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Original poster

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

113 replies

Oxfordplus · 27/08/2023 21:11

Hi. Just what the title said. I've researched this online and is seems that once a child has been offered a place in 6th form they can't be asked to leave if it is due to poor academic performance - it is against the law. They can be asked to leave for poor behaviour but not academic results. Does this apply to private schools though> I've spoken to someone who says that private schools are a law unto themselves and can do what they like. Am very interested to know the legalities of this as my DS has been threatened with being asked to leave if he doesn't do very well in his first set of exams (October/November). I've also found out that boys that did less well than him in their GCSEs have not been given this threat (they have siblings at the school though so the school is probably trying to stay on the right side of those families).

OP posts:
Octavia64 · 28/08/2023 09:12

Most sixth forms that offer a levels want to make sure that the students are on the right course for them.

That means that they want the students to be both academically capable of doing the course, and for want of a better word, personally capable - ie will do homework on time, doesn't disrupt classes, will do the level of independent study needed.

So both state and private sixth forms have grade requirements to ensure students are academically capable.

Many will also do an assessment maybe a month into the course to see if students are basically managing to keep up.

In my school this is done quite early and then the students whose results show that they aren't keeping up have conversations with the head of sixth about potentially changing a levels (eg dropping further maths, maybe dropping down to BTEC etc)

They feel that a student who isn't keeping up after the first month is very likely to walk away from a levels with bad results, and they'd rather that student was on a course where they can succeed.

For whatever reason your son's school think he won't keep up. So maybe worth thinking about what will be your plan B if he's not keeping up.

Gliomes · 28/08/2023 09:03

mylittleprince · 28/08/2023 09:01

All school sixth forms are selective though? Even state schools require minimum grades to continue to do A Levels although admittedly they are lower than the grades required by private schools.

Has he actually started sixth form or is he due to in September? I'd be asking for a meeting with the school and your YP and determining if it's the school for him. What gcse grades did he get for the a leveks he wants to take? Does he actually want to continue there or does he want a fresh start. Do you feel they don't want him there or was this said to motivate him (in a strange way).

Yes but his results are pretty good. He has 5x As which is way more than enough for most state sixth forms.

mylittleprince · 28/08/2023 09:01

All school sixth forms are selective though? Even state schools require minimum grades to continue to do A Levels although admittedly they are lower than the grades required by private schools.

Has he actually started sixth form or is he due to in September? I'd be asking for a meeting with the school and your YP and determining if it's the school for him. What gcse grades did he get for the a leveks he wants to take? Does he actually want to continue there or does he want a fresh start. Do you feel they don't want him there or was this said to motivate him (in a strange way).

MrsFiddle · 28/08/2023 08:53

How about working with your son towards achieving a positive outcome in this? It doesn't have to be a quiet word with the Head of SF, it should be a serious word engaging any help that is possible - extra tutoring etc. The same goes for your son - being engaged in a positive plan.

CrossStitchX · 28/08/2023 08:52

JanglyBeads · 27/08/2023 22:08

So you're in Scotland, to have letter grades still?

Obviously not, seeing as kids in Scotland don't sit GCSE at all. Or have "sixth form" for that matter.

Gliomes · 28/08/2023 08:50

And for anyone, so hard to choose the unknown when you have the option of the known. Especially with a 16 year old brain.

We moved a child at start of Y9 and it was terrifying, a huge stab in the dark that we only took because we were desperate. It's so hard to know what day to day reality will be like after an hour or two's tour.

Gliomes · 28/08/2023 08:48

It's an awful lot of money for you to stump up just on his say-so though, for a school you are deeply unimpressed with, and don't believe is suiting him, and with the sword over his head that will likely cost him a whole year if it falls.

Is this a recent change of mind for him? Do you think he's got cold feet about moving? It just seems such a shame to start A levels in such a negative place when there are so many schools and colleges that would be delighted to take him with those grades.

Original poster
Oxfordplus · 28/08/2023 08:30

whatchagonnado · 28/08/2023 06:10

It's a horrible practice- chucking kids out of school for poor academic performance or even threatening to do it to try and 'motivate' . I would never put a child through that. Like having the sword of damacles hanging over his head. You need a much more supportive school where they genuinely want every child to do well

I don't want to put him through it either but he's adamant that he wants to stay at his current school despite said sword.

OP posts:
Original poster
Oxfordplus · 28/08/2023 08:28

JaukiVexnoydi · 28/08/2023 04:03

Is it possible that those boys have done more to convince the school of their diligence and work-ethic?
A non-stellae GCSE result will be due to a unique combination of wildly varying amounts of bad luck, insufficient basic intelligence, insufficient general concentration and hard work during the 2 years preceding the exam, insufficient concentration and hard work or lack of specific exam preparation skills during revision immediately before the exams and insufficient concentration/application during the actual hours of the exam itself.

Every kid who has a less-than brilliant grade will have a different profile of which of these factors were in play. The kids who spent the pandemic at private schools will generally on average have been a lot less affected by it than those at state schools but not totally unaffected and obviously some more than others.

In any school, private or not, there will be some kids who get a 5 or 6 at GCSE who the teachers are confident could have got a 7 or 8 in slightly different circumstances due to the specific combination of all these factors. Academically selective private schools generally expectv a minimum of a 6 to be allowed onto A-level courses but the majority of pupils in each A level class will have got a 7 at least. It seems obvious to me that any pupil for whom the biggest factor for why they got a 5 or 6 was insufficient work throughout y10&y11 needs a stern warning like your DS has received whereas other DC with a different combination of reasons wouldn't need or benefit from such a warning.

