Moving for Sixth Form

[londonmummy436]

My DD has said that she wants to consider moving for sixth form but isnt 100% sure yet so we both decided to have a look. She is academic and currently at academic all girls school in south london. Any help or advice about different options would be much appreciated!

[rattlemehearties]

I did. I saw it as a step between school and uni (I went to a large sixth form college). Great decision.

[senua]

Remember that it is different from Year 7. You are not restricted to one place, you can hold offers from many places. So she can get an offer from her existing school and others, and not be held to a definite choice until the GCSE results are in (we talking State here - presumably Private would want a deposit).

[secretscwirrels]

What senua says is true and quite common. Many of DS1s friends changed their minds several times and did not decide until the very last minute.
The choice is usually between a school sixth form and a sixth form college. A 6th form college usually has an intake from a large area and the atmosphere is much more like a university than a school. No uniform and fewer petty rules. Some high achievers and some on less academic courses.
DS1 is very academic and I suspect he would have felt more comfortable in a heavily academic school. Having said that he went to a bog standard comp so there was less culture shock going to a college than perhaps your DD would feel?

[coffeeaddict]

I went to board for sixth form after a London day school - was brilliant experience and my DS has just done the same. Recommend it.

[BlackMogul]

What is making her consider moving? Is it just what all the girls are talking about - and believe me they do! Grass is always greener, except that often it is not. However I would change if there are sound academics reasons to do so, eg cannot be taught a certain subject in the 6th form, wants to board, school leadership has changed for the worse, best teachers leaving etc. Do most of year 11 stay into the 6th form, or do they lose lots every year? I would analyse why she wants to leave. Is it a whim or is it a real need? DD2 had a change for teaching reasons and achieved her goal in both exam results and University place, but she changed to a school with a fantastic reputation for her chosen subjects which could not be marched by her existing school. I would not change if there is no real justification for it.

[londonmummy436]

Thank you all for your help, i think so far on the list are: JAGS, Trinity, St Johns Leatherhead and Alleyns.
I think she is unsure as although she has many friends isn't purely in one group which i think she misses as she did have a fall out with a close friend last year.
Dont think she wouldn't benefit from a sixth form college as she likes the stability and pressure to hand work in rather than teachers being very relaxed about dedlines.

[londonmummy436]

Any views on the above schools would be much appreciated!!

[IloveJudgeJudy]

I have no views on the schools you mentioned, but DD is in Y12 and changed for 6th form.

In her case it has been the best thing. The reasons for the change were that she went to the secondary school from a feeder primary, so many pupils were ones she knew from primary and had not always had good experiences with. The boards for the A levels she wanted to take were different from her original school and the matter they covered is much more what she wanted to concentrate on.

DD is now a changed child. The move has been nothing but positive for her. We went to look at a few schools, and she knew as soon as she viewed this present school that it was the one for her.

She was a bit unconfident and worried that people wouldn't talk to her at the new school, but obviously that hasn't happened. She has make some lovely friends.

It has been hard work for her, I won't deny. She's been very tired as she's had not only to do AS level work, but also get to know all new teachers and a new school layout. A few of the school rules are a bit different, too. She had a chat yesterday with the head of Y12 (she thought this was especially for those who changed schools) who asked how she thought she was getting on. I liked that.

She did have to get As/Bs in her A level subjects and also in Maths and English in order to move.

Many of her friends also thought they would move, but when it got down to it, they decided to stay at their old school. I was very surprised. Some pupils have already left Y12 at DD's new school, only two weeks in!

Good luck for your DD, whatever she decides. DS1 didn't change and he was very happy, staying at the same school (which is also the one DD was at). It's very definitely the fact that different schools suit different DC.

[Shootingatpigeons]

londonmummy My DD moved last year, can't comment on those schools as we are on the other side of London, but she moved from a school very like JAGS to a coed further down the tables that quite a few of the parents looked down on, but has a reputation for being a happy and encouraging school. The move was part of an exodus from a very dysfunctional year. I agree they all talk about moving but often few move but for some reason in my DDs years a lot did move (third of year) I don't think that is that uncommon, my older DDs year group was a lovely year so there was no push but I just think that as well as wanting to study subjects not on offer some pupils feel the need for a change. All the girls' school around here have a loss and the coeds a gain, and it is actually very tough to get into the sixth forms of schools like Latymer Upper, far harder possibly than the SPGS's etc.

Pluses were that she found the social atmosphere in the coed much less bitchy (not against girl's schools but if you get a few difficult characters it gets amplified iyswim) and the boys intolerant of any of that silly behaviour. She finds the new school much more encouraging and focused on the individual rather than A*s. She has found that less stressful and just actually got As at AS, she doesn't think that she would have developed the confidence that has enabled her to achieve that at the old school.

Minuses were that she had all the stress of fitting in socially as well as hitting the ground running academically in a new school. To be honest she perhaps didn't start running as quickly as she might have done, fair bit of catch up to do at the last minute .

She is now in a much better place to apply to university and will have the experience of fitting in somewhere new, and I am very relieved it worked out!

[cppelham]

Hi! I would be very interested in the name of your daughter's new school as my DD wants to move from Latymer Upper to a coed school with less pressure for her A levels.