I was educated in a system like that, & apart from a few immigrant outliers like me, you could have predicted which kids would end up in what stream by the time we were 10, based on nothing but the ethno-socio-economic status of their parents. It's shit.
Sam FreedmanNew post just out: "Burnham's first mistake" Splitting 14 year olds into academic and vocational paths seems intuitive. But it's a terrible idea that risks increasing inequality, and closing down options for the young people that need them most. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/b...