Which sixth form to choose?

[Funkyslippers]

Just posting here for traffic.

DD needs to make a decision as to which 6th form to go to. Choices are:

School 6th form - Plus points: quite small, small class sizes, she knows the teachers and would know alot of the students, within walking distance so free transport, she could arrive & leave when lessons start & finish so not tied to any sort of transport. Negatives: classrooms are shared with rest of the school (not really a big deal though), she wouldn't be with 2 of her best friends, and one girl that used to be a good friend she wants to 'distance' herself from a bit but feels she would be stuck with her for want of a better phrase as they'd be doing some of the same subjects.

6th form college - Plus points: has a really nice 'campus' and 'grown up' feel to it, she'd be with her best friends, transport would be fairly easy. Negatives: she'd be tied to the college transport, much bigger place so a bit scary and bigger class sizes.

Both have very similar A level results and good Ofsted reports. Any advice would be great, thanks

I live in Hampshire where most schools follow the 11-16 system and so everyone goes off to sixth form college. DS didn't want to go to our closest one as there were some kids he wanted to get away from, so he went to look at the next two nearest, applied to both and received offers from both.

In the end he made his decision on which college to go to the night before he had to enrol. The one he chose had a slightly wider choice of subjects and transport was easier and cheaper.

I went to an 11-18 school and never considered leaving, but our college was a tech college and catered for hairdressing or plumbing courses though it did offer some A levels. Had it been a 6th form college with the full range of A levels I'm not sure what I would have done but I was happy in my school 6th form despite not being particularly happy there 11-16.

Look at the subject choices, enrichment opportunities etc and your dd should think about whether she's ready to spread her wings and go somewhere that is more of a halfway house to uni, or would prefer to stay in the safer environment of school. In my experience kids grow up at sixth form but I understand why you want to get away from people.

I've taught in school sixth form and sixth form colleges and I'd recommend college every time! Classes are bigger, but I have so much more time and attention to give to planning and marking. At school sixth form would be at the bottom of my list because the other years' lessons required more time and energy. Here I can put thought and care into every lesson and know my students far better even though there are more in a class.

Not knowing students before they come to us isn't an issue and most students really enjoy the fresh start aspect of it. Being able to shake off negative or unhelpful things from school is great. Socially pretty much everyone makes friends somehow and the relationship between staff and students is completely different. I love them calling me by their first names and not having to police uniform or planners. I found at school sixth form they were still very much treated as school children. At college although we do oversee them very closely, they're allowed to operate much more independently. their attitude is better from the beginning and there's much more of a culture of trust and mutual respect.

I'm also in Hampshire.

If she could cope with the more grown up / mature environment of 6th form college, and doesn't have any specific pastoral/learning needs, I'd go for college as it will widen her horizons and be a better stepping stone into university.

Would look at the courses on offer.
Do both do the exact A levels she wants to do?
Which exam boards do they use?
Which exam board does DD have her corresponding GCSEs in?

These are important for continuity. The college may do totally different exam boards requiring some catch up if their GCSEs were biased to one side of another exam board's curriculum.

I encouraged my teen to stay at the 6th form in our local school. He moved school a lot when he was younger and I think that the stability will benefit him. He performs better with a higher level of structure too and can get to & from the school without any need for transport.

She needs to look at more factors. What is the range of subjects and what are their results in the subjects she wants to do? What about extra-curricular activities? How much support in working out which universities to apply to and help with the application process (or whatever else she wants to do next if not uni)?

I went to Sixth Form college in Hants many moons ago (in the 80s), and was so convinced that I sent ds to the same place 30 years later.

Sixth Form College is a fresh start, which is useful at 16. You don't get taught by those who have 'history' with you (and I say that as someone who also taught A level at a school), so you have a clean slate for academics, friendships, work ethic etc. I loved sixth form, and having met a couple of others who went to the same place as me, as we had kids at the same international school; we agreed we would all go back and do it all again, as we loved the sixth form we went to.

I took ds out of his international school abroad and sent him back to the sixth form I went to, which had a couple of boarding houses (state boarding), and he thrived. He found his tribe, and learned a lot about life, the universe and himself. He got into the university he wanted to, had a social life and learned (ish) to use a washing machine and to manage his money. It was a great half way house between home and university.

You also have to look at what is on offer. Does she want to do IB or A levels? Which place offers what?