Hello,
My son in in 4th class in NSW. He skipped year 2 and is in a better place in his new year but is still pushing beyond his new year. For instance, he is going up to yr 5/6 classes to do maths.
We are thinking about what to do for high school.
NSW has a very strong selective school system which would mean he would be surrounded by very strong academic kids. But this system can also be high stress which i am not sure would suit him. At least some of them have a culture of very high focus on marks (rather than learning) and most kids are tutored and don't socialise because they are busy studying.
Before this selective school system kicks in in high school NSW has another layer in year 5/6. The kids can sit an exam in yr 4 and then get offered a place in an opportunity class. Which from what i have heard has similar positives and negatives to the selective school system. He needs to apply for this test soon if he is going to do it. I am not sure whether we should go down this road. Sadly there aren't opportunity classes at his school so he would need to move schools. If he was going to try for the selective school then attending an opportunity class beforehand would give him a higher chance of having friends that would carry through to high school with him as many kids move from one system to the other. The other layer on this is that his very good primary school get a lots smaller in yr 5/6 as many many students go to private schools in yr 5. So while now he has some kids that are somewhat challenging for him i know that at least some of them are leaving at the end of this year. Also at the moment he can go up classes for more challenge but when he is in the older class this won't be a possibility.
He doesn't like the idea of it as he would like to stay with his friends. This is important, as we have already disrupted his friends (ultimately for the better), when he did the year skip. I guess i wonder if he doesn't know what he isn't liking if you know what i mean.
So after all this information, i guess i am wondering whether any on this board have experience from NSW or general thoughts on this situation.
Thanks for your thoughts.
HHBELLA
