Peedee

iTrader: (4)

Another year, another set of GCSE results. Again, I am dissapointed and slightly angry with the lack of coverage, information and advice given to those who don't fit the perfect media image of gaining 7 A* grades. I find it dissapointing that almost no attention is paid to those who didn't achieve good grades and feel they have been swept aside (again) and all focus is on those who want to go to university. I am almost at the point where I feel youngsters, although not directly, are made to feel that uni is the only way to go (mainly through over-promotion) and if you don't get a degree, you're pretty much a failure.

I have watched a fair bit of TV today. Rightly, the news on every channel has covered GCSE results, but again, insist on showing students who, when opening their results, have achieved A* and A grades. I've yet to see one of these 'openings' that don't focus on brilliantly clever students. What about everyone else? Why not focus more on those who don't want to go to university and want to do an Aporenticeship or want to go straight to work or join the police or the forces or whatever?

Anyone else feel the same on this matter or disagree with my POV?

ZANY

I'll agree with you bro but then again I'm a fickie back in the day it was more class A than grade A's and unfortunately it hasn't got any better now IMO

ReallyReallyGoodMeat

Totally agree, and must admit I was thinking "i bet they are all A* students" when I walked past a TV showing students about to open their grades.

hodgy0_2

Lol, my eldest son got his today

6 A* and 6 A,s

And he honestly did not seem to do any work at all !!!

wrx300scooby

He is clearly a bright lad then, well done to him

Turbohot

Mine also got top results in their GCSEs without doing any revisions at home. That was a few years ago, but I do believe that GCSEs are far too easy to get the As and the Bs. Students seem to dance around with their GCSE report cards on the result day but they cry during their sixth form as their non-labouring, naturally bright-by-birth bubble bursts big style at that academic stage. Real academic work starts and if you start slacking, you can't maintain your grade A reputation. Thing is, that IS the time when they start to slack. They think at that age and with freedom that they're dog's bollocks, world is in their fist and then start to plummet to the earth with low grade results. When they behold such, they can't believe their tiny eyes and feel that the whole world has gone against their victim self. Sixth form is a wake up call.

I'm sure your son will do well in the sixth form, though. Congrats and best wishes to him.

I get what the OP is saying, and therefore, congrats to all who passed and best wishes to the ones who're re-sitting. They needn't feel too bad about it and just carry on trying. No need to feel too pressured and upset at such young age.

I heard by someone on a Radio 4 that not just the university places but even apprenticeships are being snatched by the middle class kids. I don't have any figures to hand, but the R4 panel did talk the figures. One of them was implying that the working class and underclass kids with low grade results will struggle, even to gain the apprenticeships; never mind a place in a uni, one day.

BoozyDave

iTrader: (8)

Well done


I think a shake up is long overdue.
A* should be top 1% of student grades (perfect, impossible to improve)
A top 10%
B top 20%

Even a C grade would mean you are in the top 30% of grades (well above average)

So if a student gets A and A*, colleges know they are the cream of the crop. Not just another batch of 1,000 A graders that they have to pick between

Matty81

My missus works at a secondary school as a science teacher and she's always saying that schools are putting so much focus on the "bright kids" that the kids who are incapable of achieving grades c or above are swept under the carpet as those kids affect the schools ability to achieve high in ofsted standards which leads to lesser money being given schools under the ofsted league tables. She thinks it's completely wrong but can't do anything about it because she's told what to do by senior members of staff who are told by head/senior head teachers and school governors

BoozyDave

iTrader: (8)

most schools focus on the bright kids or the troublemakers

The average kids get forgotten about

It's surprising how many kids aren't taught how to use commas and full stops too

Matty81

I was one of the "kids" swept under the carpet. being 35 know I can't really class myself as a "kid" anymore.

BoozyDave

iTrader: (8)

Education is a 2 way street, But some kids in poor areas only have their mum to look up to, some parents are happy to leave education up to schools and then the parents blame schools when their kids follow in their footsteps.

