girls leaving independent schools after y11

I think it's pretty much the law to go to Hills Road for 6th form if you live in Cambridgeshire, regardless of where you went 11-16. I do sometimes idly wonder how many colleges have benefited from a bump to their state school admissions figure thanks to HR.

A friend works in admissions for Cambridge and says when looking whether people are "state school educated" they do not just look at where the students are taking 6th Form studies but also where they took their GCSEs especially when they attend high performing state 6th forms such as Peter Symonds or Hills Road, Cambridge. Again anecdotal but less mythical I suppose we could say.

Yes - I'm sure that you do have to state where you sat GCSEs on your UCAS form so the university will be aware of your educational history. I'm also sure that very few students are given lower offers from state sector.

It's simply that universities may seek to bolster their stats for students accepted from the state sector over private. Pupils who have sat GCSEs in the private sector but moved to the state sector for A levels may then be favoured in the university selection process over their private school peers. For data collection purposes, the educational establishment they attended will be listed as state at that point and, I believe, no data relating to where GCSEs are sat is collated.

I am not stating categorically that this does happen, simply that this is a perception, amongst some parents, whose children move to the state sector at that point. There are, of course, many other reasons why students move for A levels as BubblesBuddy has succinctly summarised above.

Where I live (Winchester) it happens a lot, as the 6th form college is excellent and offers more options.

Also it saves money, and you can say on your Uni application that you're state school educated (hiding your privilege)

Lots of kids move school at 6th form. It's a very good idea in my opinion.

I understood that a factor is that you need a certain level of GCSE success in order to be permitted to enter 6th form at independent schools. I've certainly heard this a lot from friends with boys. One friend's boy had to leave Winchester because they demanded a set of very high grades which they decided he wouldn't get so took him out anyway. He came home to London and went to a private 6th form, allegedly full of ravers and druggies!! When I asked her who fills the gaps in 6th form she said "Asians"

DD is looking to move to a 6th form college for next year from a very good London Indy. Mainly because she has listened to DS moaning about the amount of time he has to spend in school compared to the amount of actual lesson time he has. She is super organised and self-motivated so will do very well anywhere. Despite his complaints it wasn't an option for DS.

As it is mentioned above DS has particularly warned her against moving to KCS (his school) for 6th form, and I wouldn't want her to go either. But it could be a great choice for the right girl.

The move at 16 to co-ed is nothing new. The Sloane Ranger Diary - (anyone else going to admit reading it) had whole section on it,. I read recently that Amber Rudd quit Cheltenham Ladies College for a London Day school. My grammar school had whole raft of ex boarding school kids debunking. Some because their school sixth for was too small and did not offer full range of A level subject. Others just wanted a social life.

There are very few universities that actively seek from the state sector and make lower offers. Those that do may have a list of the worst performing schools and make lower offers for those students, not all state students. They don't necessarily offer below the standard offer for every state student when they represent a high percentage of applicants. Who says all the best students are in private schools anyway?

Lots of schools are not through schools either and plenty recruit from 11 years old, not 4 years old. However, seeking new experiences, co-ed, choice of A levels, money, and peer pressure are the most obvious reasons.

The school I taught at last, before retiring, is a grant-maintained girls' school with a high academic standard although some less academic girls are also admitted.
It has a partnership arrangement with the boys' school though, so sixth-form classes are mixed and there is a wide range of A levels on offer. Depending on their subject choices, they may have some lessons at one school and some at the other. (They are allowed ten minutes to walk between schools.) Occasionally they may have some lessons at each school for a single subject (a lot of A levels are taught by two teachers anyway).
Most girls (> 80%) stay for sixth-form. The less academic generally don't.

doesn't necessarily appeal to 16 year olds who probably have a stronger voice in the decision at this stage..

My understanding is that they have absolute voice (unless they want to go to an independent school and expect their parents to pay for it).
Although the educational participation age has been raised (for most students) to eighteen, the school leaving age remains as it was (after GCSEs) and parents' responsibility to ensure their children are educated ends at that point. The responsibility to continue with their education then becomes that of the student, so they can, as I understand it, make their own choice and arrange it themselves.

