Has anyone moved their dc from private to state for 6th form?

[shamonts]

Thinking of moving dd from her very small independent school to a busy state 6th form. State 6th form is ofsted outstanding with 30% A*/A at A level. Current school is tiny and single sex and I think the change would be really good for her, getting a bus, walking into town etc. She is keen to go but sensibly aware that she is unused to such a busy environment. Has anyone else done this?

Hello - yes moved DS from independent school to (very) large 6th form college. Gave him the choice so it was up to him, though the £40k saving is nice!

We were a bit apprehensive as it is a totally different environment and we wondered about the risk of him going off the rails. So we did speak with them a lot about this and making sure that he wouldn't get lost there or we wouldn't find out 3 months too late that he hadn't been working etc. The reassurances were good. Their updates have been great; it's clear that they don't let someone fall through the gaps, and he's loved it and done really well so far - as well as I would have expected at the previous school. Made new friends, now has a social life etc. Fingers crossed it continues!

That's really reassuring. Was talking to dd about the importance of keeping on top of work and not slipping through gaps. She said if she hasn't learnt how to work hard after 6 years of private school it's been a real waste of money

Well DS is a very laid back, fairly lazy, naturally fairly bright, will do just enough work and put no more effort in than needed, will always be one of those that 'could do better' (is a reflection of me :-) ), homework given today that is due in next Tuesday gets done next Monday evening etc. and we had concerns but all fine so far - though he still does the minimum work necessary!

Yes, moved dd1 from small girls school with 50 in each year to large 6th form with 1200 in each year she didn't move with anyone from school, but met her 'tribe' within a week and thrived. She's now gone onto uni with four of them....

I would have said that in the subjects she loved, she achieved really good marks, A's, but in the other, she maybe lost some marks as the general standard and level of motivation and expectation wasn't as high as it was at her small private school.

Information back to parents on attendance and grades was excellent.

We're considering it for ds but he's pretty unmotivated to even get out of bed in the morning, so may not work for him!

Thanks all. A few other girls from her school (not her year) have made this move and although I don't know them well it seems wholly positive. In fact, having looked round the 6th form I feel embarrassed that I didn't consider it earlier. It really does seem fab.

We're considering it for ds but he's pretty unmotivated to even get out of bed in the morning, so may not work for him!

DS is like that. He doesn't 'love' any subjects just does them cos he's good at them and will probably end up with AAB A levels or something similar. I think the more easy going life of the 6th Form College has suited him though. Some days he doesn't start til 11.30 and one day not til 1.30pm! If he was at school 6th form he would still have to be in for 9am. Now he will lie in and get up later (be got up later!!). Though if he does have some work to do them on Fridays for example he'll get up earlier and do it. So (touch wood) the change is working for him.

dd is the complete opposite.

she is highly motivated and works extremely hard - somehow this doesn't equate to good grades though :-(

she has to work her socks off for Bs

It is really common around here. And I even heard an old Etonian discussing how well it had worked for his Grandson (moved from Perse in Cambridge to Hills Road).
For some subjects it can be a real mistake to stay at the private school (local to me for Textiles I would definitely move to the state comp from the prestigious girl's school - its a much better and more lively department).

Not from private to state school, but from grammar school to state sixth form college. Best decision we made. Couldn't get better teaching and pastoral care if we had paid a fortune. Way better than the grammar school.

Yes, plenty do in Cambridge if they can get into Hills Road (they only take students with a good range of A*/As at GCSE).

Isn't Hills Road supposed to be the 'best' 6th form in the country? Going there is a bit of a no-brainer if you can get in!

The 6th form we are looking at is great with good results but nothing like as successful as Hills Road (although if more and more people defect there from the local independent schools then it might end up being so!)

I work in an outstanding state sixth form, we get several students from private schools every year, by Christmas the students who have been at our school from y7, those from other state schools and the private schools have generally all mixed together very well and where they came from is generally forgotten.

thank you mudandmayhem I am so happy to hear that. The social side of life at her current school is really woeful - there are only about 18 girls in her year and a very hardcore group of 'alpha girls' (of which dd isn't one!) I think it will be a breath of fresh air to make the change.

Shamonts, my dd was like this.... Worked so hard and was genuinely bottom of most classes, but she really stepped up to GCSE and got reasonable grades. She chose the sixth form as it has a very good reputation for Art, consistently getting A's and A*'s. It really pushed her in those subjects and that's where she got her A's...

Not DC, but I did this. Straight As and A*s at GCSE but I was sick of the tiny all girls private I attended. Managed to persuade parents that it was good to get some proper life experience before it was chucked at me at uni!

It was fantastic for me - I was a relatively lazy student and needed a 'half way house' where I was taking responsibility but still had half an eye kept on me before the freedom to not study at uni. It meant I got there with a little more self discipline than I'd have had at my quite spoon-fed school and I was a bit more streetwise too. Got into a Russell Group and 3 As at a-level. It was a really good move for me.

Hills Road is unusual, but for this particular old Etonian it was pretty amazing for him to admit it might be "okay".
My DD has gone to a sixth form college which has quite a few ex-private school types, she turned down another one which has quite a lot of ex-private school , and moved from a school which has a Sixth form which takes 20 or so new students each year mainly from private schools.

Hundreds of kids go from private schools to state 6th form in Hampshire every year
Barton Peverill
Peter Symonds
Alton College
Farnborough College and
Tauntons College
all get kids coming in from every type and size of private school

And it's not just Hampshire :)

Both my now-grown-up children went from private to state at sixth form. DD had been a day pupil at a girls school & DS was a boarder at a co-ed school. As a family, we thought their chose of sixth form college was fantastic. The pastoral support was better than at DD's old school & we saved a small fortune in fees.