Talking Point: Academic Academies
Academic Academies: Nicole Brown argues the case for the gifted and talented.
âNo selection by academic ability.â Itâs a politicianâs phrase which seems to take no account of the impact on gifted and talented students and has left me feeling frustrated and upset.
Now I donât support the old two tier system of grammar school and secondary modern, which then morphed into comprehensives overnight. (Bright new signs, but same dull future.) But visit any top law firm, medical school, city bank or stockbrokers and youâll see the top players have been to either an independent or grammar school. This seems to suggest that selective state education does provide academic children, from all backgrounds, with the means to compete with those being educated in public schools. And the converse apparently is also true, with recent research from the London School of Economics showing that students who donât go to grammar school lose out educationally and subsequently in the workplace.
The reality is our current educational system does operate processes of selection- theyâre just hidden. Where I live, we have selection by income. Those who can afford to, buy homes in catchments areas populated with wonderfully successful comprehensive schools (all with lovely sixth formsâ¦). And the new flagship City Academies select by aptitude but if that aptitude is maths, then itâs out of the equation. If weâre going to have selection, why canât we openly select academia and have Academic Academies for our GT students who need them?
Whatâs your opinion? Would Academic Academies benefit gifted and talented students? Share your story (by adding a new comment below) and vote in our poll.
Comments
A society divided by wealth....
I found this article in today's LGTnet newsfeed -
"Most" leaders privately educated - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6246152.stm
"We are still to a large extent a society divided by wealth, with future elites groomed at particular schools and universities, while the educational opportunities available to those from non-privileged backgrounds make it much more difficult for them to reach the top."
Does no-one else find this even slightly worrying? Is our current system really working?
The chairman and founder of the Sutton Trust, Sir Peter Lampl, says (in the article above):
"The first priority should be to improve our underperforming state schools but we also need to recognise that we have a socially selective school system.
"The top 20% of our secondary schools - independents, grammars and leading comprehensives - are effectively closed to those from non-privileged backgrounds.
"We should open up independent day schools to children from all backgrounds on the basis of merit alone."
What do you think?
Nicole
Academic academy
I fully agree. I come from a society where your academic score from your 11+ exam determined which secondary school you would go to. As a result child, parents and teachers took ownership of and for their learning.
In response
I beleive we need good education for all and it should not be selected on class or ability to pay. Old grammar schools did this very well as they were orginally set up in poor area and all children had a chance to take the entrance exam. If academic acadamies is the new name for the same thing then yes more of these are needed.
Curriculum
I agree with selection in principle - I attended an independent school from the age of 14 and it was a lifeline. You no longer had to pretend to be dumber than you were, and the teachers were allowed to TEACH instead of being prison wardens, so they had more energy and enthusiasm and patience.
However, I'm concerned about the extent to which City Academies have so far allowed their curriculae, hiring practices, etc. to be dictated by the businesses who "run" them (even though the business is only required to stump up £2 million to the taxpayers' £25 million). Surely we would all agree that Lord Sainsbury is not the person to be deciding what our children learn about in History class? Would Academic Academies be any different? I'll be watching closely in the next few months to see if the new government is as eager to privatise our children's futures as the old one was ...
How can one have a school without its own zoo....?
Can I just reiterate that I don't agree with any two tier or selective system!?
The point I really want to make is that the current system is so bad, that I actually think the grammar school system is more equitable - so thats how bad the current system is!!!
The social mobility figures pre and post 1973 (? I think that's the right year) also support my viewpoint.
But check out this article by Mark Steel - I love it.
http://comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_m_z/mark_steel/article261742...
Do any of your kids go to a school with a zoo...? Nx
This made me laugh!
Although really it's quite painful... Could be a good discussion thread for an upcoming learning network: "how can wallabies support personalised learning?"
That should get people talking!
G&T in Academies
Strange to note Academies that have registered a significantly lower proportion of their pupils as G&T than maintained secondary schools 8.0% compared to 10.6% (last year anyway). I wonder why this would be?
On the fence
I think to some degree academic academies might benefit Gifted and Talented pupils. When i consider that in some schools or some classes in some schools, the more able pupils are not stretched either because of poor teaching or poor behaviour from others detracting from teaching and learning, then i vote yes.
Yet conversely, i think there are some excellent comprehensive schools where Gifted and Talented pupils do prosper due to good teaching and learning an a positive ethos in the school. I myself, certainly came from a good comprehensive school with a good ethos where i was challenged to work to the best of my ability and therefore came away with an excellent set of GCSES and went on to do well in A levels and at University.
Taking this line of thought, surely we should be working to make our comprehensive schools these kind of learning environments?
academic academies
selective schools can be useful for some pupils. however, for the majority of them this kind of system will only make them future leaders will little or no social values. their whole lives then revolves around work and money. consequently they fail to relate to the ordinary citizen
What if you miss out?
I am with you on not supporting a two-tier system, basically because while it benefits those who "pass", those who "go to a school better suited to their abilities" carry through life with them the sense of failure, and therefore never get to fulfil their potential because they believe that they were told at age 11 that they do not have potential.
I live (and offer private tuition) in an area with selective and comprehensive secondary education. And, guess what, it is still selection by income and parental attitude. Apparently it is not unknown to start your child's private tuition in preparation for the verbal and non-verbal reasoning tests while they are still in KS1!
Academic Academies
I agree partially with having academic academies after reading that pupils from private education go on to triumph in the work place whilst state school pupils have a disadvantage. Something should be done to change this.
Children are the future!