Whole class at Ribble Valley school scores A* in GCSE maths (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Outstanding. Rob Youlten deserves a pat on the back, too.

So the worst pupil in the class is as good as the best. Suggests to me the exam was easy. Before anybody moans at my statement it is the exam that is wrong not the endeavours of the pupils. Well done to them, they can only answer the questions set.

No, Darener, sorry, it's not the test. These pupils have supportive parents who wanted to give their offspring the best chance possible by selecting a school like this one.
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The place will be full of high achievers who are well-motivated and determined. Those who, like you say, would get lower grades, attend a completely different sort of school and some will have parents who do not value education.

burner wrote:
No, Darener, sorry, it's not the test. These pupils have supportive parents who wanted to give their offspring the best chance possible by selecting a school like this one.
'
The place will be full of high achievers who are well-motivated and determined. Those who, like you say, would get lower grades, attend a completely different sort of school and some will have parents who do not value education.

No burner, sorry, it is not the parent's. it is their money! Given the same opportunity many of the pupils at non fee paying schools would do just as well.

What would they ave done wivout a calculator ?

I_Love_Mommy wrote:
What would they ave done wivout a calculator ?

Used their fingers like everybody else:)

A Darener wrote:

burner wrote:
No, Darener, sorry, it's not the test. These pupils have supportive parents who wanted to give their offspring the best chance possible by selecting a school like this one.
'
The place will be full of high achievers who are well-motivated and determined. Those who, like you say, would get lower grades, attend a completely different sort of school and some will have parents who do not value education.

No burner, sorry, it is not the parent's. it is their money! Given the same opportunity many of the pupils at non fee paying schools would do just as well.

The money/opportunity argument is a valid one. I think we all know by now that it's cheaper to send kids to Eton than it is to pick up the pieces of a broken child who ends up in the prison system.

A Darener wrote:

I_Love_Mommy wrote:
What would they ave done wivout a calculator ?

Used their fingers like everybody else:)

I expect that they would have performed just as well. They would have the values of sine, cosine and tangent for common angles on ready recall or from a brief consideration of suitable triangles to yield results in terms of surds. Some will know the series expansions for trigonometric functions. A few trials will give the square and cube roots in the range of numbers commonly used in examination questions.

These techniques were known even in Darwen. I taught some of its residents privately a few years ago, and now at least one of those is an accomplished general practitioner - that's not an oxymoron.

Graham Hartley wrote:

A Darener wrote:

I_Love_Mommy wrote:
What would they ave done wivout a calculator ?

Used their fingers like everybody else:)

I expect that they would have performed just as well. They would have the values of sine, cosine and tangent for common angles on ready recall or from a brief consideration of suitable triangles to yield results in terms of surds. Some will know the series expansions for trigonometric functions. A few trials will give the square and cube roots in the range of numbers commonly used in examination questions.

These techniques were known even in Darwen. I taught some of its residents privately a few years ago, and now at least one of those is an accomplished general practitioner - that's not an oxymoron.

Stop showing off. How old are you?

It helps if the parents have money to send their child to a great school as stonyhurst but being a caring and supportive parent can help a child go a long way, I don not have lots of money but i have guided my child the best i can and he as turned into a credit to myself and his dad.

Rogi wrote:

Graham Hartley wrote:

A Darener wrote:

I_Love_Mommy wrote:
What would they ave done wivout a calculator ?

Used their fingers like everybody else:)

I expect that they would have performed just as well. They would have the values of sine, cosine and tangent for common angles on ready recall or from a brief consideration of suitable triangles to yield results in terms of surds. Some will know the series expansions for trigonometric functions. A few trials will give the square and cube roots in the range of numbers commonly used in examination questions.

These techniques were known even in Darwen. I taught some of its residents privately a few years ago, and now at least one of those is an accomplished general practitioner - that's not an oxymoron.

Stop showing off. How old are you?

It's not showing off; I always act this way. And unless Jesus wants me for a sunbeam in the meantime, I shall reach my sixtieth birthday this year. How old are you?

happycyclist wrote:

A Darener wrote:

burner wrote:
No, Darener, sorry, it's not the test. These pupils have supportive parents who wanted to give their offspring the best chance possible by selecting a school like this one.
'
The place will be full of high achievers who are well-motivated and determined. Those who, like you say, would get lower grades, attend a completely different sort of school and some will have parents who do not value education.

No burner, sorry, it is not the parent's. it is their money! Given the same opportunity many of the pupils at non fee paying schools would do just as well.

The money/opportunity argument is a valid one. I think we all know by now that it's cheaper to send kids to Eton than it is to pick up the pieces of a broken child who ends up in the prison system.

The road between Eton and prison is a dual carriageway. Dare we name some of those who have travelled on that road? All in fun...