OT RN for Dave

[Seaking]

Hey Dave, I know you can relate to this, on this day 41 years ago I made the fateful journey from
home to join the RN at HMS Ganges........my where have the years gone.

[DaveB]

My oh my.. you ARE an old git

My 35th anniversary of motherly amputation has been and gone but yes.. I understand exactly how you feel. My dad to this day can recall the look on my face as the 'Cornishman' pulled out of Birmingham bound for Plymouth. The cord was cut at that moment and my mother went into mourning. I was 'Old' then being 16years and 3months old

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[Nigel H-J]

So, it appears that the navy recruiting went from press gangs to.............cradle snatching then Dave!! :o

Nigel.

[DaveB]

Yes indeed Recruits at Ganges were usually 15-years-old :o Of course.. the education system was much different then and you were spit out into the big wild world at an early age.. not like now where fulltime scholarship seems the order of the day! :roll:

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[nigelb]

Sounds like the education system in the UK has really changed since I lived there - I remember the 11+ exam and my fear of having to sit for it but I bet that is now long gone.

Nigel²

[DaveB]

Hi Nigel..

Yes mate.. long gone in it's traditional form. It's all STATS now. Various levels of achievement are set and the children are measured against it. Those showing above the norm results get recommended for 'High/Grammar' schools and they sit an exam to go to that particular school. The rest go to the nearest Secondary Modern/Comprehensive type school. Even the years have changed now. They start juniors as year 1 and the numbering system continues until they leave senior school. I don't have a clue where my daughter sits in all this now I think she's a year 9 :think:

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[Garry Russell]

They're scrapping SATs

Big failure

This explains it as it now is

http://www.schoolhistory.co.uk/yeargroups.htm

I use to annoy teachers by refusing to accept it and still reffered to them under the old system

Garry

[DaveB]

Tks for correcting my STATS to SAT's mate. I thought it didn't look right when I typed it

I don't know how anyone who has as much time off as teachers do can complain but there you go. Teacher always knows best

ATB

DaveB :tab:

[TSR2]

Sounds like the education system in the UK has really changed since I lived there - I remember the 11+ exam and my fear of having to sit for it but I bet that is now long gone.

Nigel²

Good ole NI still had the 11+ up until a few years ago. It was actually a pretty good idea, but with an old name, its considered "un pc" these days to give brighter kids a push, seems they would rather everyone was kept at the same level. progress eh.

[ianhind]

Grammar schools and sec mods/comprehensive?

No such thing as grammar schools around here (just private fee-paying schools - the rest are comprehensives which seem to have various specialities, eg sports academy, arts academy in an attempt to attract funding and differentiate).

Then again, having no kids, what do I know about the system