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Independant vs. state in US and UK

We get the list of offer-holders, and they're allocated parents. Obviously some people don't get as many kids as they might hope to, but it's basically so the stuff we send them can go with all of college's official bumpf, rather than us having to faff about with it later.

Reply 41

Woostarite

9

I know this is slightly off-topic, but the 11+ is a terrible way of obtaining the best pupils. Pushy parents just train their kids robotically with practice test after practice test, and even if they're not that bright they don't get in.
Many people who got into Oxbridge from my grammar school either failed the 11+ just slightly and got in because they were high up the waiting list, or failed generally (e.g. me, who joined in 6th form). Meanwhile people with high SATs marks often did terrible in GCSEs/A-levels, some even thrown out of the school. And these are not isolated exceptions.
But I'm very glad I went to a comprehensive - everyone was much nicer there than at my grammar school, where most were either arrogant or crude and vulgar.

Reply 42

Woostarite

9

kellywood_5

For these reasons, comps with sets seem to be the best solution because they allow students of all abilities to mix in form groups and outside of lessons, but at the same time ensure that each student is taught at a level appropriate to their ability.

Many comprehensives do have 'accelerated' forms, mine atleast did. They work very well, but not enough. There was a ravine of a results gap between me and one other person (now at Imperial) and everyone else. If he wasn't there, I would have had no drive at all except my own self-motivation (and to give a slight scale of the gap, I got 60% of the total A*s at GCSE, and he got 30%).

Reply 43

SlyPie

12

SolInvincitus

Just out of curiosity, might anyone give me a rough comparison of independant vs. state schools in the UK and private vs. public schools in the US? I want to get a better idea of education systems outside of North America.

Does the Public/State school factor make a sizeable difference in the Oxbridge admissions process?

I've attended both private and public schools in America. Frankly, my public high school was better than our local private high school. (I went to private school for about 10 years.)

Private high schools==sometimes religious; always expensive.

I don't recommend going to a private school unless your local public school is really bad. Public schools get you into good universities- they have more programs/more arts/more sports. Usually more well-rounded and have more students.

And from my personal experience, the students at private schools all ended up at mediocre universities.

Reply 44

SolInvictus

OP

11

My high school was the same way.

Reply 45

priya

14

the 11+ is an interesting one. I'll admit, i had a little help with it. i still passed with a respectable margin, but by no means did i score very highly. whereas other people in my school passed with full marks/virtually full marks. I ended up with higher gcse and alevel grades than them (and yes we all put similar amounts of work in)

Reply 46

kellywood_5

17

My 11+ score has to be the funniest thing ever; the pass mark was 1898 or higher, and guess what I got? Yep, you guessed it, 1898! :p:

I had no help with it whatsoever though, other than doing practice papers I bought myself. My primary school was really bad, whereas another local primary school had special lessons with their headteacher to prepare them for it. Interestingly, I was friends with a girl who went to that school but she failed. Oh, sorry, I mean she 'deferred success' :rolleyes:

Reply 47

zxczxc

11

You only took one test? Here we had to take one for each school we were trying for. Nor did we find out our marks.

Reply 48

kellywood_5

17

zxczxc

You only took one test? Here we had to take one for each school we were trying for. Nor did we find out our marks.

We had tests in English, maths and verbal reasoning, but we took them all on the same day (a Saturday morning in January, no less!) and we took them at our first choice school. When we got the letter saying whether we'd got in or not, we were told our Order of Merit (basically our rank out of everyone who sat the exam) and our separate marks in each of the 3 sections.

Reply 49

JHutcher

11

we only have one grammar in my Borough and it only takes those who get about 97% on their 11+

I was the only one who got into oxbridge and am about 20th in terms of grade points... so my school has a good mix making good top streams that did work at a much faster pace than the rest of the school.

Nobody seems to be able to suggest why a grammar school is any better than a streamed comprehensive. Top streams at comprehensives work at the same pace as grammars, they achieve similar grades as the top grammar students, the recieve teaching that is just as good, and in many cases have access to the same resources. Why have grammars when you can do the same in a successful comprehensive?

For example I managed to get 3A*'s 4A's and 3B's at GCSE having scored poor 3/4's at year 6 sats.

Unless ther eis something that is distinctly different about a grammar school (as there used to be) then i don't see the point of them.

Reply 50

JHutcher

11

SlyPie

I've attended both private and public schools in America. Frankly, my public high school was better than our local private high school. (I went to private school for about 10 years.)

Private high schools==sometimes religious; always expensive.

I don't recommend going to a private school unless your local public school is really bad. Public schools get you into good universities- they have more programs/more arts/more sports. Usually more well-rounded and have more students.

And from my personal experience, the students at private schools all ended up at mediocre universities.

The Laws in the UK state that every school must take part in a daily act of worshipp which should be christian in orientation (unless otherwise arranged). This applies to all state schools being religious or non religious. Most in the forum might have seen this at primary but the law is less commonly followed in senior school.

The UK also has state funded religious schools of the Jewish, Islamic, Anglican and Catholic faiths. Its also not illegal to practice or talk about religion in school, Religious studies being a compulsory subject (not neccessarily examined).

And just to highlight one further difference... most UK schools allow the gideons to give out there Bibles at school and most UK first years at Highschool recieve a New Testement/Psalter.

yay for British religious liberalism... how the tables have turned.

Independant vs. state in US and UK

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