Nationwide, the way the system is, it is aimed at the cream—the tope five percent. There is no culture of teaching children who are at the intermediate/average level to be proud of their achievements; and of providing them with opportunities that match their levels of success. Neither parents nor children have been taught to appreciate these students and their achievements. Therefore every parent is very concerned about what happens to their child after school – are they going to stop at this [leaving school]? Is this it for the child? On the issue of consulting children and seeking their views in the organisation of celebratory and other events such as school fairs and in marking special occasions such as Children’s Day activities, both teachers and parents’ views corresponded with the views expressed by children—that children’s opinions are not taken seriously. According to parents/teachers, when consulted on such matters, children tend to make suggestions that are impractical. The view is that children are incapable of grasping the intricacies of the financial and other matters that are part of organising such an event, making their involvement rather pointless. It can […] be that sometimes children may give ideas --- children are very broadminded because they watch TV and things. They don’t have any financial considerations when they make their suggestions but in the PTA, we discuss what the budget is and what restrictions it places on things. Children do not think about the budget. Nor do they think about the space available […]. If we throw in children’s ideas into this, the costs will be much higher. There was also confusion among parents/teachers between the right to participation and merely assigning tasks and duties to children in the planning or organisation of activities. We don’t consult children in the organisation of such activities, but we carry out these events with their participation. For example, there are some things we delegate to prefects when we organise them. […] On some occasions—like Children’s Day—we ask their opinion. As discussed earlier, it emerged during children’s focus groups that several children felt excluded from the organisation of such events by the school. Some parents and teachers displayed a somewhat confrontational attitude when these findings were put to them: Children cannot really say that we ignore all their suggestions. How do all the children know every idea that has been proposed? They say this because their own personal view may not have been put into action; they then generalise and say nobody’s opinion has been considered. But, their ideas are probably considered. [own emphasis] Sports Parents and teachers concurred with the children that one of the biggest obstructions to children’s enjoyment to their right to play is the lack of designated play areas for children. Children may 45