[Sloper]

Like many on here I am considering schooling for the apple of my eye and I while I am less surprised by the amount of god bothering bollocks in some of the local school 'brouchers' (they're CoE) I am fucking astounded by the number of grammatical errors and patent bollocks put down in print.

Am I alone in finding this or is this a common theme?

I take the view if the headmistress of a highly respected school cannot write clear, correct and grammatically sound prose in the 'broucher' then that's probably all you need to know about the standards at the school. (even though it is "outstanding" per Ofsted).

[SA Chris]

Down wiv Skool. Sloper is a swot as any fule kno.

[Sloper]

Hello birds, hello sky.

[Jim]

well we are going to move house very soon so we've been looking at tons of ofsted reports trying to decide which skools are suitable and in catchment for the mini-me's.
TBH my spelling is shit anyway so I've not really noticed the spelling or grammar error's or maybe its just in Sheffield.
Anyway I'm still perplexed by the whole thing.
One thing I do know is that they aren't going to any religious school. I can't believe the amount of them.
Its quite worrying from an atheists point of view

[granticus]

Like many on here I am considering schooling for the apple of my eye and I while I am less surprised by the amount of god bothering bollocks in some of the local school 'brouchers' (they're CoE) I am fucking astounded by the number of grammatical errors and patent bollocks put down in print.

I am fucking astounded by the number of grammatical errors and patent bollocks put down by your bad Slopey self on this forum! 

[Baron]

Spelling and grammar are overrated. Will they enjoy it there? Ask yourself that too.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/20/wikileaks-cables-businessmen-richard-branson

[fatdoc]

Hello birds, hello sky.

Lady Manners your area?

if so. you are sorted 

the whole school thing is all a bit odd - first time little prcious gets grown up authority outside the home, the competition of life starting way too soon etc....

personally: small primary, nice and friendly.. gain confidence... then fight like fuck / move house / agree to religion (a bit) for secondary....

[slackline]

personally: small primary, nice and friendly.. gain confidence... then fight like fuck / move house / agree to religion (a bit) for secondary....

This is something I've never understood.  In this country we have laws which decree that you are not allowed to discriminate against someone on the basis of their religious belief.

Why are schools therefore allowed to openly discriminate against families/children who don't adhere to the schools chosen affiliation? 

[mrjonathanr]

...then fight like fuck / move house / agree to religion (a bit) for secondary....

Sounds like Jihad in your house. Personally we're prolly going to move to a borough with grammar schools, assuming mini would suit that. Judging by the way she's bossing dad around at the age of 11/4 that feels about right.

Slackers: because we're not French. Obviously. No laws separating church and state when the monarch, power to dissolve parliament blah-de-blah etc, is head of the church. I'm going to surmise too that the origins of early decent schools were in many cases ecclesiastical. Nuns, Jesuits, that sort of thing - hence the established tradition. Why it hasn't been revised has a lot to do with votes I guess. The results tend to be above average, which is of course easier to achieve when you have some control over your selection policy, and when those who are hamming it just to get in are by definition parents who give a damn.

[slackline]

Slackers: because we're not French. Obviously. No laws separating church and state when the monarch, power to dissolve parliament blah-de-blah etc, is head of the church. I'm going to surmise too that the origins of early decent schools were in many cases ecclesiastical. Nuns, Jesuits, that sort of thing - hence the established tradition. Why it hasn't been revised has a lot to do with votes I guess. The results tend to be above average, which is of course easier to achieve when you have some control over your selection policy, and when those who are hamming it just to get in are by definition parents who give a damn.

But you can have standards for admission to school without all the hocus pocus bullshit.  We've moved on from the church (and the monarch head of it) controlling the country and are a secular society

Anyway, 50% of schools will always be above the median 

[mrjonathanr]

But you can have standards for admission to school without all the hocus pocus bullshit. 

Personally we're prolly going to move to a borough with grammar schools, assuming mini would suit that.

Anyway, 50% of schools will always be above the median 

And 68% of drivers surveyed declared that they were 'better than average'.
I'm not justifying the system, just reflecting on it. Some teachers are better than others, particularly senior ones, who can really destroy a school if poor. Some parents are better than others too. We don't need to bully 'under-performing' schools in areas of singular deprivation. We need to tackle the deprivation that undermines the children's capacity to learn.

Faith schools can do well by presenting a coherent ethos- and influencing selection. It's called an unfair advantage. As to the ethics of the grammar school system, no comment.

[Jim]

I'm even more confused now 

[slackline]

Anyway, 50% of schools will always be above the median 

And 68% of drivers surveyed declared that they were 'better than average'.

Were they told what the scale is, what measure of average they were asked to compare themselves against and what that value is?

(I was being sarcastic anyway).

I'm even more confused now 

There's a website just for that.

[Jim]

can't find any school comparisons there?