Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Careless mistakes?

Oops: did I assume you were in England? Sorry! Although you also made a mistake:
Nope, only in parts of the UK - in Scotland we don't even have a Yr 2 (instead of Reception, Yr 1, Yr 2 it goes P1, P2, P3; the cut-off dates for starting school are 6 months offset so the age range in the classes is different; and the testing regime is completely different). Complicated on this side of the pond isn't it :-)
It varies by school, but yes. Is independent school an option for you, at all?

I was simplifying. The tests aren't compulsory in any part of the UK any more, but many of the English and Welsh schools still use them. But I stand corrected - the Scots do things in their own way!

As for independent school - I really don't know. Money is really tight at the moment, and dd is actually the middle child of 3 bright children. My eldest, who is 13, has multiple difficulties including a dx of Asperger and ADHD yet has a non verbal reasoning of 141 - and a verbal score which is let down by his inability to understand social contexts.... Whereas the youngest (5) is also, according to his teachers) exceptionally able - but an altogether disruptive influence in the classroom. So whilst I do actually have the possibility of getting a substantial bursary for dd to go to a private school (one school has already indicated they will try to offer us about 75%) it still leaves me with a bill which is more than I can REALLY afford, and then 3 children all in different schools, only one of which would really be having her needs met. And I find that hard to justify.... I suppose it would be fairer to provide each with a small amount of out of school tutoring, but even that can be fairly hit or miss....

That's a tricky situation, yes... If there was a school that you felt would be good for both your younger two (I assume you don't want to move your eldest at this point?) I wouldn't rule out having a frank talk with them - apparently, many schools (esp. primaries) have more bursary money than applications for it, so you might be surprised. But even finding a suitable school, never mind paying for it if applicable, tends to be hard enough... Otherwise, there is lots of experience here (albeit not much from the UK) both on working with schools to get them to provide what's needed and on enrichment, so keep talking; someone will have BTDT.