How to handle sixth form offers

[TeenagersAngst]

My DS is at private school, currently in y11. The school he is at has a 6th form so it's always an option for him just to stay there although he's not keen. He has an offer from another school subject to achieving specific grades at GCSE - this is his preferred option.

The problem is that we would need to give notice at his current school in April 2026 (to avoid being charged for the fees in Sept 2026), but if he doesn't achieve the grades required for the other school, the place they have offered him will be withdrawn. We could be in a position where he has no place at either school.

Is this a usual scenario or am I missing something here?

We gave DDs school provisional notice at Easter that, depending on GCSE grades, she would be leaving for a different 6th form. They seemed happy with that. As the school had a fairly small 6th form, I'm sure they would have had her back if she hadn't got the grades for her preferred choice.
As it was, she met exceeded the requirements for her new school, so went happily off to pastures new. Her old school didn't chase for fees, so the provisional notice seemed to work. To be fair, they did acknowledge at the time we gave notice.

Well will you take your DS to see local colleges who offer courses other than A levels? Then it’s not a lie.

TBH the no minimum requirement for studying A levels should be a worry, do they regularly have kids with very low GCSEs attempting A levels? It’s repeated regularly that you shouldn’t even attempt A level maths without at least a 7 in GCSE maths, but pretty much all A levels are hard to pass if you can’t get 6s in that subject at GCSE. I’d worry that school would have lots of students who aren’t at a good enough standard on the courses and teacher time will be spent on getting them to the basic level they should already have.

Your DS might be better off at a state school/college that does have minimum requirements for the courses he wants to do.