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Lineker attacks top public school?

Poll

Was Lineker right to attack the school for his sons bad results?

BBC football host Gary Lineker has attacked an elite British private school for failing to get his son into university.
The 49-year-old former England captain said Charterhouse school had treated his son George as a "guinea pig" by ditching A-levels in favour of a new exam system, Cambridge Pre-U.
The 18-year-old learnt he had failed to obtain the three B grades needed for a place at Manchester University on Thursday.
Responding to the comments, the Surrey school said it was "proud" of its students' grades.
Lineker, the ex-Tottenham, Barcelona and Everton striker, told the Daily Mirror: "We don't know what's going on with George at the moment.
"He did the Pre-U and they seem to have been marked much harder than the A-level papers. It's all a bit frustrating, as it is the first year the Pre-U exams have been used, so George has been used as a guinea pig."
The Rev John Witheridge, the school's head, defended the school's results.
He said: "We are indeed delighted with our pupils' excellent results this year.
"As you would expect, we do not comment on the performance of individual pupils."
A spokeswoman for the school, which charges fees of about £25,000 a year, added: "We are very pleased with our first set of Cambridge Pre-U results. Our pupils have benefited from a much richer sixth-form education and they are celebrating excellent grades."

Personally I don't think it was the schools fault, his son probably did not put enough work in so surely it is his fault and not the schools? But having said that, for the fees that they are I would expect my son to get really good grades.

A legend all the same

thoughts?

Reply 1

basketofsnakes

£25,000 a year bloody hell

Reply 2

Sovr'gnChancellor£

17

basketofsnakes

£25,000 a year bloody hell

I know - it's quite a lot and my parents only pay a bit more than half of that!! :eek:

Reply 3

GroovyTimes

In pushy parents' eyes its everyone else's fault other than their own children if their son or daughters underperform. I don't know how forceful his parents are but if he wasn't that confident then why apply to the university in question but then the issue of possible pressure from his parents and the high study fees might put him into a corner.

And I don't know how he feels about his dad spouting to the media.

Reply 4

-Aaron-

It obviously shows for however much money, the grades don't automatically appear there for you, you still have to put some effort in.

George was hoping to read Business at Manchester University. He blasted on Facebook: "didn't get into a uni... cheers school u massive k**bers!" However pals of the fun-loving youngster claim he missed out because he was partying when he should have been revising.

Reply 5

DJkG.1

17

The Pre-U is excellent, and very fair.

He's just bitter his son isn't smart enough tbh. Yes they're harder than A-levels at the top end but the offers made are in line with that. And ultimately, if he had that major an objection with the Pre-U, there are plenty of decent private schools offering A-levels / IB. He should have objected earlier.

Pfft.

Reply 6

Prince Rhyus

15

That reflects one of the rumblings around the tuition fees debate. Good exam results should not and are not something that you can buy.

Such are the stakes now that too many people are seeing GCSEs and A-Levels as the be-all and end all, and that failure in these condemns one to a life of failure. Well fortunately life does not work like that. I know lots of people who screwed up at school or college but went into higher education later on or who went on to set up their own businesses.

Reply 7

Krakatoa

17

Thats what happens when you spend money on a child. They dissapoint you, and will grow up to resent you.

...just get a cat instead of a kid, makes sense.

Reply 8

Leon Trotsky

3

Why didn't they just stick with the A levels? :|

Reply 9

ThemThereEyes

10

I remember seeing him in a documentary about lineker's missus. He seemed pretty retarded, I guess this proves as much.

Reply 10

deathbeforeimmortality

16

I think everyone should to do the Pre U IMHO.

In all fairness, the blame lies with his son.

Reply 11

Sovr'gnChancellor£

17

DJkG.1

The Pre-U is excellent, and very fair.

He's just bitter his son isn't smart enough tbh. Yes they're harder than A-levels at the top end but the offers made are in line with that. And ultimately, if he had that major an objection with the Pre-U, there are plenty of decent private schools offering A-levels / IB. He should have objected earlier.

Pfft.

Aren't the Pre-Us to A-Levels like the IGCSE to GCSE??

I did IGCSEs but didn't think they were harder because the school never said that they were.

Maybe, Lineker's son's school emphasised that the Pre-Us were harder and thus people didn't do well?

Reply 12

morecambebay

16

explains why his daddy was in such an awkward mood on chatty man.

Reply 13

PercyChatsworth

10

The Pre-U is supposed to be more challenging than A-levels and all the exams are sat at the end of the two years at sixth form so no chance to retake modules. Probably not the best course if Lineker junior is a bit of a duffer but then its his parents fault for picking that school - better off with an A-level crammer.

Reply 14

rugbyladosc

OP

12

Sovr'gnChancellor£

Aren't the Pre-Us to A-Levels like the IGCSE to GCSE??

I did IGCSEs but didn't think they were harder because the school never said that they were.

Maybe, Lineker's son's school emphasised that the Pre-Us were harder and thus people didn't do well?

pre u's are better than a levels but not as good as degrees

apparently..

Reply 15

rugbyladosc

OP

12

ThemThereEyes

I remember seeing him in a documentary about lineker's missus. He seemed pretty retarded, I guess this proves as much.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://wagsworldcup.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Sophie-Reede-dumps-George-Lineker.jpg&imgrefurl=http://wagsworldcup.com/sophie-reade-dumps-gary-linekers-son-george/1641/&usg=__9V-uCNqJs-7Xijrb-12MacZno1w=&h=486&w=459&sz=35&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=vGzctCfXflE4XM:&tbnh=152&tbnw=139&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlineker%27%2Bson%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1213%26bih%3D631%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=22&ei=E9RyTNKvO4eTswbS_YC5Bg&oei=E9RyTNKvO4eTswbS_YC5Bg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=67&ty=41

yeah but i would bang his gf

Reply 16

Sovr'gnChancellor£

17

What???

I seriously don't think top universities are going to differentiate between those because that is a huge scale of disadvantage!

I'm on course for top A*s in my A-Levels and have been doing loads of extra-curricular, yet if another has top marks in the Pre-U and does a lot of extracurricular - it only puts she/he and I head to head, not her/him above me!

Right...?

Reply 17

Koobideh

12

His son is retarded and doesn't work. It's his fault, not the schools.

Reply 18

nightrider94

9

i'm going to that school from 1st september into year 12. The school has had very good results, i guess George Linekar is just an anomaly.

My brother's already at the school. He says George Linekar isn't the brightest of sods.