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These are all really good points.

OP posts:
Original poster
Oxfordplus · 28/08/2023 08:26

AppleKatie · 28/08/2023 03:35

If there’s nothing in writing I can’t help but feel this might be a colossal overreaction. Perhaps have a quiet word with the head of sixth form without him present and find out where the land really lies.

You might well be right and I'm going to have that quiet word as you suggest. It has been useful in that he says the threat is going to really make him step up. If they really are potentially going to kick him out in October though that's potentially disastrous.

OP posts:
whatchagonnado · 28/08/2023 06:10

It's a horrible practice- chucking kids out of school for poor academic performance or even threatening to do it to try and 'motivate' . I would never put a child through that. Like having the sword of damacles hanging over his head. You need a much more supportive school where they genuinely want every child to do well

HappiDaze · 28/08/2023 04:07

Yes it happens all the time

JaukiVexnoydi · 28/08/2023 04:03

Oxfordplus · 27/08/2023 21:41

They're keeping on boys who did less well in their GCSEs with no threats relating to performance.

Show quote history

Is it possible that those boys have done more to convince the school of their diligence and work-ethic?
A non-stellae GCSE result will be due to a unique combination of wildly varying amounts of bad luck, insufficient basic intelligence, insufficient general concentration and hard work during the 2 years preceding the exam, insufficient concentration and hard work or lack of specific exam preparation skills during revision immediately before the exams and insufficient concentration/application during the actual hours of the exam itself.

Every kid who has a less-than brilliant grade will have a different profile of which of these factors were in play. The kids who spent the pandemic at private schools will generally on average have been a lot less affected by it than those at state schools but not totally unaffected and obviously some more than others.

In any school, private or not, there will be some kids who get a 5 or 6 at GCSE who the teachers are confident could have got a 7 or 8 in slightly different circumstances due to the specific combination of all these factors. Academically selective private schools generally expectv a minimum of a 6 to be allowed onto A-level courses but the majority of pupils in each A level class will have got a 7 at least. It seems obvious to me that any pupil for whom the biggest factor for why they got a 5 or 6 was insufficient work throughout y10&y11 needs a stern warning like your DS has received whereas other DC with a different combination of reasons wouldn't need or benefit from such a warning.

AppleKatie · 28/08/2023 03:35

If there’s nothing in writing I can’t help but feel this might be a colossal overreaction. Perhaps have a quiet word with the head of sixth form without him present and find out where the land really lies.

EBearhug · 28/08/2023 02:01

Fallingthroughclouds · 27/08/2023 22:32

God that's awful. What a thing to teach people. You have mental health issues so you're out! That should definitely be illegal.

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Depends on the school - some are better at supporting mental health than others. (That's true of state and private.) But depending on the issues, it might be better for the student to be in a different environment anyway. No school will suit all children, because we are all different.

Maddy70 · 28/08/2023 01:25

Yes they can.

yogasaurus · 28/08/2023 00:50

Araminta1003 · 27/08/2023 21:28

If you have connections with journalists or a social media presence, then any renowned private school wouldn’t dare. They are brands. If you can kick up a stink and they know you are influential, they can’t do anything.

Not true, they’re quite happy to be seen to weed out people who don’t work hard

DelurkingAJ · 27/08/2023 23:05

Some private schools may take the very sensible view that they don’t have a course which the child can get good results in and so that child might be better off somewhere that offered more vocational training. Same with mental health worries…maybe best to take the time to actually recover and then start again at sixth form when the child is ready to succeed, rather than coming out (in either of the above cases) with three Us at A-levels and the parents feeling bereft because they've spent a fortune on fees. Not saying either is the case here but really sometimes it’s better to part company with the wrong school and find a better fit.

SheilaFentiman · 27/08/2023 22:57

VisionsOfSplendour · 27/08/2023 22:37

Don't igsces have letter grades stil too? Often taken in private schools

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My son took a mix of iGCSEs and they were all number grades (english private school)

VisionsOfSplendour · 27/08/2023 22:37

JanglyBeads · 27/08/2023 22:08

So you're in Scotland, to have letter grades still?

Don't igsces have letter grades stil too? Often taken in private schools

Fallingthroughclouds · 27/08/2023 22:32

Gliomes · 27/08/2023 21:20

Private schools can refuse to take your money at any time, for any reason or none.

Has happened to a few people I know when their young people had mental health difficulties.

It's one of the reasons my children are at state school - the child actually has a right to be there and there are checks and balances standing in the way of a head teacher unilaterally removing them.

God that's awful. What a thing to teach people. You have mental health issues so you're out! That should definitely be illegal.

Unexpectedlysinglemum · 27/08/2023 22:16

A private school should be following their own contracts with you and school
Policies- what do these say?

LIZS · 27/08/2023 22:15

Igcse still have letters iirc

SheilaFentiman · 27/08/2023 22:15

What is he trying to do for A level?

As PPs have said, you have no idea what the school has really said to others. But if someone worked hard to get three As in Spanish, English and French, got Bs in everything else but failed physics and art, say, but were staying on specifically to do their three A subjects, school might be less concern eg about motivation.

SheilaFentiman · 27/08/2023 22:12

JanglyBeads · 27/08/2023 22:08

So you're in Scotland, to have letter grades still?

Wales does.