Don't you have to say where you studied for your GCSEs on the UCAS form?
Disclaimer - last helped DS complete his form 5 years ago, so I may be mis-remembering

I have also been canvassing views from mothers whose daughters have left/ are leaving from Year 11 to go elsewhere for A Levels. The reason most often given is that their daughter has been in the school since she was 4 years old and she simply wants to experience school somewhere else. Another reason is often that they want to study A level subjects not on offer at their existing school e.g. drama or media studies. Another big reason (as a previous poster has mentioned) is that by applying for university places from a 6th Form College/ state school you can possibly increase your chances of getting into your first choice university by boosting their quota for students taken from the state sector.

I think the "lesser" girls' school is also an interesting case. It may be parents have chosen these schools because they are cheaper. If they struggle to pay fees then a state 6th form will be a blessing. From my DDs very expensive boarding school, I can think of only 3 who transferred into a state 6th form. Each one was money driven. They were struggling to pay the fees and owed money! The vast majority continued to independent 6th forms. Most wanted co-ed but not all.

We have one of the best 6th form colleges in the country not too far from us. An awful lot of students who have been privately educated up to year 11 go there because:

a) It is state run and therefore there are no fees
b) It offers a much, much wider choice of A level courses
c) They want to mix with the opposite sex
d) It is ofsted outstanding and offers a higher quality of education than the private schools do at 6th form.
e) They fancy a change of learning environment

@Crumbs1 "Not true but the myth continues."

How do you know it is not true? I'm not saying it is true; I can well believe the pupils' impressions are formed on weak, if any, evidence, but I'd like to know what evidence you have for your position?

Termly boarding .

My DD attended a non selective private secondary school.

She left after year 11 to go to a much more selective sixth form. Another friend went termites boarding and three went to state school.

My God-daughter left her private girls' school after GCSEs to go to state 6th form as her parents simply couldn't afford it and the bursary on offer didn't cover it. Sadly it hugely unsettled her.

Actually you will find girls from the top girls schools do leave after Y11. Pupils from St Pauls Girls will go to Westminster, and others will go to schools such as KCS in Wimbledon. Generally the girls get restless and think coed schools will be more exciting. Some do very well but others would probably do better if they hadn't moved.

Indeeded I know several current and past pupils who are under the impression that PGS/Churchers/PHS students are disadvantaged at offers and that Peter Symonds being 'state' sees applicants receiving more favourable offers. Not true but the myth continues.

LOL, would be very surprised if anyone goes to Peter Symonds on the view that because it is a "state" school they will benefit from a lower graded UCAS offer.

I think there are many different dynamics at play. Here in London, I have heard that several of the GDST schools have large losses at 6th form. I suspect one of the factors will be that a fair few of the girls will have been there since they were 4, and a mixed 6th form has an appeal. A friend told me that just under 30 girls went from WHS to KCS recently (don't know if that was last year or preceding year).

We also know a few girls who live in London and are at girls boarding schools who are agitating to come back to London for 6th form - no particular reason just that what appealed to their parents as ideal for 10 and 11 year olds (lots of wide open spaces, fresh air, way from the grime and bustle of London, no boys) doesn't necessarily appeal to 16 year olds who probably have a stronger voice in the decision at this stage..

I teach in a private school which was girls-only at one time. Back then, although A-Levels were offered, most girls changed to another 6th form college because of all the reasons stated above combined. In no particular order, since each girl valued them differently, the factors were greater independence (parents valued this), greater choice of courses, more pupils in courses, variety of teachers/styles, saving on fees, meeting new people (and boys!). I don't think many of our families were worrying about their UCAS position. The school was not posh, so there was no 'brand name' effect to consider.

Currently, that private school is co-ed but usually half or more of the year 11s leave and for all the same reasons. There are several good colleges across the area and often pupils have a shorter commute to one of these. Also, our 6th form is run tightly: most 'free' lessons must be spent in the study room at one's desk and, being rather remote, sloping off into town is not feasible.

I think our parents really like the idea of college as transition: pupils spreading their wings before going off to the wide world of uni.

At my DD's independent school she was in a year with just 20 girls. Four of them have remained in private education and the rest have gone on to state college and sixth forms. Quite a few went on to study farming and countryside management courses of various types at local colleges. In our case my DD wanted to be in co-ed classes and in the more 'grown up' environment of sixth form college where she would not have to be in school full-time.

Agree about the domino effect, lots of girls, including me, left my (good) private day school for co-ed because one got the idea in her head and we all followed.

The year below almost no one left. A few girls left for state, their parents had run out of money or they decided the school was snobby. Girls who stayed had a great time and did very well.