Parts of Sheffield (Parson cross, Foxhill) parents are in the 'trap', single women with multiple kids with multiple parents. They didn't have great focus and backing and hence, are stuck. Chucking kids out and relying on tax credits for an income (most are getting more money for free than the average working person)
But in Dore and Totley, the couples have kids and stay together, they want their children to have the best chance for a good education

Too many people blame schools for their kids not getting good grades. It doesn't matter what area or what school you went to, if you had support and encouragment from your parents, you will do well in life

bobbyd182

iTrader: (2)

How much common sense and work ethic do these A* students have??

ZANY

As much as the characters from the Big Bang theory

neil-h

There's a reason for that though, the majority who didn't get good grades will have either cocked up and not want to be interviewed or be semi-literate at best and hence barely capable of putting a broadcastable sentence together.

sprigeteer

iTrader: (9)

I have a family member who has just had her GCSEs and is very upset with her low grades. She wants to do forensic science and CSI style career. What she overlooked was that she barely worked while at school and did nothing out of school until it was far too late. I see lots of children with an inflated sense of entitlement but without the work ethic to match. These same children think that their teachers are to blame. But, it takes two to tango. Equally, there are some hard working children who make the best of their skill set. Well done them. But, it's all life in microcosm. We all see this in life don't we? The workmate who thinks he's better than he is. The lazy one who wants a pay rise. The hard worker who is there before the lights go on. The intelligent one who has zero common sense. The son/daughter of the boss who gets on in spite of knowing nothing . . . .

Geezer

I wouldn't necessarily agree with that. My son struggles academically, but he is by no means thick, and he is unusually confident and pleasant when speaking to people he doesn't know.

He was chuffed to bits with what he got, as it means he can back to sixth form, but what he got was a struggle for him.

I think the drive to send people to Uni is counter productive, it has lessened the value of degrees considerably. I don't think there is anything long with having a system for the elite, University should be for the top performers, with grants for the less well off, you know, like it used to be.

As Syndrome said in The Incredibles, "when is everyone is super, no one will be". That is becoming very evident with the quality of graduates we see coming through now.

sprigeteer

iTrader: (9)

One of my favourite quotes. I agree about uni. The lack of value placed on truly vocational skills is sad. There are many children who are simply not academic OR not capable of proving their intelligence within the confines of that particular assessment process. Intelligence is often misunderstood and the sad truth is that the government's targets simply entrench this narrow ideal of the 'capable pupil'.

hodgy0_2

thanks (and to TH)

I have 5 kids - all either in state education or just left and starting uni (Edinburgh)

so I have and have had quite a lot of skin in this game

what always irritated me (and still does) is parental involvement, especially at primary school (my twin are in year 6 so will leave next year)

my wife and I became pretty involved in the school, helping with quiz nights, cakes sales, gardening etc etc

in fact my wife (with a friend) organised a charity 10k run for the school - that has now been running for over 7 years and has raised over 60k, solely for the benefit of the school

who gets involved in this stuff, yes the same parents, time and time again the same core group of families - always there, setting up the tables for the quiz night, packing them away again and clearing the hall at midnight, marshalling at the 10k run,

it always amazed me how little the majority did to help the school, and by extension their children's education

I was and still am frustrated and sad in equal measure

hodgy0_2

yes I agree too


my views on higher education have change in the last 20 years

if any of my children don't/can't get really good O and A levels - and get into a Russell Group university

I will tell them to get a job - and start on the ladder

hodgy0_2

lol

well, this is a tricky one, but from my own experience of MY children I think they do

So my eldest daughter - who starts at Edinburgh Uni next month, not only worked really really hard for both her A and O levels, far harder than her younger brother.

when I say hard - I mean I did not really see her from April until she sat her exams in June, and she missed a family holiday

She has also worked in the local farm shop since she was 16 - and funded her own gap year in Asia

My son - although he did not seem to work nearly as hard on his GCSE's, spent 4 years as a chorister at Jesus College Cambridge, which meant both attending chapel services and singing practice 4 days a week, he did that from the age of 7 until 11 (we did not push him to do this, he really enjoyed it - which always amazed me tbh)

he also plays the clarinet to Grade 8, achieved a Red belt in Tang Soo Do, has is RYA level 4, and his Inshore Power Boat licence

so in my experience yes, both clever, hard working, and practical

Peedee

iTrader: (4)

