General Chat

Why should there be a stigma now for something that happened 40+ years ago?

At the time, we went to the school which offered the best education for our perceived abilities. Although I was offered a place at a Grammar school, I chose to go to a Technical High school.
For students who developed later, there was the option to transfer from a Secondary Modern into year 9 (3rd form).

If you think things are better now, consider the grading system at GCSE. Until this last year when it changed, anything below a grade C automatically eliminated you from a variety of entry level jobs or Post 16 courses.
At least with the CSE & GCE, a young person could be proud of a CSE rather than be brushed aside with a E or F GCSE.

For what it’s worth, I feel it’s totally wrong to coach children for the 11+ or
Kent Test as in our area. They may achieve a ‘Pass’ mark, but would they be able to cope with school expectations?

As a friend who works as the Head’s PA at a Grammar school says - the child may have scored sufficient points, but we just don’t have enough space. Far better to allow natural academic talent to rise than let a coached child struggle.

I agree on all your points, Det! :-D

We weren't coached in the 50's and 60's neither did we have fixed catchment areas.

I had forgotten about the contract and £10 exit fee :-D

My BIL, who is 90 in January, was awarded a scholarship so he could attend the Grammar School. When he turned 14 he was commanded by his Father to leave and find a job.

well, I guess Mr Jones found giving us the test questions an easy way to keep us quiet for a little time while he dealt with the others :-D ........... we were a Junior 3/4 class. There were only the 6 of us in Junior 4, but Junior 3 was a big class.

I went to a CofE church school, and the classes were all held in the "school buildings' next to the church, in very large classrooms.

Junior 1 and 2 were in the same huge room, but with separate teachers, Junior 3/4 were in another large room.

We used to go into the assembly room in the next building every morning ......... that was the Senior School. They still had Senior classes in the time that I was there (late 1940s).

I don't know that the "tutoring" did us any good ............. we all reached our own levels later. There were 2 grammar schools in the town, 2 of us went to one and the other two went to the other school. It didn't seem to have too much to do with where we lived in the town, although one school was supposed to the the "east" and one the "west".

Two of us stayed on to A levels and went on to university (myself and one from the other school), the other two got GCEs and then left school, although one struggled. That was basically where we had been throughout junior school.