Can 16 year olds go to college (instead of school) to do Highers?

[Bluepeach]

We are relocating to Scotland from overseas and my 16 year old daughter would rather not go to a regular school. I think if Scotland had sixth form colleges like they do in England, that may appeal more. What I wondered was could she go to a further education college full time at this age? And do a full timetable of 5 Highers? I have looked on their website but I am not finding clear answers, so thought I would check on here to see if anyone knows. Thank you!

@Bluepeach, I meant leave school after S5 when she will hopefully have sat enough highers to go to uni rather than staying on for S6 - so limiting her time in school to one year. Or she might like it and decide to stay for S6. As a pp said I’d explore other private schools in Edinburgh as well as your catchment school, she’ll fit into one of them!

@BingBongToTheMoon I am not encouraging it. I am just exploring options and once I know what the options are, hopefully make the right decision for her, which could well be school.

@WeIcomeToGilead my perspective is that I am doing the opposite of that. I am trying to fully work out what her options are, rather than just assuming that school is the only option - is that not increasing her options? College is not the only thing we have looked at (though that is now ruled out as she could only do two Highers). We have looked at all sorts of options: A Levels by remote learning; full time online schools that teach a full timetable live (there are so many of those now - I was so surprised!); Wallace college which teachers Highers in 1:1/small group classes, as well as the state and private school options. Alternative education to school is like a rabbit hole - you have no idea how many other options there are, and then once you take a peep into that world it is quite shocking how many alternative routes exist . . . at least it has been very surprising to me!

Yes, i was going to say that if she knuckles down and is clever enough then she could be looking at 1 year at school, getting her 5 highers and then Uni/college or degree apprenticeship or whatever. " years can feel a lot at that age, but it doesn't need to be 2 years.

I would be really hesitant about recommending online or remote learning for a full programme of Highers. We've all experienced online learning this year and although it's OK when the only other option is nothing it's no substitute for being in class, in front of a teacher, learning with your peers. And what about things like practicals for science/music/drama etc? Hugely limiting. Similarly college - just not an option. As others have said, college is not designed to cater for academic kids who just fancy a change from school at 16, it's far more geared to either vocational courses or part time learning for adult returners.

It really does sound like your DD (and you OP to some extent) are basing your ideas of "school" on a very small (international?) school somewhere overseas. That's completely different to a large city secondary with 1000 pupils and 150ish in the 5th and 6th year.

So really, school is your best and only practical option. It just comes down to which school you choose. In your situation, I'd be looking at my local catchment school to see what they can offer, other schools within reasonable travelling distance which might have places, or sending her to Heriots with her brother.

@Bluepeach

I’m not being critical, but I think you would be left with limited choices for subjects: fellow students would not be from similar backgrounds/age

And ultimately you just have to find your tribe in life: one of the benefits of school is learning to get along with people with whom you don’t have much in common. She may be less likely to have anything in common with people who are catching up

My Ds was struggling with engagement in school in s4 and early s5 but suddenly got motivation in mid 5th year and then was enjoying school, stayed on for 6th and got what he needed for Uni and is doing really well and now has an anime fan girlfriend.

They can change so much at around that age and I think Leith would be a very diverse group and is a much larger school. Also when doing highers, a lot of the less academic kids tend to be in other classes so she should be with a group more keen to do well and less interested in popularity as a career choice or where it doesn't matter as mummy and daddy will support them financially anyway. I think it would be a total change of scene for her. It's not always easy to reason with them though.

Also; I went to an international school myself: I know what it is to move from that type of intense environment to a different culture. I found it freeing being in much larger year groups - we had 60 in each year
And even with a very high turnover it was sheltered and intense.

She should really give a mainstream school a go

Or go private?

I went here instead of 6th year and offers a more college atmosphere with small classes.

Link fail !

www.basilpatersonschool.co.uk/college/

[quote WeIcomeToGilead]@Bluepeach

I’m not being critical, but I think you would be left with limited choices for subjects: fellow students would not be from similar backgrounds/age

And ultimately you just have to find your tribe in life: one of the benefits of school is learning to get along with people with whom you don’t have much in common. She may be less likely to have anything in common with people who are catching up[/quote]
one of the benefits of school is learning to get along with people with whom you don’t have much in common

@WeIcomeToGilead I totally agree with the above and think this is something she finds very challenging. My main concern about letting her 'opt out' is basically that I would be facilitating her not pushing herself harder to do this. Her brother is the total opposite and actually loves spending time with people who are very different to himself so he can see that diversity of insight, but she really struggles with it and separates herself from people who think differently to her. We have really tried to discourage this trait in her, but she seems resistant to change.

@ElephantOfRisk

My Ds was struggling with engagement in school in s4 and early s5 but suddenly got motivation in mid 5th year and then was enjoying school, stayed on for 6th and got what he needed for Uni and is doing really well and now has an anime fan girlfriend.

They can change so much at around that age and I think Leith would be a very diverse group and is a much larger school. Also when doing highers, a lot of the less academic kids tend to be in other classes so she should be with a group more keen to do well and less interested in popularity as a career choice or where it doesn't matter as mummy and daddy will support them financially anyway. I think it would be a total change of scene for her. It's not always easy to reason with them though.

