Guide to sixth form

[JellyBeans34]

Hi,

As this is my oldest child, I have no idea on process for sixth form application and can’t find anything online as a guide. There was plenty of info to guide parents on applying to secondary schools year 7 but nothing about sixth form.

1. My DS wants to stay on at sixth form. Do we need to visit his own school sixth form open evening? Is it necessary when he already knows the school?
2. Does my child need to make a formal application to their own school sixth form?
3. Is it good practice to have back up sixth form choices in case don’t make the grade?
4. What happens if don’t make the grade for own sixth form and haven’t applied to any other sixth form colleges? Is it impossible to get in anywhere else post results day?
5. Who actually does the formal sixth form application: student or parent?

Sorry, I am completely ignorant of what happens for this stage, so apologies for if they seem like silly questions. If anyone can shed some light or guide me to any links to a guide to sixth form application, then I would be grateful. Thanks

My child just told them he wanted to stay on, I don’t remember applying.

I've had one go through the process and two just about to go through it.
In our town the college ask you to apply at end of October (following a look round mid October). The sixth form attached to our school have look around December (this is really important to look at things like course content/what go together). You apply and interviews after Christmas.
Dc1 was told its always a good idea to have a back up.
For example dc3 is expected to get 8/9s and wants to go to sith form at school (shouldn't be a problem academically) but just incase I will get dc to look at other options because grades may not be as good (and college accept slightly lower), dc might change mind and if an application is in its not a big issue, school might pull a course because not enough uptake.
It's probably a good idea to check timeliness with individual institutions (although school should let dc know what the options are/what the process is).

You should apply to your own school sixth form - ask the school about the process (or get your son to) - ideally in the autumn term of year 11. It's a good idea to apply to others too. They may have open evenings in the next few weeks where you can discuss options. You can have offers from multiple destinations, unlike year 7, then see which suits on results day.

I would visit his sixth form open evening actually, if only to discuss A level choices and content of those - there may be options he hasn't considered (new subjects such as psychology or gov/pol) and the A level spec may not be what he thinks.

If results are not what you hoped, you can still apply to local colleges etc or speak to desired sixth forms and see if there is flexibility over grades.

Sixth form colleges may accept lower grades or may offer different qualifications at a lower level than school sixth forms, which as a rule offer only or mostly A levels. So it's worth having a look around asap.

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Don't get into that situation
5. The student, but keep an eye yourself that things are getting done.

Help them choose suitable subjects and courses. Guide them but let them choose. Check grade requirements. Apply for backups.

Thanks all. All useful info to me. Seems like sixth forms and colleges all have different deadlines and requirements. I will make it a priority to look into this

Do visit several 6th forms/colleges. We found even in DD's secondary school, that the course content for some subjects were not as good as in other schools or the number of students either very low, very high, very male-heavy (mixed 6th form but boys only until GCSE) in some subjects and so on.

Each school has their own entry requirements, be careful of them and do be realistic. It would be good to have some form of back-up and also do ask each school what they do if a student is not meeting the requirements.

One of DD's friends missed out on grades but was offered B-tech instead of A-level and it works well, B-tech is not a no-go when it comes to uni applications as well.

If he has an idea what he wants to do after A-level, it is worth checking some universitiy entry requirements as well.

I’d be very surprised if you and your child hadn’t been emailed most of this information already or are about to be sent it, by school. (Have worked in a sixth form office)

This was us last year. I would go to the open evening to get the information. Also do this for any other sixth form or college so you can get a feel for other places.
Put applications in for more than one. Later you could get an interview where they look at results from year 10, attitude to learning, attendance etc. my son was then offered 3 conditional places, he accepted all three. In the spring he went to taster days at all 3 which helped him make up his mind. But still kept all 3 conditional places. Then on results day he made the decision based on results, different 6th forms, colleges have different entry levels for the subjects so check. He qualified for all 3 based on the results so he picked his favourite which was different to the one he first wanted at the start of year 11. After you have secured the place on results day, you then reject the other places. It important to have back up schools

@JellyBeans34 the answer to 5 is "either". Some parents will leave it to their children, and others will drive the process. Some sixth forms ask for both child and parent addresses up front and send notifications to both. Others just ask for the young person's address.

If your child is like the vast majority of 15-16 year-olds they won't be used to filling in forms or reading and responding to emails, and many come unstuck because they miss deadlines. The approach I used was to set up a separate email account that we both had access to, so I could prod them along the way. It was later useful for part-time job and university applications too. Once you're confident they can manage all that stuff efficiently, you can log out and leave them to it. They can also merge it with their personal email account if they don't like having two.

One of the sixth forms my DC applied to only requested the young person's details, then asked for two documents in the child's name to prove their address - it asked for either provisional driving license (which they can't get until they're 15 years and 9 months), National Insurance Number letter (which they don't get until just before they turn 16), bank statement (which not all 15-16 year-olds would have) or mobile phone contract letter in their name (ditto). The two docs had to be uploaded electronically to their online application by a deadline in January. Most teens would need help with that process, and certainly if they applied just before the deadline they might have found it difficult to get it organised in time. It's a very effective form of covert selection.

Visit several options. Know what the entry requirements are for each. Go to the school open evening and speak to the head of 6th form about the chances of the choice of a levels your ds wants to do being available as a combination. I recall my school 6th form not being able to offer the 3 choices I wanted but I chose to swap one.

Ask about how they support with Ucas applications and do the offer EPQ. What pastoral support they offer. What they offer in terms of IT access and spaces for free study. Also ask about enrichment opportunities, this can be quite hit and miss across school 6th forms.

Also, the 'right' answer to question 2 is that your child should not need to formally apply to their own sixth form. According to the national schools admissions code they should be able to remain on roll, so long as they meet any minimum grade criteria. That said, many schools prefer to have an application process to help them plan ahead for numbers. So do follow the process for your school.

If your DC doesn't apply to their own school, but later decides they want a place, and they meet the grade criteria, then the school has to give them a place, but not necessarily on the courses they want if those classes are already full.

It's not like year 7 entry at all. The process is run by each individual school rather than the LA. There is a deadline but it's not a hard deadline like for year 7, in my DC's school they will be happy to keep a good student who applies after the deadline but some 6th form colleges are massively oversubscribed and that won't be the case.

@JellyBeans34 All the schools near me have a 6th form prospectus on their web sites. So start by looking at them. If DC has an unusual subject they would like to do, who offers it? Eliminate ones DC cannot get to.

Then look at the admission process and open evenings. His own school should have an open evening and most do a “choosing A levels and choices evening” for parents and dc. Some schools will require GCSEs at certain grades so understanding what each subject needs is vital. Usually if you want to stay you meet the educational requirements, tell them dc wants to stay by whatever method the school uses and then nominate the subjects.

Thanks everyone for more insights into this. @RomanWall I never knew about the admissions code. Interesting.

Have now looked into sixth forms in more detail and DS has strong views on where he wants to apply, so I’m just there to help and guide should he need it.

Does he know ow what subjects he wa to to take at sixth form?
Can the school guarantee he can study those subjects?
Look at what the exam results have been for past three years in subjects (get value added information if you can).
Personally, I think sixth form colleges are far better than school sixth forms .... its their main business not an 'add on' and teachers specialise in teaching at that level ... amongst .any more advantages.
Good luck. Hope all goes well.