Dd hating the move to 6th form

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Dd has moved from her comp to grammar for 6th form, which is out of area.

We visited lots and she attended a few taster days, this is the 6th form she wanted.

Started Tuesday and been upset ever since. All her friends have gone to local college which doesn’t have the best results.

She absolutely doesn’t like change, but she is really struggling with missing her friends. There is nothing she doesn’t like about the new school apart from she would like to move her friends over.

So do we look at moving her to the college or say she’s got to give it a while? I am swinging wildly between the two, I hate seeing her so upset.

Thanks for any help.

Stick it out for at least a term. She will make new friends. Her friends will come and go throughout her life but the law results will dictate the path of her life. Help her see the bigger picture and make new friends. She will end up with a wider social circle and more resilient.

Give it a couple of weeks, at that point she will still be able to transfer if she wants to. If you wait a term it will be too late to pick up courses that may be slightly different and she will may need to wait to start until next September. Also after a term her old friends will have readjusted into new groups and she may feel the same at college.
Ultimately she is old enough to make the call, with your support, and will know in a couple of weeks whether she is honestly beginning to find her feet at school. Encourage her to speak to her tutor, or send the tutor/ head of 6th form an email yourself to explain how she is feeling, they may be able to help introduce her to like minded students, and can certainly ensure she is made to feel more included.
My daughter had similar in her 6th form, as the cliques from last year readjust and shuffle around to accommodate the different people in 6th form, but she loves it now.

Stay with it until at least half term. Even if she transferred back to where her friends are friendship groups are evolving so there’s no guarantee the pre existing group will hold together. Explain to Dd how it’s perfectly normal that friends play different roles in your life, some are to hang out with, some are to share intellectual pursuits, etc we are all following our own trajectory but your friends will always be there.

Would subjects/curriculum correspond if she moved ? The later you leave it he more problematic a move would become. Maybe remind her of some of her reasons for moving.

I think the quality of teaching is really important at that level, she should stick out the better college.

Many thanks for all the responses. She came out yesterday and really enjoyed the afternoon, first drama lesson and found a friend to travel home with. Met old friends, some of whom are struggling at different 6th forms.

So we thought all positive.

This morning a few tears again. I did speak to pastoral teacher who said she would speak to her today, but she did say if she’s never going to settle there is quite a bit of movement in these first few weeks.

The issue is the grammar and the local college are such different offerings with wildly different results, I think stick it out for two years, but then it’s not be going in every day!

I think she should stick it out but be wary of judging by the results as they are not like for like. If some students at the college are getting good results then there is no reason why your DD could not. Just as your local comp would of done. The college is not going to turn modest GCSES into A* apart from a few exceptions.

My dd moved to a sixth form and all of her friends from school stayed in school. She struggled until christmas and then it clicked. She is now in yr13 and talking about how much she will miss her sixth form.