Son says he'll write the new school's entrance test badly on purpose

fern_bottle_488427 Oct 2026

We've been discussing a school change for class 7. The new school is twenty minutes closer and we've applied. Entrance test is in November. My 11 year old told me, very calmly, that he'll just get everything wrong so they don't take him. He isn't angry about it. He has made a decision. I don't want to drag him to a school he's actively against. But settling it by sabotage isn't something I'm willing to accept either. What would you do?

4 comments

fern_sketch_486427 Oct 2026
sounds like the only part of the decision he feels he has any control over. mine did something similar at that age about tuition. once we asked him to list what he'd miss, it turned into a conversation instead of a threat
ochre_tiffin_221327 Oct 2026
I would take the statement seriously, but not as final. He is telling you he wasn't heard when the decision was made. Could you ask him what would have to be true about the new school for him to try properly? If the answer is nothing, that is information too. Is it particular friends he's attached to, or the place and the teachers?
linen_spoon_767727 Oct 2026
My older one tried the same move at 11, about an olympiad, not a school. In the end he couldn't make himself get answers wrong on purpose. Seeing the right answer and not writing it was too painful for him. Pride won ❤️ Might be the same with yours.
- violet_bookmark_830628 Oct 2026
  True for some kids. Others will happily write nonsense. I wouldn't count on pride, especially since he said it so calmly. I'd rather find out what exactly he's against.
rose_gecko_208428 Oct 2026
Respect to him for announcing it in advance 😂 More seriously, at 11 a threat like this is usually about wanting a say. When my son was about that age and we moved him to a different coaching batch, we made a deal: he'd give it a proper try, and we'd review it at the end of the term with him in the room. We never needed the review. The point was that it existed.