GCSEs: Isle of Wight second worst in the country

Medina is failing my son. My son seems to be part of an experiment that is going wrong, and the ONLY people affected are the children who are getting a second-rate education as a result, not the Innovation Trust or Ed Authority staff. They will not get grades they could've expected a couple of years ago and their life chances will be restricted as a result, this is disgusting.

After posting my previous comment, I just looked up Knowsley, who've come in right at the bottom of the table, below the Isle of Wight, and they've just had all their secondary schools rebuilt and reopened as "new" schools, too. Hmmm. We've had all the upheaval, just without the new buildings! (Cowes aside.)

Yes, this is disappointing, particularly for the pupils most affected. But having looked round three island secondary schools with my 10-year old, who has to choose where to move on to after primary, I honestly believe the only way is up. I was very reassured by what I saw. They acknowledged that last year was tough - and no wonder, as they had to adjust to taking in not just one, but three new year groups when the middle schools closed. The GCSE English marking changes in June didn't help, either. But this year they seem to have adjusted and feel far more settled.
Interestingly, the authority above us in the league table, Barnsley, has also seen huge changes to its secondary schools in the past year; they've all been rebuilt and reopened as new schools. As so many of us suspected, shaking things up does come at a price. But I think next year's results will show a big improvement and reflect the good work that's going on.

A good point....but what about the generation of island children being educated right now in the most difficult of times with regards to jobs, the economy etc etc.

Please excuse my spelling!! I was under the impression that going into a two tier system was going to turn our Island into a triumph in educational standards - my questions is: In a few years when the children of the two tier system are doing their GCSE's, who will be held accountable if the results have still not improved??????

Teachers and pupils alike have had to endure a situation that has rolled on for many years now, culminating in the results that everyone knew would happen. Making middle schools the scapegoat for poor standards was merely a smokescreen for penny pinching and acquiring sites to build on. Ousting head teachers and deputies with years of experience, demolishing the morale of staff across the whole island, forcing pupils from a system of smaller, more personal and nurturing environments. Just like the islands roads, the council's plans are and always were full of holes. How much longer will they be allowed to go on ruining a place that is fast becoming an embarrassment.....?

Let us hope that the IW Council Education Dept will come up with some positive action to remedy the situation, what we do not need from them is smart **** excuses and buck passing.

Robert Smith,
Reading your post displaying such an abysmal grasp of the use of the English language, I ask myself did you ever go to school? What a shocking example of the current level of education by which we seem to be inundated.

Robert.

Those in glasshouses shouldn't throw stones

Robert Smith: FACT - You are a prime example of someone who needed to spend more time studying and learning how to spell! Tory, up-most, goalposts, a longtime, OFSTED.

Any views or opinions presented in the comments above are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the Isle of Wight County Press.