Changing Schools at Sixth Form Pros and Cons?

I wish I'd been 'allowed' to move from my girls GS to the local tech to do A levels. We are talking a long time ago, and I was still 15 at the start of the lower 6th but I had a few friends who went to the tech. and they absolutely thrived, whereas, at our GS, it was just more of the same. They were only really interested in those girls who were going to get stellar A level results and go to what would now be called 'Russell Group unis'. Back then they were called 'unis' . Those among us who were Polytechnic material- nah.

Lots of stupid rules, lots of the sort of responsibility that actually meant doing what would otherwise be the teachers' jobs like supervising lunch queues and chucking first formers out at lunch time, that sort of thing. We had to stay in school 8.30 to 3.45 every day (non-lesson periods were to be spent 'in the library') with 5 lunch time 'special passes' a term available, each- though town was a good 20 mins walk away. Whoopdedoo.

A good thing was that some of our teachers treated us differently- we had lots of very good teachers who'd be regularly crucified by the 2nd formers (Y8) but were absolutely in their comfort zone teaching grammar school A level students. Interestingly one of the arguments against leaving the GS to go to tech my parents made was 'the teachers there will be teaching English A level one session then basic functional literacy to plumbing apprentices the next- they can't do both well....'!

But, in short, for me, I feel it would have been a much better idea for me to have left the GS at the end of O levels.

DD1 is planning to move when she completes GCSEs this year. Her reasons for moving are:

• her current school offers only a consortium college so students get bussed from one school to another for different subjects
• she wants a more academically challenging environment with excellent facilities
• she wants a new start

The school DD1 has applied to is outside our county but catchment areas dont apply for 6th form.

I would really examine the reasons why then support whatever the choice.

I remember that there were some students just taking one A level and a couple of GCSE resits. Some were quite simply killing time until they could get a job.
In my Spanish A level class I recall that I was the only student who had any intention of going to university...suffice it to say that those lessons were a challenge

About the sixth form fee paying statistics, does that figure have the number of overseas students who come to the UK just for sixth form removed? Because there are some private colleges which are predominantly full of overseas students, and some school sixth forms which become predominantly full of overseas students. Never mind sixth form students who go to a private college to boost their grades (much like the old crammers).

We were too, because there were never more than about 10 doing any subject - as the vast majority didn't stay on, so you went from 120 in the year to about 40. You did have to have 5 A-Cs I think - but most people just left, which is v different from nowadays!

Thatk you Elaine. That makes sense.

Back in my day (Lord, I'm getting old) we were all just taught together. And since there was no entry requirement, you can imagine the mix of pupils. It must have been a nightmare for the teachers.

They didn't seem in the A level classes. A lot of her first three weeks was spent going over basic GCSE level stuff for those who didn't know it. In maths and science classes for which supposedly people will have got good grades at GCSE already.

Hmm, but the final dash is still important ie. important to help our DCs flourish and take off in their Sixth Form studies as far as we and they are able to!
With fewer subjects to focus on in their best fields it can be a time when everything comes together really well and in a new way

IME, setting depends hugely according on subject - since you can have A level subjects which only a small group are doing anyway, and some, like English, which are really popular. In the latter case, then yes I think usually they are organised along the lines of their GCSE results.

Do they have seting at A level?

I suppose they must, they I've never given it any thought. Otherwise the ability range can be quite broad no?

I did it and never looked back, I was bullied at my high school so getting away and shaking off stigma was great. I made lots of new friends and the sixth form offered a better range of courses that my previous school. If you are happy stay put, if you want a change go for it!

To be honest my daughter's current teachers are at least as good and well-qualified as the ones at her previous school. The difference in attainment is just that- her previous school was highly selective and pupils were decently taught throughout, whereas the range of ability is a lot broader (although not so much on her course) and the previous attainment more varied at the FE college. You'd expect to see a wider range of attainment at the FE college. They still get their As and A*s and Oxbridge entrants though. That's the only relevant thing if you have high-achieving DC- is the setting actually capable of producing the highest results? If it can I see no problem with switching.

Imo you can't really palliate years of previous bad teaching or disrupted classes and limited study skills in a final dash unless your child is superlatively bright and motivated, in which case they would do well anywhere.

"The students joining my DCs school for sixth form from private schools seem to do as well as would have been expected at their previous schools. Overall I think the students slightly exceed their predictions from GCSE."

I am sure it is a good comp but that seems a ridiculous statement as how can you have any idea what their predictions were??

14% of the sixth form population are in fee-paying schools. That's significantly larger than the 7% of the school population as a whole in fee paying schools. So clearly the well-trodden path is to a fee-paying sixth form.

The above statistic (I think it's actually 16% fee-paying) is largely accounted for by the fact that a fair proportion of state educated children leave school at sixteen, rather than by large numbers moving over to private.

If he is an aspirational and motivated AAAA student, he will almost certainly do as well in a good state school sixth form. My nephew has just achieved 4 A*s at a pleasant comp in a socially mixed rural area. He was a shoo- in for Oxbridge, despite perhaps not interviewing as smoothly as he might. He worked hard and did as his teachers suggested. And I am guessing the school your son is considering is a well regarded one and one about which you have some knowledge, or I expect you would not even be considering your son's request?

If he is developing his own socio-political views and the move is a positive decision and he is not excited by his current school, he will probably benefit from being allowed making his own decisions about his education. Although not generally in favour of moving for such a short course, it sounds as though the area is familiar and he has friends already at the school, so some of the possible disadvantages of change will be ameliorated. It is interesting and encouraging to see how many people felt reinvigorated by a change at 16. Seven years in one school could become a bit boring for a curious student.

