Why is 6th form thought of more highly than attending FE college ?

[Summersunshinee]

I can never understand why if you say that you attend 6th form at school you are thought of more so than if you attended FE college.

I would feel that if anything it would be more impressive to attend FE college as you made the decision to go somewhere else and try something different /

There is some research that students who go to specialist sixth form colleges (not general FE colleges) get better results than those at schools, and also are more likely to get a first or 2i in their degree.

That's interesting, although DD is at FE college, one which offers all kinds of courses and has a very diverse intake. I wonder if the findings are different from FE college or if the research hasn't been done.

I think the point about less spoon feeding probably still applies - she found it hard at the beginning getting homework on a topic she hadn't been taught yet and was expected to have a go at researching and figuring out for herself. That would never have happened at school. They've taught her to be a much more independent learner, which is great.

@Summersunshinee so does it really matter if someone chooses to A-Level at college or 6th Form?
I did one year of 6th Form - I liked my school - but struggled with A-Levels so switched to doing a City and Guilds qualification at College.
But really... looking back. My 6th Form was a 15 minute walk from home. The College was about a 35 minute walk.
If I could have done exactly the same course at either I would have chosen the 6th Form simply because it was closer to home.

In our area they do a course for 14 to 16 years old at college to get them on an alternative pathway and gives them tasters of various industries. Its been around for at least 10 years and sometimes mixes going to school and going to college. A friends grandson thrived on it and turned himself around.

@bruffin yes a lot of colleges do the 14 -16 courses.
I think they are a fantastic idea.

That's good to hear and that he has his time to shine.

FEs are associated with vocational quals, whereas 6th forms more with A levels. The snobbery you refer to just reflects that wider snobbery in uk. Totally daft. I was academic, did A levels at school. My son went to college to do a music Btec, and ended up with even more ucas points than I got for AAB! Where you study post 16 should be determined by what you want to study and the quality of provision at the places near you.

just think its beneficial to move on and try something different every so often and post GCSEs offers this chance.

If we were other side of city in the one good school my teens would have more likely have stayed in sixth form than gone to college for very practical reasons - travel times would be long with two buses and cost even higher.

I do think my teens are benefiting from going to a different institution doesn't mean some sixth forms in some areas aren't a better bet for some children.

Having to take 2 buses isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Shows importance of time keeping.

Also provides a motivator for learning to drive.

Learn to drive in a family that has no access to a car and which for years at university they won't be able to afford to do and in a family where frankly afford driving lessons would be very hard to do - .

Two buses - huge amount of time and frankly uncertainly of connections and money or walk to teaching location. Frankly they take one to college and that's at times proved difficult with driver shortages and strike action but local knowledge and actual experience don't seem to matter here.

Sometimes due to personal circumstances and local situations sometimes sixth form is best and sometime FE college is.

I was only trying to say that learning to drive is an important life skill and can open up employment opportunities.

Also its genrally something which is easier to learn when aged 18/17 as opposed to say late 20s/early 30s

I was only trying to say that learning to drive is an important life skill and can open up employment opportunities.

Also its genrally something which is easier to learn when aged 18/17 as opposed to say late 20s/early 30s

You were using it as an example of why transport to education institutions should be disregarded as a factor in choosing where to go post 16.

I haven't said it's not a useful skill it's just not an option for all 17/18 year olds - and mine fall into that category.

Incidentally neither DH nor I drive we are both educated to post graduate level and have mange to hold down jobs and raise three kids while not driving - so while a desirable life skill it is possible to live a perfectly happy life without it despite what MN often insists.

@Summersunshinee learning to drive, paying for a car, paying for fuel, paying for insurance, mot, maintenance and (depending on where you live) congestion charge/low emission zones is pretty much impossible for most 17 year olds.
Their parents can't afford it either.
You are very "yay college is great and all 16 year olds should try it" but for many families the choice of what to do after 16 is restricted by financial and geographical reasons.

I accept that the cost of car ownership can be expensive. But if you get a cheap to run well maintained car that can help.

Also i`m no mechanic but since 17 when i learned to drive and had my own car i have been able to do some maintenance myself making savings in that area.

@Summersunshinee who paid for your lessons and car at 17?
Most 17 year olds simply cannot afford a car. Many adults cannot afford a car.

Where I grew up most schools finished in year 11 so most of us went to college.. it was GREAT and imo a superb way pre-cursor to uni!

My parents helped me, but as i passed first time i didn't need as many lessons, anyway i think were drifting off topic somewhat.

My daughter went to 6th form college (not at school) as they offered the triple science and forensic she needed for uni. She could have done Alevel but chose the Btec as it was more practical. She’s now at a top uni doing very well about to graduate with a 1:1
UCAS is points based and unis are less bothered about the routes in but more on the academic results and the person

@Summersunshinee it might be drifting off topic talking about driving (you bought it up) but for some 16 year olds if the choice is 6th Form in a school 15 minutes walk away from home or going to college which is 2 long expensive bus journeys away - some will choose the 6th Form. It's not always about the 'experience' - it's about the practicality and because you can't drive until 17 that's not going to help when College/6th Form starts at age 16.
You keep saying you don't understand why people choose 6th Form over College - being able to actually get to the college is a factor for many 16 year olds.
What don't you understand about that.

You must be very proud of your daughter.

We've been through both. The FE college is hands off the sixth form cared and helped, neither was superior if it suits the child

Ultimately which was better though ?

I expect that neither was better, it all depended on what suited each child.

@Summersunshinee why can't you let this go....?
Neither is "better".

I'm in Northern Ireland and you'd be thought of as cleverer, more academic, if you do sixth form rather than tech (college.) The reason is that you need to have pretty high GCSE results to be allowed to do a levels in sixth form, but you can do a levels or other qualifications at tech with much lower entrance criteria. Our sixth forms are almost exclusively at 11-18 schools although it's not uncommon to change between schools for sixth form.

Just asking for an opinion from the poster.