Oh, they're *so* up in arms about Oldbury Academy today.
Two hundred quid! To get a C in English and maths!
That’s the gist of the story: if pupils get a C in English and math, they’re looking at a school-funded handout of £200.
What?!
Actually, if people calmed down a little and listened to the whole story, they'll realise there's more to it than just the image of head teachers chucking cash at everyone in their school at exam time.
So, what's this all about, then?
Once more, it's about a school and its performance in the league tables.
Oldbury Academy is after as many C grades as it can get. Last year, for example, 60% of pupils sitting GCSEs got a C or above, which, compared to state-funded schools was pretty good, considering their average across the nation was just over 56%.
And C grades are one standard used to measure a school's performance in the league tables.
However, the school has come under fire for focusing on those C grades. One newspaper calls that "promoting mediocrity" ... while seeming to forget that Oldbury does also concentrate on pupils who get higher grades than C as well.
Another bit of detail that might have gone unnoticed is that said the offer of two hundred pounds to get a C in English and math only applies to 49 Year 11 pupils. They’re the ones who've been predicted to get a D grade in both subjects.
So although it's an expensive way of raising the school's ranking in the league tables, perhaps it's a worthwhile investment. After all, how much is a higher position in the league tables worth to any school? Quite a lot more than just under £10,000, the amount Oldbury would have to fork out if all 49 pupils did get their C grades.
Some of the loudest voices raised in protest, though, belong to outraged parents whose children were expected to get their C in English and math anyway and won't get a handout. But there's nothing to stop them doing a bit of bribery themselves, is there? Or perhaps we should say "offering an incentive of their own".
Trouble is, though, things could start kicking off in the classroom when it comes to those pupils who've missed out on their two hundred quid. After all, there is such a thing as jealousy, isn't there?
So ... is it a good idea, or not?
Personally speaking, we'd have loved it if someone had offered us a two hundred pound incentive when we were sitting our exams - much better than the threat of getting grounded for weeks if we got low grades. But that worked, too. And nobody in our class gave us any grief for it, either.
