Grammar Schools

[Tabula-rasa]

Yea or nay!

Have you gained or suffered because of them ?

[naomi24]

Yea! Gained - without a shadow of doubt!

[Old_Geezer]

No. Mine turned comprehensive after a year. More's the pity.

[Arksided]

I would say yes and no. Yes because I had a reasonably good education with it being an all boys Grammar (No distractions) and no because they were no distractions. The close by equal All girls college was closed down so it mixed sex now.

[fiction-factory]

I definitely gained. I'm not sure I want to see more of them now though.

[Jackdaw33]

Definitely gained. Without them I would never have learned Latin or Greek.

[donny48]

All four of my children went to Grammars, all got good results and have now got good careers, yes we gained.

[JJ109]

Mainly gained - great education, but by taking O levels a year early, (to give an extra year for Oxbridge applications in the 6th form), it meant that after I changed schools I went off to University having just turned 17. This was too young, I was too naive. In hindsight, I should have taken a year out, but of course you don't.

[Jackdaw33]

My experience exactly. Taking O levels a year early meant I jumped from the Remove straight into the Lower Sixth, bypassing the Fifth.

[cassa333]

I didn't pass the 11+ so didn't get into the grammar school but my sister did.

Even though I failed (only by about 5 points but hay it's still a fail) I am all in favour of Grammers. As long as the entry requirement is on academic ability then why not?

Not everyone is academically gifted. Some a very practical, some are very artistic, some are more interested in vocational qualifications so for me as long as each child gets the best education they are able to engage with then I am happy.

Best education for all does not have to and should not mean the same education for all.

If anyone wants to tie the hands of children with a pen superglued to their hand when they can't or don't want to, then keep opposing Grammers, selective schools and persist in the 'one size fits all' dogma.

[Jackdaw33]

I don't know whether this was nationwide or not, but when I sat my O levels back in the 60s grades were not awarded. You either passed or failed.

[bhg481]

Jackdaw - I took my O Levels in 1959 and was given percentages for each subject. In 1961 I was given Grades for my A Levels. That was with NUJMB.

[mikey4444]

I went to my Secondary Modern, in September 1964, as, like 80% of all children, I had failed the 11+.

As it turned out, I went to a very good SM school. But we were not able to learn any languages, in the same way that the Grammar did a few miles away, as we didn't have a language Lab. Only the top stream in my school was able to learn French at all.

Science was taught in just the one classroom, unlike the Grammar, where they had separate laboratories for Physics, Biology and Chemistry.

When I was 15, we moved and I went to a Comp. which had everything that was missing from my old SM.

So, that is my experience. There is no doubt which was the better school at age 11, but, as I said, the Teachers at the SM did their best under the circumstance. The best Teachers, of course, all taught a few miles away at the Grammar.

[waterboatman]

Grammers should not have been got rid of.

[Jackdaw33]

I was given grades for A levels but to this day I still don't know my scores for O levels. They used to be ranked from 1 to 6; the teachers had the grades but they were not published; my certificate shows only Pass.

[mikey4444]

Apart from myself and Cassa, everybody else ( so far ) gained because they went to a Grammar, so no surprise there. I am glad that you all had a good education.

Lets hope we hear from others amongst that 80% of kids that went to SMs.

[Jackdaw33]

//Grammers should not have been got rid of.\\

LOL @ WBM.

[waterboatman]

I went to SM. An average pupil, joined the Royal Artillery on leaving and rose to the dizzy heights of Sergeant.
Studied with the OU when I left and got an engineering degree.

[waterboatman]

:o}

[Peter Pedant]

Grammar schools - are you joking - are there any ?

the question is like
The wills act 1837 - good or bad - is it too early to tell ?

how do you suffer from a grammar school

because my skool was a sink school compared to the grammar up the road ? and so scrapping grammars - you dont get any sink skoolz ? they sort of go away ......

yeah right ....

[Jackdaw33]

Can we call you Sergeant Bilko from now on?