Difficult one. I think she prefers being with her age group and friends learning together, albeit ability grouped but within the same year and deep down I think I do. In Primary she needed the stimulus of being pushed to do the work as it helped her to forget about "being different and not fitting in by being so ill" . The majority of her peer/age group didn't really start to accept her until she was about 10 years old but that was because of her illness not because she was bright. She really only had a couple of good friends who accepted her as Laura who just happens to be "poorly". We were very apprehensive about her going to Secondary school and losing the few friends she had but she has fitted in so well and has so many friends of both sexes who she feels at ease with and can open up to. Because she is with this core group of friends for most of her lessons it helps her and them as they trade off each others knowledge. The same with Chris, when he was pushed in Primary it was just when I'd had Laura and was "living" at the hospital with her so in a way he needed the distraction but in another he would have probably been better just plodding along until things were easier for him. If the circumstances had been different at the time with both of them, then it probably would have been a good idea and then they could and would have excelled and I think managed to fit in. As it stands especially in Laura's case, she feels better being with her friends so that is more important to us even though she still pushes herself to excel. My main concern is that once school is over and she has to move to College that she'll still have a good network of friends.
Windy RR#2 benefitted hugely at primary school as I did. I was accelerated in primary school even in the early 70's. Both of us naturally mixed with older kids. As senior school this was not continued, we both lost interest & both underachieved.
