Starting sixth form

[UneBelleCerise]

Hi all,

My DD had just finished her GCSEs and is starting sixth form in September. She will be doing A levels. Naturally they are a huge step up from GCSE and I know that the first few weeks can be especially tough.

If you've had DC who have been through sixth form, what can I expect over the coming two years and what are your tips on dealing with my DD during this time?

Dd1 was a bit freaked out at first, largely (I think) because she moved from comp to grammar. She did love being able to take things like pasta pots and hot chocolate to school though, to make up in the common room - so maybe push that aspect! She also occasionally took little packs of sushi, which I think made her feel v grown-up. :) Oh and buy her lots of highlighters and funky post-it notes - dd did amazing note-taking with these, which were v helpful to her later. :)

Sorry - these are probably much more shallow than you were hoping for.

Thanks Remus. No, I don;t think that they're shallow at all - it's the little things that will really make a huge difference when the DC are feeling bogged down with work.

I totally agree with the post-it notes and highlighters, DD likes to be very organised and loves pretty stationery. We went together to the Paperchase sale in July and bought matching folders and such, as well as lots of post-it notes, tabbed dividers and so on.

I've got dd2 starting this time (providing she passes some exams!) but she has no interest at all in post-it notes etc. :( DD1 inherited the stationery-whore genes!

DS1 has just finished sixth form, DS2 is about to start. I think the thing no one mentioned to DS1 and his friends was just how different and how much harder the work was at AS level than GCSE.

DS1 and his peer group all skipped in with their bunch of A*s and As, which they were used to getting, but all of a sudden they had to learn new techniques, it was all more indepth, and they had to deal with getting some Cs and Ds. DS1 found that really hard, he thought he was going wrong somewhere, but it was a case of having to adapt.

I am not sure what advice to give, because it is going to be different again this year. There are going to be no January exams, no retakes etc. The college DS2 is going to have sneakily changed the structure of their day, so I have no idea how he is going to cope. It never gets easier does it?

Dd like not having to wear a uniform and that were treated more like adults.
She also found it was a huge leap from GCSE to As it was a bit off shock her first results but it was a real wake up call for her. She is now waiting herA level results.
The past two years have gone very quickly.

As a teacher I would say be prepared to have more self motivation as your teachers will be so busy trying to push the next lot of year 11s through. I find many year 12s (and some 13s if they make it there) think teachers will be standing over them to make sure it's perfect (ie spoon feeding). That doesn't happen in sixth form. Those that fail aren't ready, willing or able to be true independent learners. Good luck!!

Agree with stille about independent learning as Gove says unis are complaining students have been too spoon-fed at sixth dorm, and toughening up will be the trend. On a much shallower note; if there's no uniform don't buy too many clothes if your DC wants to see what is ok and what is the norm, my DS suddenly had lots of opinions on clothes he would need before he had to knuckle down with the work .

My daughter found enrollment scary but it was a good ice breaker as, by day one, she had met a few on her course.

Thanks all for the replies.

From what you've said and from talking to friends whose DCs have been through sixth form, is the general idea that it is a massive leap from GCSE, and cannot really be explained, but the leap would only be understood by experiencing it?

DD2 starts Y7 this year. I shall have to rather culture-shocked girls on my hands come 4pm on the 5th September!

Things that make it a big step up include the sheer amount of work that needs doing (rather than it being particularly harder). It's so easy to fall behind by missing one homework or a couple of days due to illness. Secondly, there's little to no intervention or proactive support if your study skills or time management are slack. Thirdly there's more freedoms and opportunities to distract you - 18th birthday parties, passing your driving test, new people etc.

Are you teens going to a sixth form attached to a secondary school or a college? I think this makes a big difference to the experience.

Vivacia, my DD is going to a sixth form attached to her school. She's been at this school since Reception and knows all her teachers very well. Her close circle of friends are also going to the same sixth form, which I think will really help her.

