Streaming at five set me up to fail, says deputy head | BBC News

Sean Macnamara was put on “the oblong table” for low-ability pupils when he was still in reception.

No-one told Sean and his friend Billy what being “an oblong” meant – but they knew.

Smart lads like Matthew and Paul (Sean still remembers their names) were on higher-ability tables. Sean believes the oblong-table pupils were set up to fail from the outset.

“We just used to mess around and be really juvenile and we didn’t achieve anywhere near our potential.

“And I don’t think that’s because we were of low ability.”Lots of us are now successful in different areas but in school it was almost like we were written off.”

Read the full story on the BBC website: Streaming at five set me up to fail, says deputy head | BBC News

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