To think that even in the last two years, some schools have increased their entry requirements for sixth form entry.

[smokepole]

I am thinking of moving from Kent and had a look at some schools for DD2 and DS in a number of different areas. The thing that strikes me are that the requirements are significantly higher than two years ago when I was looking for DD1. An example of this is one girls grammar school I looked at now requires 5 A grades for entry, yet two years ago only required 6 B
grades.

I am confident that DD will get the grades required( if I decide to move there) but 5A grades is a stiff requirement.

I work in a sixth Form (college though not attached to a school) and we have increased our entry requirements for some courses in the last two years.

Largely because we found students with grades lower than our new requirements really struggled with the demands of the courses.

Our requirements are still lower than most though due to the area we are in. Basic requirement is 5A-C including English and Maths. Certain courses then have additional requirements e.g. Sciences require BB in core and additional plus a B in Maths. Maths require an A or A grade.

Do look at Colleges if available in the areas you are looking at as these may be another option for your dc.

We're really struggling with this. Although my kids will most likely be able to stay at their current school for 6th form I decided to look around at other options. The minimum requirement for the very few viable options are a minimum of 6 Bs with individual subjects requiring an A and at least a B in English.

I

The sixth form mine attend/attended has not changed its entry criteria for years and requires 8 gcse on a points system but to study certain subjects they require an A in that subject which was added a couple of years ago.

It's not a bad thing, it means they will be able to cope with A Levels and get good grades.

The crap VI form I was forced to go to many many years ago would take just about anyone, so one girl who had only scraped 3 O Levels (yes I'm that old) was put on 3 A Level courses. She wasn't the only person to leave after 2 years with no additional qualifications.

Another thing to consider is that some VI forms only do A Levels and some students (not suggesting yours) are more suited to other courses.

You also have to factor in the changes to A levels; 6th forms no longer have the Jan modules to give indications of AS/A2 success and are more wary of entrants being able to achieve good grades at A level

As pp have said its to ensure that kids are not going to waste one or two years struggling with unsuitable studies. Gcses are not really very hard, if you are getting lots of Bs and below then traditional A levels probably aren't the next best step. Lots of excellent courses in FEcolleges thatbcan be accessed with lower grades because they are modular or have a ddifferent emphasis.

I was quite surprised when I saw 5 A grades required for sixth form, because DD2s grammar and 'local grammars' still only require B grades. DD s grammar only requires B grades for subjects that you are studying . The requirement of 5 A grades is a big step up from 4 B grades. DD2 is currently expected 2 A*, 5 A grades, ( but to achieve 5 A grades is still putting pressure on her!)

Well they are getting easier :)
I got mostly Bs years ago then took gcse spanish more recently and got an A*
It does sound pretty high, but then it may help stop people doing subjects they arent suitable for
... I did scuence even though i inly got Bs as i dont realise how difficult it would be

The local grammer will be filled from its own pupils, so thier entry grades are irrelevant - 6th form colleges have to monitor entry grades to get the right students

It's not bad thing. The jump from GCSE to A Level is pretty big in the first place, if you have only scraped your GCSES you are likely to struggle big time with A levels.

Gosh, 30 plus years ago when I did my A' levels, 5 A-c was the requirement for sixth forms.
How things change....

Me too, Sapphire. 5 a-c at O level. Must have been the norm, and exams were harder then, allegedly.

DDs2 grammar achieve's an average grade of C+ at A level and 215.3 point average( 13% AAB 2 facilitating subjects). The grammar I mentioned with the 'high requirements' for entry achieve an average grade of B and 244.8 points at A level, (41% 2 fac subjects) yet possibly the best state school in the country achieves A- 261.8 points average 60% from a non 'Super Selective' cohort and requires only 3 A grades or A grades for subject to be studied.

A well 'regarded girls' grammar in Kent still has 6 B grades as requirements yet equals the one mentioned with 39% and B+ average. It goes to show that some students might mature out perform their predictions due to greater maturity and different learning styles.