Are London schools getting rid of students they don't want?

Being selective for Sixth Form entry is perfectly legal. Often it is harder to get in as an outsider than a student already there so it is perfectly fair. However, consideration should be given to students who have suffered health issues, bereavement etc - but lazy kids who don’t make the grades should really give way to harder working kids who couldn’t buy their way into an expensive catchment.

The problem on the ground in London now seems to be the tutoring frenzy. Parents tutoring to get into top set, do well in eg end of year exams in earlier years so they can stay on. That then inflates grades for all. Translates to oversubscribed schools becoming more and more competitive.

May have been one of the ones I saw in the media and rolled my eyes because I knew "top performing" educational establishments have always been up to it...

When schools get into 'trouble', it is usually followed up by tighter checks on all schools. Ofsted ask schools searching questions about students who are de-registered from courses mid-year. That is obviously different to students being discouraged/bullied from staying on to year 12, but I don't see how anyone could prove that was happening one way or the other unless they have a transcript of any "advice" conversations that took place.

Well a top performing school near me got into some trouble a few years back for doing exactly this. I doubt they were/are the only one.

State schools have to follow their own Year 12 admissions policy, and the policy has to comply with the National Admissions Code.

Year 11 students have an automatic right to transfer to Year 12 unless they don't meet the minimum academic criteria. Behaviour can't be taken into account in the decision - if it was, that would be a breach of the code and wide open to appeal.

In parallel, schools are also legally obliged to distribute information about alternative options to sixth form.

@RB1981 , perhaps you should ask your friends for their evidence.

They are telling the children they don't think they are capable of getting decent A levels and to go elsewhere to do other courses.

The alternative is to try to move them on elsewhere after the first year of A levels.

As some schools have now openly been caught doing that it is more difficult for schools to do that.

Lots of schools and 6th colleges have always got rid of children who they decide won't make the grade.

I'm surprise people think this is new.

Back in the 90s my college had an 100% university success rate with their science A levels. Most of us were headed for Russell group universities.

Roll on to early 00s one of my nephews was told by his school may not be for him before his GCSE year as he wasn't getting enough As. He stayed and did his A levels there.

Maybe they're encouraging them to have a plan B in case the 7, 8 and 9 turn into actual 6s and 7s which would mean they couldn't continue?

If they have 250 places and 1000 applicants they have to decide somehow. They can accept who they want I guess.

It's common in a lot of schools to have a required number of grades to get into 6th form. Even my comp in 1983 had a requirement.

Lots manage out kids that don't behave. They generally don't get the good scores.

My local schools have minimum 6th form grades and some subjects have higher minimums. Not everyone wants to do 6th form so there is a natural selection. So there is a selection process there. Maybe some schools have higher minimums due to
Popularity.