identified as a "high ability student"

i got sent a letter from school around mid-july stating that i had been identified as a "high ability student", which is explained as a student who is "performing significantly above the national average".

it states at the end of the letter that when school starts back up again i will have to meet with the assistant headteacher to "discuss how to best develop and realise my potential and to find ways to best support me".

my mum said she knew someone at school who was sent the same thing (this wouldve been around 2004/2005) and they ended up being allowed to take a-levels WITH their gcses rather than after? i dont know of anybody else in my year who got sent this letter, but there are others as stated in the letter. i suppose i just dont know what it means, or what to expect when meeting with the assistant headteacher? im assuming not much will change because that seems to be how these things always turn out, but thought i would ask in case anyone here has some insight.

No- they won't let you take A levels alongside your GCSES - that is very frowned upon now. The concept of identifying high ability students is not used now and enrichment should take place in lessons so everyone has access.

Please be cautious if 'accelerating' you is mentioned - it's not good practice now. You should be given extension work in lessons ...

by accelerating are you referring to taking a levels with gcses?

i do get extension work, but rarely. most of my teachers have come to the baseless conclusion that im extremely stupid and seem to enjoy treating me as such, so im often refused extension work on the basis that they simply dont believe ive finished the main tasks. do you reckon this will change that?

Acceleration is taking GCSE early so you can start A levels early - lots of research to show this is bad. {No-one does both at the same time]

You do need to do the other work before you get extension work - I usually suggest my more able students do a reduced amount of the 'main work' then move on.

i do complete the other work beforehand, of course. the issue is teachers will refuse my completed work because they dont believe ive done it, and then refuse me any extension. i had a teacher accuse me of cheating and stealing other students worksheets at a parents evening just because i told them i had completed the work. which i had. ive had multiple teachers refuse to let me hand in completed work because theyre insistent that i "mustve done something wrong" without even looking at my answers. if i was handing in work extremely quickly/before anyone else, had a history of cheating or was a known troublemaker i would maybe understand the suspicion, but im not. im just trying to hand in completed work and move onto the extension like everybody else, and im refused. its strange.

i do complete the other work beforehand, of course. the issue is teachers will refuse my completed work because they dont believe ive done it, and then refuse me any extension. i had a teacher accuse me of cheating and stealing other students worksheets at a parents evening just because i told them i had completed the work. which i had. ive had multiple teachers refuse to let me hand in completed work because theyre insistent that i "mustve done something wrong" without even looking at my answers. if i was handing in work extremely quickly/before anyone else, had a history of cheating or was a known troublemaker i would maybe understand the suspicion, but im not. im just trying to hand in completed work and move onto the extension like everybody else, and im refused. its strange.

It sounds like something you should talk to you Head of Year about because it seems like your teachers have something against you and are treating you unfairly.

Don't your teachers walk around interacting with the class during lessons?

not often. they all mostly stay at their desks. plus, the pandemic has made it so that theyre not actually allowed to come near to the student tables anyways, so i think they all just kind of took that as an excuse to not have to move from their chairs.

i have quite a few times. i actually ended up dropping one of my gcse subjects and switching to a different one because the teachers had a very clear prejudice against me for no reason and it was seriously interfering with my development in the subject. nothing has ever been done about it, and since im going into my last year, i dont expect it ever will. im definitely not going to their sixth form, thats for sure.

That is what your school chose to do ... I can still monitor work and keep from being too close. Is work handed in?

i do complete the other work beforehand, of course. the issue is teachers will refuse my completed work because they dont believe ive done it, and then refuse me any extension. i had a teacher accuse me of cheating and stealing other students worksheets at a parents evening just because i told them i had completed the work. which i had. ive had multiple teachers refuse to let me hand in completed work because theyre insistent that i "mustve done something wrong" without even looking at my answers. if i was handing in work extremely quickly/before anyone else, had a history of cheating or was a known troublemaker i would maybe understand the suspicion, but im not. im just trying to hand in completed work and move onto the extension like everybody else, and im refused. its strange.

Don't let petty teachers ruin your education. If your head of year won't listen to you, try talking to a member of staff with more authority.
Presumably you would have been with your parents at the parents' evening where a teacher accused you of something you didn't do. Have they reported what has happened? Schools can take complaints from parents more seriously.
If the worst comes to the worst, don't hesitate to speak to the headteacher.

they havent reported it, but ive been pestering them about it ever since, so im hoping that once school starts back up again theyll do something. if not, i plan on bringing it up at the meeting i mentioned in my original post anyways. ill have two younger sisters attending the school in september (one going into year 9, the other going into year 7), and the older of the two has already started getting similar treatment from one teacher in particular. if nothing changes for me, fine, whatever. but i wont sit here and let them get treated the same way.

No- they won't let you take A levels alongside your GCSES - that is very frowned upon now. The concept of identifying high ability students is not used now and enrichment should take place in lessons so everyone has access.

Please be cautious if 'accelerating' you is mentioned - it's not good practice now. You should be given extension work in lessons ...

The concept isn't used now, at the expense of the really high ability students who fall through the cracks for one reason or for another.

What if extension work isn't enough for the OP, maybe he might need an early AS or A-level.

What and risk ruling themselves out for a good uni - it is frowned upon now - research has shown acceleration is not a good idea.

Yeah,

No-one is bored in the high-performing selective school I teach at - there are PLENTY of things to share with studnets that are FAR more intersting than the content of A level specifications.

Please post a link to your academic research on the benefits of acceleration