Hi Hhbella,
Well done to your son for having a go.
Don't worry too much about the results. If he does well and gets in then you have choices. If not, don't let that put you off doing the Selective school exam. It's two years down the track and kids change so much in that time.
I think the social side of being with other like minded kids is very important as has been discussed. My DD did a Uni workshop in the holidays and it the element that was possibly the most exciting to her was that there were kids who talked about things she liked to talk about! Things like the edge of the universe and whether we all exist in the imagination of another being etc.
I am still not sure we have many schools that allow our kids to be with others like them, encourage a culture of academic growth without focussing overly on summative assessment and which also support individual asynchrony. Perhaps it is a big ask. Despite lip service to visible learning and growth mind sets, there is still a lot of teaching to meet outcomes and raise test performance.
I am feeling thoughtful about these issues as we move into the HSC zone and wonder if it is the best way forward for our child. Particularly when over the holidays she is more excited about learning things than during term time when it all becomes quite a drudge. It is lovely to see the spark and painful to watch it dim when school returns. We are looking at all options. To that end, be aware there are pathways to higher education that do not require a HSC. Just file that away for future thought.
Will be thinking of you when the results come out.
