Band 6+: Some people believe that children at secondary school should be streamed, i.e. taught in classes according to ability, rather than being taught in mixed-ability classes. Do you think the advantages of streaming children at secondary school outweigh the disadvantages?

There is a growing trend where secondary school students should be separated according to their capability, rather than fostering mixed-ability classes, yielding certain advantages such as competition between them and learning effectively. Nevertheless, I firmly contend that the drawbacks – notably losing interaction and struggling to find an appropriate career – are far more profound and ultimately outweigh the positives.

One undeniable benefit of dividing students into different categories is providing better competition. When young people start studying in different ability classes, they tend to become more competitive and begin learning effectively. They may start to be better from each other by studying the subject deeply. As a consequence, their cognitive skills like critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making skills could enhance. Hence, youngsters are able to succeed in their future life, as they start being competitive and fostering skilfully. Therefore, while separating each individual to various classes by looking at their skill provides undeniable value in terms of effective learning and enhancing communication, its overall significance remains relatively minor compared to broader adverse effects.

One detrimental effect of categorising pupils to separate classrooms might lead to losing interaction among them. As they start learning separately, they begin to become introverted, they are able to communicate with only their peers; however, not with other students who taught in high-ability classes. As a result, there is a big chance to develop anxiety. Another fundamental impact is high maintenance in losing careers in the future. For instance, they studied less compared to other pupils and their abilities started to build slowly. It is widely believed that people who do not have sufficient abilities may struggle to find appropriate occupations.

In conclusion, there is now a driving idea that school individuals should be educated in classes separately by looking at their abilities. While, there are fundamental benefits that are improving competition and effective learning, reducing social communication and getting lost in the future are the main challenges. However, I personally believe negatives outweigh the benefits due to decreasing collaboration and failure in the future.