teenager and sixth form college

[bobbybobby]

my son started 6th form in September 2012. Started well but has gone downhill ever since - not attending, being late etc. School very supportive but on the point of asking him to leave. I have done everything to get him there but just fail. He wants to be there but doesn't go - partially because he is so far behind - feels its not worth it. Also just lies all the time and says he has gone when it is patently obvious he hasn't. Its creating a huge amount of stress. Don't know what to do next!

Trying to see if this works!

Hi, hopefullly someone wiser will come along soon. My DS has also just started 6th form, and it has been a shock for him. It is a big jump from GCSE, and to be expected to sit AS exams just a few months in is a big ask. My DS dropped maths when he realised he wasn't going to be able to keep up with the rest of his class. He often moans about how difficult it is and that he's going to drop out.

Is there a 6th form counsellor you could both go and talk to about things, and make a plan to move forward positively. Could he drop one subject so he could concentrate on the others? Or could he take 3 years to get all the qualifications he needs - at DSs college this seems to be quite normal.

x

My son was like this. He lasted a year, having dropped one subject too half way through. It just wasn't for him and now he is quite happy in a full time job instead. It's not well paid but not bad for a teenager. I think that my son is the type who will probably mature later on in life and go back to education.

Sixth form is not for everyone.

What is he interested in? Have a look for an apprenticeship or something more vocational at an FE college maybe?

Better to start planning a positive future than to stick it out and perhaps fail.

Was going to suggest contacting a study support person on the admin team of the college to talk to them direct about it - does the college have a counsellor/or even a careers advisor who may be able to help with an alternative pathway/qualifications etc etc. I think part of the problem is the kids just dont know what is available to them as an alternative, and follow the 'sausage machine' because thats what they are expected to do and nothing else has presented itself as an alternative - ie the forces, alternative careers, alternative courses at specialist colleges etc. Plus they are a generation which has been examined to death...... trying to get my daughter to revise for AS levels was really hard, they get no let up and have to keep going..... hope you get to sort out where he is at and what he wants to do.

I was like this. I stayed on at my high school 6th form because my parents and friends expected it, but I hated it. I coouldn't follow the lessons in the subjects I'd picked, and felt thick and useless. I had no long term vision of what I could do and missed three quarters of lessons. I don't think I was lazy - I had two part time jobs which I was never late for.

IMO the best thing to do at this point would be to get good careers advice, and make a long term plan. It's prob best not to leave education with just GCSEs because realistically, that would leave him with little chance of getting a decent job at the moment. Plus if you leave education with nothing definite to do, then you run the risk of just hanging around for a couple of years and wasting your time.says the voice of experience

What subjects is he taking- could you sit down and make a list of all the work he is behind in (I'm sure a quick email/phonecall to all subject tutors will rectify this) and start working through that list with him.

I find (boys in particular) struggle with the maturity required for sixth form and need a bit of handholding and showing how to cope on their own (my mum's college runs 'study skills' classes for these sort of students) and if you put in a lot of support, and then withdraw it slowly, you might have more success.

What does your DS want to do after 6th form? Is it a realiseable ambition? Is it his or yours?

What he is doing sounds like avoidance.