Moving 6th form late

[Pleasandwine]

Hoping for advice from you lovely people. We are in a bit of a sticky pickle.

DD has broken down and told us that she can’t stay at her current school for 6th form. She is in final term of y11 at a competitive SW London day school and we haven’t explored options, or done any research because we thought she was staying.

She has extreme anxiety, is SH and has admitted that she has been regularly hiding crying in toilets because her all girl school is so toxic since year 8. I had no clue she was so unhappy with school for so long. I know she has jumped from friend group to friend group I thought it was because she has issues with self confidence and we are desperately trying to get her seen for ADHD - she exhibits a lot of those traits and is erratic, compulsive and constantly exhausted and thought this might be why she struggled to maintain relationships. She has also struggled with acne, which was also affecting her self esteem now being treated.

I don’t even know where to start. Pretty sure that all places will be full in private 6th and state probably only now the places where no-one wants to go and don’t want to just randomly jump somewhere without considering what options are right, plus we aren’t exactly rolling in money and with VAT on top, I can’t just pick anywhere, and time is not on our side. It’s a total mess. Plus there is no guarantee whatever it is causing the problem, will be solved by a move.

Can anyone suggest options, strategies anything. I’m totally blindsided as didn’t know any of this was quite so bad and I’m now in a panic about what we might do for the best.

help!

Please do not panic. https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/search?q=&location=&lat=&lon=&radius=&level_1_types=1&level_2_types%5B%5D=2

Google all your local schools within a 5 mile radius with a Sixth Form. Go onto the websites of all of them with a Good rating or Outstanding and just start applying to those who still have an open application for Sixth Form. You apply directly to the schools for Sixth Form, you can apply to as many as you want. The schools websites will tell you what to do and will give you the minimum grade requirements to get in. In August, you typically then have to send in your GCSE grades to confirm your place. The important thing is to figure out which subjects your DD would like to do and if she is overwhelmed, go for a local school that is easy to get to and does her subject preferences.

In the mean time, just reassure her, keep her calm and focussed on her GCSE revision. A lot of them panic at this stage in the GCSE process and become very overwhelmed.

Private school sixth forms are likely to have leavers after GCSEs as parents can’t afford the increased fees so are moving their kids for sixth form.

Don’t get hung up on ‘results’ - the stats showing that x% achieved all A stars, etc. if they are selective enough they can pick kids guaranteed to do well, and regardless of teaching quality or support still achieve good results. You want a school that meets kids where they are and is able to provide the appropriate pastoral support.

it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking ‘over half the students get all As so they must be doing something right’. Often what they are doing right is screening. Our nonselective school achieves about average for the private sector, but behind the ‘average’ stats are some really amazing personal stories of kids with send or other challenges who are supported to achieve the best possible outcomes for the individual. There are also always a number of academic high flyers and end up in Oxbridge or international equivalent, so definitely cater to high achievers, but the common thread across the student cohort is that they invest heavily in pastoral care and emotional support.

I would also prioritise getting her assessed for adhd and/or in therapy, as some of the issues sound like they are bigger than just the school she attends.

there are many reasons to persevere with nhs for an adhd diagnosis, but in parallel you can also get a private assessment - in London there will be loads of options and wouldn’t have to wait years to be seen, meaning any pastoral care / classroom adjustments could be made for 6th form and uni.

Not sure where you are on SW London but take a look at Halliford school in Shepperton. Their pastoral is amazing and they take girls for 6th form. As PP said, lots of private schools do have places for 6th form as kids are dropping out and going to state due to VAT.

@Pleasandwine , if you live on the Sw train line you need to find schools with newish sixth forms that aren't generally full particularly if she wants to take less popular A levels for example MFL or music etc.
A state school you could put a late application into is St Richard Reynolds Catholic College in Twickenham.
If you were able to share her predicted GCSEs ie 7-9's and A levels it would help. Smaller 6th forms have less choice of subject.

Plus make sure you give notice to your private school next week even if it's a "rolling notice".

You could also consider a bit further afield and look at weekly boarding? Or some of the 6th form colleges - alevels aren’t the only option and colleges often offer a wider range of subjects/routes that are always worth looking at.

Also, put you notice in ASAP to avoid having to pay a term after September.

@poppybuttons thank you so much for replying especially today, (Happy Mother’s Day!) I have been searching through info yesterday and today and most are closed to applicants now, I guess I just call and see if she can be added to any waitlist.

She is predicted 7/8/9 across all her 9 subjects and took Classical Greek as her 10th last year (grade 8). It’s a good shout on A levels because she doesn’t want to study any subjects she is taking for GCSE. I would like to find IB option for her as she can’t decide and is all over the place about what she wants to do so might be a better option.

I feel like she wants to get out of SW London because in her mind, everyone knows each other and talks to each other and it feels like she is increasingly paranoid about going to a school with anyone who might know her, or be connected to anyone who knows her, like she wants to try to re-invent herself and leave things the past. There is definitely a lot of things happening in her mind that need to be unpacked. 😢

@Pleasandwine , it's difficult to understand how fluid 6th form admissions in state schools is when you are in the private system but if you exclude those state options that are definitely closed like Esher College you are left with school sixth forms that can take a student in late August if there is space on the subjects, for example if she wanted chemistry but chemistry was full due to lab space it's no go, but if she wants politics, French, sociology they may be able to offer her if none of those subjects are full and the 6th form overall isn't full. This is why you need to apply to as many state school 6th forms that offer the A levels she wants and are accepting late applications and then decide in late August. Each 6th form pupil enrolled is worth about £5.5k per year to the school (the funding they receive from DfE) so it's in their benefit to fill subjects and the 6th form etc.
I appreciate there are other issues going on but if you live near a train station there are lots of options.

@poppybuttons Thank you so much, We just havent navigated school application process or state school system and I am finding it very difficult to wade through the info and options, so your input is invaluable.