own very ordinary seeming school). Architects don't have a clue in school design. I have never met a teacher who has ever been asked anything by an architect about the design of a school, or even an extension, or an add on.
If you want a true measure of a school, go during the day, look at the toilets, sit in a year nine RE lesson, or Music or French, (subjects kids often dislike) look at the amount of chewing gum stuck everywhere, and ask the headteacher what they're doing to make the experience of lessons interesting for all the kids, ask about class sizes (are there any lessons at all, in any subject, where the teacher has more than 30 students in the class) because thats how they spend their hours. Ask the headteacher how many actual hours they teach, ask to see the headteachers office, if it is spick and span...beware!! Don't ask about homework, schools only have it to shut parents up....anyway, the best way to help your kids achieve is to take a real interest in what they're doing, not simply leave it to the underfunded state school to sort out.
No, but I really like languages, so thats good, as its a language school!
Ok there are a few dheads but it's a decent school Bexley Grammar was not my choice nor Trinity but i know someone who went trinity and got 15 gcsce's and now is in one of the best college in England!!
But i would recommend any school apart from Welling.
But make sure that is right for you cause i rejected a grammar school because i wanted to be at the top of a normal school then bottom of a grammar school.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/parentpower/schools_of_the_year.php?p=state_secondary
Not that he appreciates how good school is I'm sure but, there again, that was probably the same for most of us.
Are you refering to BGS? Sorry Suz but what do you know about it these days? I have two boys there, a lot of our friends have children there. It is not a good school, it is an excellent school.
I wouldn't mind going Chis & Sids either, they are good, too!
I just don 't want to go to Townly, I don't like being with girls THAT much!
My daughter gets her first choice - Bexley Grammar School.
Come on you Reds!!!!!(heads)
Thread?
Hills?
yes my daughter got her place at townley thanks. small stressful waiting for the postie this morning,you sort of think she has her place but there is just that nagging doubt.good luck to other parents in same position today.
Of my primary year there were 3 blokes that went to Grammar schools
I had the straight choice of Wilmington Grammar and Dartford Grammar. Dartford Grammar was far too snobby for my liking so I opted for Wilmington. Not a brilliant school but certainly a damn sight better than Dartford West where most of my mates went!!
Had a couple of mates at BGS who seemed to do alright out of it - one of them, Matt Panting, used to do the match commentary I believe on Millennium.
Good luck to mini Morts-Genius
nope. I'm talking about Townley Grammar. I know nothing of BGS or very little as I didn't like it when I looked around it when I was 10, but I have lots of friends that went there and loved it.
all i was saying is that league tables that are published don't fully take everything in. they are not fully reflective. If I kid got a D in some subjects, they were often told not to take the gcse in that subject.
The school were more interested in getting the a students to a*'s than helping the d students get c's. it was easier to remove them from taking the exam as they could hide that in the league tables.
That happened at Townley, and if you're not at the top of the grammar school, you can get left behind.