Is it true that clever people go to 6th form and people who aren't go to college

No. I went to a sixth form college which was both lol.

But either way lots of smart people go into the trades through college because there's plenty of money in it, easy to get work and they don't want to work behind a desk or have loads of debt.

what are you going on about.

OP in our area all schools have 6th forms and there is one college with two campus. 6th form tends to do A levels and some BTEC .
College does vocational courses

Next county, only one 6th form so nearly everyone goes to college to do both Alevels and vocationals
DS went to 6th form did a mix of A levels and an engineering BTEC, so there is some more vocational courses.
I think there was even an experiment of sending the less academic 14 year olds to do some vocational courses at the college for a while, but dont know the outcome.

DD stayed in 6th form tried to do 5 Alevels/btecs failed so went to local college to do Health and Social care , went to a Russell Group that was top in the country for her course and got a First, now a professional health care worker.

I was quite sad at the low expectations of the college. She was out of the country when she got her results for her BTEC. She had completed it a term early so she could work abroad for summer.
They called up , not bothering to find up if she passed or failed and asked if they could help with clearing or what to do next. It wasnt a mistake , it was just an automatic phone call because they had low expectations of her students.

I'm not even sure whether the OP has worked out if they are ranting about 6th form v college, or A levels v Vocational qualifications.

In my area it was the opposite. The 6th forms all had a poor reputation and we had some UK leading colleges in the area so if you were academically intelligent you went there.

@thistimeiknowitsforreal I really think l you need to leave giving careers advice to the professionals.

Some of your comments are absolutely ludicrous and show a complete lack of understanding of the education system and the labour market.

Vocational qualifications should be done by those who are passionate about that job or particular sector - not as an add on to someone going on to study medicine.

If people need or want to learn practical skills then they still can. It doesn't need to be a qualification or in place of another qualification that they might need for career progression.

My DF studied engineering at Cambridge. He knows how to fell trees, build brick walls and, aged 92, has just removed a basin from a wall and fixed a plumbing issue .

Yes, my husband, an economics graduate from Durham, has fantastic skills in taking apart and fixing electronic devices. He's also put in two en suites from scratch, installed numerous bathrooms, is an excellent wallpaper hanger, can tile etc. Not bad for someone with economics, history and geography A levels.

I don't know why I keep getting sucked back into this ridiculous thread.

I hear you. It's one of the most frustrating threads I've seen on MN. There's two controversial sentences with unsubstantiated claims lobbed in and never any supporting argument. It's not worth engaging (with or without your academic or indeed your vocational qualifications...).

I don't know why I keep getting sucked back into this ridiculous thread.
However for some reason I feel obliged to point out that people can learn additional skills, or indeed take additional A levels, as and when they want to later in life.

My DF studied engineering at Cambridge. He knows how to fell trees, build brick walls and, aged 92, has just removed a basin from a wall and fixed a plumbing issue .

If you aren't going to give teens free choice at 16, when are you going to?

Your entire plan to give academic kids vocational skills will mean those who specialise in vocational stuff can't earn a living cos they dont have a skill that is in demand!

Skills like that could give them the confidence to get out of those situations, get a house that maby needs to work and be able to do bits to fix it up.

Gosh you really are determined to make sure that people with vocational skills must never ever make a living using them aren't you.

How many students living in house shares do you know who are in a position to build garden features? As for doing stuff around the house - they already do.

Why not they could have built themselves a nice garden feature or done something around the house ?

Better to have paid someone though and enabled that person to earn a decent living.

I am indeed. I am also very proud of my other two children who took (oldest is a graduate) or are taking the academia only route. They are all working very hard to follow their dreams and nobody is making them do bloody bricklaying when they do not want to do this!

Funnily enough my foster son did 2 A levels and a BTEC so yes, someone has thought of that and it is already happening! It just isn't compulsory.

Let me put it very simply, because that seems to be what is needed.

• Some people want to do 3 A levels (and perhaps an EPQ on the side). They should be allowed to make this choice.
• Some people want to do BTECs. They should be allowed to make this choice.
• Some people want to do a mixture of BTECs and A levels. They should be allowed to make this choice.
• Nobody should be forced into courses they do not want to do because of some rando's mad ideology.

Got it now?

Also some people might not want to do 3 A levels and may feel forced into that.

See nobody thought about that did they.

You're right. If only there was a technical qualification that was a similar size to an A level that kids could do at college. We could call it a BTEL, BTEM, oh I know! BTEC!!!!

Oh, wait...

That's because its not taking away choices, if anything its creating more choice .

Choice:

I'm a plumber. Not many people can do plumbing. I'm in demand. As a result I can charge £60 an hour and now live in a 4 bed detached in a nice area where I can support my family.

Vs:

I'm a plumber. Loads of people can do plumbing because loads picked it as an option when they did their fancy-pants A levels. My skills are not in demand any more. I can't earn much money and still live with my mum despite being 43.