Which secondary school to target? DD wants to study Maths at Uni

This sounds like a pretty terrifying practice to me. Do the kids get a choice about being labelled as 'gifted', or do they just have to put up with it?

No choice and it often means they are singled out for worthless interventions based on pseudo-scientific pedagogies such as learning styles.

End of the day, it comes down to her. Being able to add fractions well does not mean being able to derive the Gauss Markov Theorem effectively. Education gets exponentially harder.

So in a "bog standard" comprehensive you might as well stick a poster on their back saying "I'm a big swot - please give me a good kicking behind the bike sheds"?

I think I'd have been tempted to fail a few exams on purpose to get out of this nonsense if they'd had it when I was at school!

Yes, of course there are a few people who decide when they're in primary school what they want to do and end up doing that job. But that's a very small number of people and most of the time the kids know what that job kinda involves (often because a parent or another relative does that job). A 10 year old almost certainly has no idea what a mathematician does or even what uni maths involves - I know because at that age I loved maths and wanted to do it for a job. Only an EXCEPTIONAL 10 year old would be doing anything at all similar to even A Level maths. And I'm sure OP's daughter isn't one of those kids because if she was OP would have suggested at some point whether their daughter should consider taking her GCSEs early.

Did you know at 10 what you wanted to do with that pilot license ?

ofcourse its hard to predict her ability at this age. Do you think I should say "stop being so stupid, you can never get into cambridge" ? .I wont. Even if she tells me she wants to be a supermodel, I wont ever tell her she cant do it. I will do everything I can to support her and help her get there. At this point, given the info we have, I know maths will be her strength even if she chooses biology at Uni. So, I am trying to get her into a school that supports her in her NATURALLY talented subject, even if she decides to do something else later on.

Hi all,
My daughter is currently in Year5 at a local state primary school. She is good at maths and enjoys it. Her long term goal is to study maths at Cambridge.

11 plus exams are fast approaching. We must now decide which schools we want to aim for. I have a nagging feeling somewhere that we didn't do a thorough research to help DD choose a school that suits her. We live in Croydon, but we are happy to move anywhere (commutable to London) for the right school. So far, we've been considering Tonbridge Grammar School, Newstead Wood School and Henrietta Barnett school.

Henrietta Barnett is our #1 choice. Why? Because its the only state school that stands in the top10 alongside top privates. Because they have a impressive Oxbridge record.

Please can I ask the wise people of this forum to help my daughter choose the right school ?

1. DD plans to start preparing for UKMT Junior challenge soon. Does Henrietta Barnett school offer support /guidance if she wants to work towards BMO?

2. Which secondary schools would you recommends we consider for her?

3. We haven't looked at private secondaries at all. We can afford to send her to one of those top secondaries but that means major compromises on lifestyle for us. In your opinion, do you think sending her private is worth it ? Do private schools really make a difference in terms of polish etc or are top state secondaries as good?

Any other relevant advise is gratefully received.

nobody is saying its unheard of. the point is that at her age she doesnt understand what 'doing maths' means, so setting it as a lifelong goal is pretty stupid. one vague anecdote by a teenager who hasnt even finished uni yet doesnt change that.