Can a child asked to leave 6th form in private school for poor academic performance

Ditto @DrMarshaFieldstone Our local independent spends a lot of time lauding the achievements of its pupils that occur outside school - sporting, music, arts etc. The school does excel in one of these areas but when it gets to sixth form pretty much all of one of the main sporting teams of the school is full of those on training contracts at top London clubs. That’s NOT a result of the school.

When it comes to academics and falling behind then if you are one of these elite teams then the school will offer you extra tuition at school with no charge.

If you’re not then you will be given a window to improve things by getting your own tutor and if not then they will boot you out. Yes, even between Y12 and 13. Academic achievement is written into the contract but it is an uneven playing field based on what else you can offer the school.

The reality is that parents often choose schools based on reputation vs school that meets the needs of their child. Our local school is renowned for booting children out, yet parents are horrified when it happens.

To add that not all private schools are like this. Some will strive to work with the child almost no matter what to get the best out of them and provide the extra support they need.

The large selective independent school in our town is absolutely notorious for this, with the result that many of the sixth formers also have private tutors to help them to keep up with the school standards. Of course, when it comes to celebrating the outstanding results and university destinations, all credit goes to the school’s standard of teaching

No, no extenuating circumstances. She dropped that A level completely. She’d got an A* in it at GCSE.

There must have been extenuating circumstances for the U to happen, followed by an A. The teachers will have known your DD and what she was capable of. One of DD's peers underperformed consistently throughout school, so she was discourages from taking two of her A level subjects because she simply didn't have what it takes.

It is pretty pointless setting up a young person to fail when there are other options available.

Every A-Level provider I have known has a minimum requirement to progress through to Year 13. Of course, flexibility can be adopted when there are particular circumstances, but most operate on this basis.

State schools don’t have that right, though. And a grade E is still an A level pass. One of my DDs got a U in her AS levels, but still got As in her A levels, and then a first-class degree from an RG university.

I agree, but schools have the right to do that if it's the kind of learning environment and ethos they are going for. It is very important to understand the conditions of a school before accepting a place. It is very different teaching a class of A/B students compared to A-D students. Not better or worse, just different. There are differences into the pace and extension you can offer. That is the USP for some schools and why some parents choose them. I personally probably wouldn't choose a school like that but if I did, I would accept the conditions. It does seem a cruel and discouraging environment for a child who is capable but more middle of the road.

We aren't talking about Cs instead of As, but Es and Us.

It's even touted as a selling point that private schools can get rid of problematic students more easily than state schools can. But no one ever expects that will mean their own child getting "asked to leave" with little recourse.

OP you know him best. How likely is this school to bring out the best in him?

It doesn’t mean they’re unsuited to a course just because they’re getting Cs and not As. That’s the problem.

This ^^
It isn't only in the best interest of the school but of the student if they are struggling.

It's also inappropriate and unkind to keep a child on a course for which they are unsuitable.

Maybe they don’t love his attitude based on past experience and want to address this. You addressed fj is in a previous post

I hate to break it to you, but students can lose their place in state institutions also if their performance is not up to scratch. Obviously the first option is to transfer to a more suitable course but if a person just isn't capable they may ultimately have to leave.

Are you new to private education? I'm confused by your lack of awareness of how the school your child attends works.

Yes they can and will invite students to leave if they are underachieving or not meeting the expectations of the school.

And people send their children there in the first place as often as not because of their good grades.

Have you had a meeting with the school? I’d suggest you all meet (school, you and DS) to discuss this- sounds as if both you and the school have a question mark over whether it’s the right place for him but he’s adamant it is- he needs to understand what the concerns are and how serious it is.

It’s not just private 6th forms, grammars and state 6th form colleges also refuse to put children forward for exams (parents need to pay privately) vs expelling them. Our local schools certainly do this.

I agree with this. And would add that, as someone who's been involved in university admissions this year, we've seen (in my department) some really poor A-level results from offer-holders who have drastically underperformed compared with their predicted grades, and nearly all of these were from private schools. You can probably expect to see these schools employ more strategies such as the one the OP is worried about to make sure that their future results don't parents off.

I totally agree. Although, I agree that schools don't want poor results as it makes them look bad, achieving Es and Us at the end of year 12 doesn't bode well for year 13. Unless there were exceptional extenuating circumstances it is going to be in the best interests of the young person to reconsider their post 16 education and to restart year 12 with other options instead.

Our state grammar used to chuck anyone out st the end of y12 whi was achieving lower than DDD, but a court ruled thus was unlawful.However, since kids only get 3 years of funding, it is usually better for them to transfer to an easier qualification at the end of y12 than end y13 without decent grades and too late to start again

its a choice to go to sixth form surely?
my ds was advised to leave state sixth form around ? easter, can't remember, he struggled

but pulled his life around with a apprenticeship or at least training on the job

The thing is, OP, underperforming students just aren't good for a private school's marketing. They want to be able to boast about their stellar results to prospective parents, so it's entirely logical that they may choose to remove kids who are not going to make them look good.

What is a tutorial college?

This is what tutorial colleges are for.