My DCs comp has about 400 in sixth form, and about 50 or so of those come from other schools, usually private ones. It sends plenty of pupils to top Unis. It gets A's including at least 2 pupils who got 4 A last year. A lot of courses have higher entry requirements than other sixth form choices locally.

OP why don't you think your son can get his A*'s at the school sixth form? You really need to talk to the school sixth form about this.
Personally I would suggest letting your son apply for both sixth forms, and making the choice later on. Keep his options open, but do make sure if he doesn't get his A*s he will be ruling out LSE, and he has to choose what is the most important for him (new school and working extra hard, new school and another choice of Uni, or present school and maybe relying on the teachers more).

The students joining my DCs school for sixth form from private schools seem to do as well as would have been expected at their previous schools. Overall I think the students slightly exceed their predictions from GCSE. However not all state sixth forms are the same, and I have strongly advised my son not to move to the local excellent sixth form college, because I don't think it is the right place for him, although others flourish there.

I think moving can be a good thing.
I certainly would ot wish to work in the same office space with the same co-workers day in day out for seven years! My God, the boredom.

But that said, the way A levels work, you have to be sure that your DC is an easy settler, that he will hit the ground running. That can be hard while you try to do all the other things; making new friendhsips, getting a handle on your teachers etc. Also, many good schools will have already been prepping for A levels in year 11 so that the transition is smooth.

There's also the issue of insider knoweldge. By sixth form most of us know that Mr X is a pretty crap Geography teacher, or Mrs Y sets hideous amounts of background reading. Starting from scratch couod be tough.

That said, it could work very well with the right pupil.

I personally liked the idea of going from first to sixth, and having all those priveliges and different uniform I'd seen since I was 11 - although I do remember looking around at the time. I'm glad I stayed, just because I'm a bit of a sentimentalist and like continuity I think!

I quite hope dd (now in year 10 so we'll be thinking more seriously in the Autumn) stays where she is, as the sixth form is quite new and I'd like to support it) - but we'll look around at the other sixths in the city too. Many year 11s do move round here, either because their original school was 11-16, or just because they want a change, or to go to college - all the ones I've known to do so have been pretty confident in their decision and seemed happy, although I think inevitably the first few weeks are a little daunting. Certainly where I worked, you couldn't really tell by Christmas who'd been there since September and who since year 7.

I think probably if he feels it's the right thing, it is - two more years in a place you feel you've outgrown could be quite tiresome.

Bear in mind though, that he might change his mind - I was dead keen to go somewhere else almost up the last minute, and all about the change and casting off the old and all that, and then thought noooo, I want to stay where I am!

I'm surprised that we have so many examples of going from Independent to State as I thought that, typically, it went the other way round (as per MrsJAP's statistics). Is this a sign of recessionary times?

I think, as ever, it is best to ignore generalisations and see what is best for your DC. School A may have a fantastic track record of getting medics into Oxbridge or School B may secure a lot of apprenticeships but if neither of these are what your DC want then it's a bit irrelevant. Do you know either school's specific data re success with Economics and/or LSE?

BTW we are an all-boys school who take in girls at sixth form. After five years together, they have their established pecking order eg everyone knows that Fred is best at Maths and Harry at English etc. It comes as a real shock to the system when the girls come in and start beating them. It's a bit of a wake-up call.

I moved from a comprehensive to a top sixth form college. Mainly because my school was ok for GCSE but rubbish at A Level. I also was at an all girls school and the college was mixed.

It was one of the best decisions I made. There was more choice in courses and more people with aspirations of university.

As someone else mentioned, we don't get a choice in Hampshire. But do look at the results for Peter Symmonds College, if you think schools can do better...

I think it depends a lot on the child - I hated the sixth form and would have preferred a college environment. Didn't get great grades as I wasn't inspired, and was too busy rebelling against all the restrictions. I've done ok but on the whole think I would have been happier and got similar or better results in a college (would have done a vocational subject I was really interested in rather than dry old A levels, though).

I loved moving to sixtth form college, albeit I didn't have any choice as the schools in our LEA didn't have attached sixth forms. Some people are suggestign that makinh the change isn't worth it purely because he feels liek a change, I would argue that this is an excellent reason. A group of about 8 of us went from my school to the same sixth form and I loved beign able to start afresh with a new group of people. The move certainly didn't stop me from being driven to get into medical school but I felt a bit more grown up in the process.

My DD is looking to move from her school to 6th form at a local college at the end of this school year. The college has a broader range of A level subjects and the results are just as good as her schools.

Mine went from independent to local comp in September. The comps exam results are as good as the previous school. He is loving it. One of the things he is really enjoying (apart from a lack of uniform, being able to grow his hair, not having to shave!) is having friends on the doorstep. He is still predicted the grades he needs for medicine, and in fact the support has been better here than at the independent school. We even had a maths teacher give up a couple of hours over the Christmas holidays because she was worried about his confidence. Brilliant!

I did it, didn't have a choice as my (independant, all girls) school didn't have a 6th form!

For me, Cons:
It was a massive shock to the system. I went from having 29 people in my year to having 35 in my form which was one of 6!
It took a while to settle in, making new friends at 16 is much harder work than when you are younger!

Pros:
I got to meet alot of new friends from a variety of backgrounds.
It forced me into being alot more independant.