It depends on the subjects and the sixth form.
First of all A levels are much harder than GCSEs. Lots of DCs who sailed through GCSEs come unstuck at AS because they underestimate how much time they need to put in.
Michael Gove has now banned January exams so the AS are all done at the end of the year. In the past many students got a real rude awakening when they got poor results in January and had the chance to pull their socks up and retake. Some of DS1s friends with all A*s in GCSE were getting Ds and Es last January.
6th forms vary. In a school with a sixth form there is probably less freedom and more supervision than in a sixth form college.
They do need to work independently more. Start a regular routine of revision and self study. Don't wait until exam time.

Here's the speech I give to my year 12s on the first day:

You need to remember three things about this year:

• You will be treated more like an adult. With greater power, comes greater responsibility. I am not here to hold your hand- I will give you all the support I can, I will give up lunchtimes for you and print notes, I will let you hang out in my classroom at lunchtime until you have finished borrowing the textbook I told you to buy and provide haribo at appropriate intervals. However, I cannot sit these exams for you, and nor will I put myself out for you if you aren't putting the effort in. (I will really of course!)

• AS is different to GCSE. You will need to work harder and smarter and READ as much as you can. Don't just read the textbook, seek out things to read to do with your subjects. The sun does not count.

• If you are struggling, say so. Don't tough it out because you got an A* at GCSE.

I also support those who recommend being really organised and having lots of stationary, but then I should really buy shares in paper chase!

Stationery is the best! I got all excited about Berol felt tips today.

I like that speech - I might steal it, if that's okay?

Make friends with the school/college librarian. They could be your best friend; the key (second only to your teachers and yourselves) to getting the top grades.

Reading around the subject is not only a good way to do your best in sixth form but also to prepare for University, and more importantly, to make yourself a rounder, more interesting person.

Read broadsheets, read periodicals, read some fiction (especially non-English students!), read some non-fiction, watch foreign films.

Of course, feel free! Most of them roll their eyes at the time, but I live in hope that it's useful advice later on.....

Oh, DD is most pleased to hear that stationery and organisation are important!

What stationery do you recommend stocking up on?

Oh dear DS and organisation don't go together. He doesn't do stationery either. He might get a new pen and that's about it.

He has planned what he's wearing on the first day back though

Leverarch for each subject (not the two ring binders, the proper big ones) Pens/ highlighters/ pencils, good quality paper (so when they come to revise it isn't falling apart). If the school recommends buying books and you can find the money, that will be massively helpful. Dividers etc- and make them file if they aren't naturally organised. They'll thank you later in the course. The amount of Year 12s every year who come to me in May and say "Miss, I don't really have any notes from before easter, I think I threw them away" is truly horrifying. I now do monthly folder checks, but then I'm assured I'm very harsh :)

She needs good study habits, e.g. each day making sure all her notes are filed in her folder (yes to dividers, separate ones for class notes, homework, exam papers, syllabus).
She should be expecting to do one hour of work at home for each hour of work in the classroom. Not just the work set by the teacher. If she doesn't have any homework, she could review the last lesson, go over marked homework for improvements, read around the topic.

She shouldn't leave homework till the last minute, the number of times I've had students saying they were doing their homework in the free before my lesson but it took longer than expected and is unfinished suggests it's a bad idea. She should also plan how to use her free periods so she doesn't just waste them.

If your DC is changing schools for sixth form it's a double shock. DD1 started sixth form full of confidence after great GCSEs but she wasn't prepared for the intensity of AS. And because she didn't know the teachers as well, she hung back and let the problems build. The students who'd been there up to GCSE knew the score and had established relationships but coming in from the outside presented DD1 with problems. The teachers didn't know her as well either, so they didn't know what she was capable of - we had a bit of a crisis in the second term. It took that to to put her on the map, as it were (she's socially very confident but much less so in the classroom).

At AS you have to work much more independently but that requires confidence to engage with completely new teachers.

And by the way, there's another step up from AS to A2. Not looking forward to Thursday's A Level results, but that's a different story!

Thank you for the list katiej12! I think a stationery shop is in order!

Thanks all for the replies. DD is keen to do well and is reading with interest!