No Wonder Children Get Confused

Nathalie started school again last Wednesday, Year 9 which is an important year after the comparative ease of last year. Anyway, since the end of the last school year she has been looking forward to starting to learn German. When she arrived home at the end of her first day back she was a bit down and it transpired that she wasn't in the group that had been chosen to study German in addition to French, she wanted to know why and tried to contact her German teacher.

After exchanging e-mails, that's the way you arrange appointments these days apparently, she had a meeting with the teacher on Friday. It turns out that only 20 of the year were allowed to study German in addition to French and Nathalie came 23rd in her year. Wow, I thought, 23rd in the year, that's brilliant, it takes some of the edge off the disappointment I thought.

Well, yes and no. Three of the top twenty students didn't want to study German as they had already opted for other subjects. That's good I thought, that means those who finished 21st, 22nd and 23rd would take their place. Not so, the languages department decided in their wisdom to give the three places to three students who under normal circumstances would have been put down a group in French.

Using football as an analogy it's as if the Top three in the Championship weren't promoted because if they were the bottom three in the Premiership would have to be relegated - although even that doesn't quite scan.

Anyway Nathalie was hugely disappointed but it has made her even more determined to achieve even better results this year so that come next year when the big decisions regarding options take place she will be in a better bargaining position.