@ElephantOfRisk thank you for that reply - I totally agree with all your points, and appreciate the comparrison with your son - nice to know he found his mojo again. We will definitely wait until the time to make any firm decisions as yes, totally agree she could be like a totally different person when the time comes. I had really thought Leith would be a good option for her too - and she seemed to as well. It's only in the last few weeks she has been saying she would rather stay online but just general anxiety/trepidation will no doubt be a factor, and totally normal given that she has been at one school for the last 12 years and is not doing well socially.

She could do highers or a vocational course at college I f she doesn't want to go to school before university,will she be nearer 17 when you move or 16?

@WeIcomeToGilead

Also; I went to an international school myself: I know what it is to move from that type of intense environment to a different culture. I found it freeing being in much larger year groups - we had 60 in each year And even with a very high turnover it was sheltered and intense.

She should really give a mainstream school a go

Or go private?

Yes, very very sheltered!

Thanks @Bluepeach I think being the younger they tend to compare themselves with their older siblings and she probably feels that he is in some ways "golden" and that she isn't matching up so might as well give up?

Maybe some counselling and trying to improve her self esteem and anxiety might be a better way forward for now?

[quote Rhumba]Link fail !

www.basilpatersonschool.co.uk/college/[/quote]
Thanks, @Rhumba - I had looked at Wallace College which is similar. The prices are eyewatering! Considerably more than I am paying for my son to go to Heriots!

@ElephantOfRisk I definitely think some counselling could be a good option to help her with the transition, whatever form that takes.

@Mrsjayy she will be 16 and a half! Already worked out college won't be an option as you can only take two Highers in a year.

To be fair to your daughter @Bluepeach it must feel very daunting to move when you've been at same school since 2.5.
I wonder whether some of the friends issue are because she's actually outgrown it and ready to move on?

I believe online highers are going to be offered in the next year or two I saw an announcement recently but didn't save the link, ive been moaning about this for years ad DS1 left school before Highers as he was having MH issues and it was v difficult to find alternatives ti school that provided Highers (he wasn't sure what he wanted to do so vocational courses didn't suit and wanted the flexibility of Highers). He's doing an access course at college now and he's 22. I'd find out about the new online Highers, maybe try the TESS.

Not much to add that PP haven't said already, except that it was my experience at school that 5th and 6th year were much better in terms of people being friendly. Up until 4th year there was still a lot of cliqueyness and also pressure to be/do/say certain things. But a good chunk of people left school after 4th year, and the ones that were left wanted to be there. I don't know if that made a difference, or if it was just an age thing and we were more mature? But from 5th year we started chatting to people outside our friendship groups a lot more. We had a common room for the first time, which helped us all bond a bit more. Teachers treated us more like mini adults. It just felt different I guess. More like I imagine a college would feel.
Would it be worth asking Leith Academy what 'perks' the 5th years get? It may be that they too have a common room for them, and that teaching is done in a more university like manner (ie instead of crowd control)! What I'm trying to say is that I think 5th and 6th year are really just like college would be in other countries. If the kids are the same age, i can't see how there will be any difference for your DD in terms of fitting in and finding her gang.
hope you find a good solution!

Leith is not the school I would have chosen for my DS. And only 28% of pupils get 5 Higher passes in Leith (this is actually incredibly good given it's a tricky catchment, but it does mean that your DD will not only have to find her feet but swim against the tide somewhat, all in a year!)

Edinburgh is quite an unusual school set up, in that 20% of DCs go private by secondary. So staying in catchment is more common, because the people that would normally want to move catchment just go private, if you see what I mean?

However, a lot of children leave school at s4 and I think that it might be fairly easy to get her into a non-catchment school. That would mean quite a lot of hard work from you in the next couple of weeks though as our schools finish for the year on the 24th June!

Edinburgh is really easy to travel around in so don't worry about the daily journey being too hard for her - just get her into the right school for her.

It's also worth knowing if she wants to go to uni in Scotland competition can be fierce and she'll not only need those 5 highers, she needs them all in the one sitting. She's going to have to work really hard this year.

That's not strictly true 4 good Highers in one sitting is what is listed as one of the standard minimum offers, the grades required vary depending on if its 4 or 5 in one sitting or 6 in two sittings (4+2)

@HoldontoOneMoreDay I have seen that statistic but I would be more interested in knowing what percentage of those who take them actually pass them as I would imagine it is so low because the majority choose a different path. To get onto the Higher courses they need a B or above at Nat 5 as far as I am aware, so imagine a much higher percentage must actually pass them. The 28% includes those who aren't even doing Highers - right?

@Wbeezer interesting - is this what you are referring to? www.tes.com/news/virtual-college-spreads-its-net-every-school-scotland

@FeistySheep I am sure her anxieties wouldn't last long

@HoldontoOneMoreDay my son was actually going to go to Leith Academy too but they had NO space in ANY science for S5 and he wants to study all three, so although you can find places for S5, finding space in the courses you actually want is not easy! I also contacted half a dozen out of catchment schools that also couldn't offer what he wanted. He already had a back-up place at Heriots so we decided just to go for that instead. After I'd accepted the place at Heriots for him, Trinity contacted me to say they could accomodate him but by that point we had already decided on Heriots. This came as a HUGE shock to me, as I'd read many previous posts on here that said that S5 places should be relatively easy to come by.

I'm not sure a lot of children leave school after S4 anymore, not nearly as many as in my day.
The schools near me all still have big S5 year groups, then S6 is bit smaller.
The way the school is now split into senior phase means there's less able kids staying on to do Nat 5s in S5 maybe with a higher as well