Not all parents have the time to get involved in those sorts of things? Not all parents have 9-5's? Both mine were in the Navy. Mum certainly didn't have time to play the perfect housewife and she certainly didn't have time to bake cakes and do gardening for the school lol. My dad was off in the Falklands. Also, a lot of parents work shifts, as mine did when they left the forces, so again, they never had time to do things like Marshall races and set up tables, because when they weren't working, they were looking after me (up to a certain age lol). My mum and dad rarely saw eachother for a fair few years because their shift jobs meant they were hardly in the house at the same time.

Turbohot

Very true.


Yes, true but I'd like to add that if one has the appreciation and support from the education provider as well, one would do well in life.

I say it because I hear many stories from the adolescents on daily basis; quite a few of them from struggling families. Let's face it, majority in this country is struggling. Not every man can afford a housewife. Both parents have to work and sometimes, the families are one-parent families with unstable family support. Despite their children's talents, their poorer stereotype causes teachers to act bias, they get pushed to the back benches and they don't get what they deserve. So many children tell me that they really wanted to do such-n-such but the teacher put them off by calling them stupid and unable to keep with such. Yes, teacher literally calling them 'stupid'. Great. Their parents also get cold shoulder from the teachers because their input in school fundraising etc. is negligible. Low in the food chain etc.

Once the self-concept is undermined as a child, it's not easy to improve it during the adulthood. Perpetual cycle continues.

Going back to the parental responsibility, I'd still agree that despite that, even struggling and working parents need to take more interest in their child's education. School alone can't do it. Even if both parents are working, or it one is a single working parent; less active on inactive with the PTA malarkey, it's about being a 'good enough' parent who's capable to give their children a quality time within limited hours per day, stability, security and attention to their academic and social growth. Such 'good enough' parents' children perform as well as the 'always available' non working mother's children and make something of themselves.


True, again.

Therefore, being in the PTA etc. is not something that makes your child better in their studies. But taking interest in what child is studying and how he/she is doing may make them feel appreciated and encourage them to do better.

hodgy0_2

we can all make excuses in life

Peedee

iTrader: (4)

Completely agree. My parents gave me all the support I needed and it really helped, I almost couldent imagine going through education without their support. They were never part of any PTA etc, only time they ever met the teachers was parents evening, same as 95% of other parents. There was never any 'need' for them to have further input into the school, they made it clear from an early age that I was in charge of my own destiny. They would help along the way in any way, shape or form (within reason) but ultimately it was down to me to knuckle down and concentrate. I actually don't think it's particular healthy to be massively involved with your child's school with things such as PTA, baking cakes, doing functions etc etc, I see it as a form of 'not letting go' and Molly-cuddling' your kids in a non-direct way.

Seriously? How is any example I've given 'making an excuse'? I'm hoping your post is in jest, slightly confused lol.

Peedee

iTrader: (4)

I've only just seen this. Nail on the head right there

David Lock

Must have a bright mother then


David

Turbohot

In addition, I often think that's it's even unethical for parents to be too involved with their kids' school. I've seen some genuinely nice parents in the PTA type settings, but most PTA member parents are just @rse licking types, who are well loved by the school heads and teachers. No matter how average or even below average their kids are, they get special treatment and often get away with murder. Non-PTA parents and their kids get treated as just some non-entities by the school.

Many PTA parents also love the limelight and grow an air of the superiority around themselves. Fair enough that any volunteering adds a meaning to one's existence; especially when a parent is doing nothing else but looking after the kids, but joining the PTA of your kid's current school is a recipe for breeding corruption.

I think PTA should consist of the ex-pupils' parents. Current students' parents shouldn't be allowed to join the PTA as it has a potential to breed undue favouritism.

hodgy0_2

Lol, yes

Unless she knows something I don't

"Mothers baby, fathers maybe" as the saying goes

He certainly did not get it from me

joz8968

iTrader: (13)

Come again.

hodgy0_2

http://www.uktsdf.org.uk/About/Belt-Colours