6th form college admissions, Hants- how do they work?

[Tansie]

We need to 'choose' a 6th form for DS1, now in Y11. (I have a thread about one going now!). Note there are all but no school-attached state 6th forms in Hants, they're all 'stand alone'.

How does it work?

Do you have to put them down in order of preference and you get offered the first they have appropriate space in? Like for secondary?

Do the school send off your DC's predicted grades? So can a DC even apply for a place to study certain A levels if their predicted grades aren't high enough for the 6th form in question?

What happens if your DC doesn't get the predicted grades, and is rejected, in August for their first choice? Are they left without a place?

Or can you, unlike with a secondary school place, hold more than one place 'open', pending results?

TIA

Each sixth form has its own application procedures and you apply to each individually so you can apply to as many as you like. My dd applied to two. On the application the student will declare which subjects they are taking at GCSE. There is no reference required from school - at least as far as I remember. There will be an application interview where the course choices will be discussed alongside predicted grades. The student attends this alone (without parents).

With Peter Symonds it is up to the student to contact the college if they have not achieved the necessary grades on results day - otherwise they turn up for their allocated enrolment interview with their results slips in their hot, sweaty hands. There is usually an alternative course of some description available if the grades are not achieved, though it is worth having a 'plan B' in mind.

Thanks, much the wiser- so he should be able to 'hold' places at both PS and BP, assuming both 'offer'.

A lot can happen over the next 8 months!

Yes, absolutely!

NB the offer is not conditional on receiving certain grades (like university), only on meeting the admission requirements (5A*-C plus subject specific eg an A in maths GCSE to do maths A level).

On the forms you do seem to need to admit whether a college is your preferred one or not.

They don't have admission priorities like schools, though someone from PS said they prioritise Winchester people and then people from certain secondaries. BP however doesn't seem to have any kind of priority, apart from they said they work with Eastleigh to ensure everyone in Eastleigh gets an offer from one of them.

What I am unsure of is how many colleges it is necessary to apply to (especially as my DD is borderline A level material, so I think we need Plan A, plan B and plan C!)

You can apply for as many as you like.
DD happened to only apply to PSC but others in her group were holding offers from PSC, BP, Brock, Alton and Tauntons come results day.

THe lack of limit on applications and offers is one of the reasons I always take "oversubscribed" comments with a very large pinch of salt