Best School for Science 'A' levels for Girls

Florizella - I'd be interested to see that research - is it specifically for 6th form students or about young children?

Unfortunately research shows that there is a reduction in grades associated with a long commute, she will need to balance this with getting her choice in subjects and going to a place that she likes. Best to go round all the open evenings in early autumn and see how she feels..

Not an easy decision, good luck to her!

I'd imagine there's still plenty of homework to be done in free periods as A levels still involve the same amount of work even though they have got easier - and socialising, sport, clubs, etc...

it may mean they don't bring so much homework back with them for you to nag them to do!

really, as its sixth form, what's your DDs opinion? does she want the commute for the (raved about on here) sixth form?

goinggetstough
sorry I seemed rude BUT its not a public bus - its the direct college bus full of students only. Hampshire runs networks of them
and they get to park at the schools which parents and students do not
or as eatyourveg rightly says, Brock station is student city in mornings and afternoons.
Getting to a supermarket from parts of the forest takes the best part of an hour - especially when the grockles are cooing at ponies in Burley.
If you live in the forest, you accept that you are miles from anywhere and fit timetable around it.

trains go direct from Brockenhurst. Its about 40 mins. PSC is very close to winchester station - literally 5 mins from the back entrance

TalkinPeace you have every right to disagree with the OP but there is no reason to be rude about her DD and refer to her as diddums DD.
If you read her post it said they were over an hour by car so by public transport that would be substantially more. So your comment about not surviving an hour on a bus is not really valid.
I agree with you that PSC is a very good sixth form but it is not necessarily the best for everyone.

INEE
You are being unreasonable : you live in the Forest
LOTS of the kids have a long journey to college
the Brock bus leaves my bit of Southampton at 7.30
the PSC one at 8am
the BP at 8.10
if your diddums daughter cannot cope with an hour on the bus / train chatting to mates about the work they are doing, she's in for a shock when she hits the real world

Your point about getting there in the morning is valid, but if she has a 4-5 hour break then she can go to the library and work. Its very good practise for when she is at uni.

Would she be getting driving lessons/a car by the start of the second year too?

Hopefully you are thinking of applying for entry in 2013, as the deadlines for the coming academic year will have been last November or December.. For the colleges at least!

The PSC website says that they do accept boarders from within the county in addition to Falklands and Forces. Worth an enquiry about how they prioritise and to find out what your chances are.

PSC Boardsers are exclusivley non UK parents : Falklands and far away Forces and Diplomatic
if you live within bus range you'll get short shrift in favour of those who NEED

Then surely PSC is the obvious answer - their year groups are so huge they can SET for A level - find me the fee paying school with enough kids to do that
FFS
they hang out with the Winchester Boys at the Buttercross - how much more up market do you want?

Buffs nails at the fact that the buses to PSC, Brock and BP all leave from outside my house!

As a chemistry teacher at one of hose aforementioned 6th form colleges, I cannot strongly recommend them enough. Peter Symonds is especially good for science, I wish I had had the opportunity to go to one myself.
You get the advantage of specialised a level teachers, who only teach a level and are usually qualified to a much higher level than secondary teachers. These colleges are the best state funded way to access university, as there is much more support for university applications interview practice and excellent careers advice.
However, if SHE really does not want to go to a college, then she'll just have o accept that she'll be in a small class as probably the only girl, as I was, that wasn't a problem for me.

Btw these sixth form colleges outperform many private as well as state schools.

The numbers that take Physics and Further Maths varies from year to year at my DCs school never mind the number of boys and girls. DD2 was 1 of 6 who took further maths (3 boys, 3 girls) to AS and then 3 went on to take the full A level (2 girls, 1 boy). Both DD2 and the other girl in her class are now studying maths at university and the boy is doing economics.

I was more concerned that DD2 was taught properly rather than the make up of her classes although a small class was a bonus.

Nowt wrong with an FE college, I did A-level Physics and Further Maths in an FE college with excellent teachers and got A grades in both. The informal structure prepares you better for university and teaches you to be more independent and self motivated. You're going to be hard pushed to find a school with majority girls in these classes and what's the issue anyway - she'll learn she's just as good as the next man!

If I was anywhere within striking distance of Peter Symonds I would jump at the chance to get my dc in there. It may be a 6th form college but it is one of the very best in the country (And thats not just because I went there)

I'm sorry but I think your expectations are utterly unrealistic.
KES has free/study periods for A level students.
My GDST school had free periods for A levels.
And what is the thing about the number of girls in the class?

Why do you want 10 girls in a further maths class? I went to one of the biggest FE colleges (which is locally known for science) 6-7 years ago. There was one further maths class with about 16 of us. Two girls. It was fine, and the free time was important in learning how to manage when you get to uni and there is no-one to tell you where/when to go.

Our tutor group was irrelavent though: we never saw each other except at the one tutor session a week, and I don't remember those being anything useful. Subject classes were far more important.

Just make sure the place in question has somewhere for A-level students to work, either plenty of room in a library that's always accessible or study rooms. Then she can treat them as a "study period" rather than a "free period".

I am curious about which subjects she is taking to A2. Is it going to be all four of them or is she going to drop one, in which case is it such a deal-breaker?

If you are considering private. Have you looked at Canford. I understand science is very popular there. When we looked round there were plenty of girls helping with the demonstrations in the various science labs.

also, now that she's at university, she can see the difference between those liek her who have learned to work independently, and those who had a lot of stuff spoonfed to them at school. It's possible to set up your own structured environment within a more relaxed atmosphere [flashbacks to DDs 8 hours a day of Maths, except on Saturdays when it was only two or three].

DD1 did Maths and Physics at a school (not college), had loads of frees (didn't go in at all every other Wednesday ), but her tutor group wasn't the people she was in class with. I'm not sure why the tutor group is an issue for you?