How many years for Sixth Form?

[QuintShhhhhh]

Sorry for my ignorance, but I honestly dont know how many years it lasts! 2 years or 3?

two- lower and upper sixth. (or Y12 and 13 as they seem to be called nowadays)

Oh, so if he is in Y8 now, he still has Y9,Y10 and Y11 when he sits gcse, and then two more years of sixth form?

2 but some schools allow 3 if things go pear shaped.

So that means that secondary including 6th form is a total of 7 years.

Yup, that's it. Expensive if it's private.

You dont say! Especially if there is more than 1......

I have 1. I couldn't afford any more A mum from ds's prep had 4 going through. Ouch.

"but some schools allow 3 if things go pear shaped."

I don't think you can do that any more. My niece did three years in 6th form, but that was 4 years ago. I think the budget squeezes on local authority spending means that they can't fund a three year 6th form any more.

Really? Oh, no!!

4 times 13 years. Ouch.

Ds2 is in a lovely small RC primary, ds1 was in the state system till 11+. It was easy when they both were in the same school. Now my head explodes.

Bunbaker our school still does a 3 year 6th form. The kids take their GCSEs in Y10.

My dd school allows repeats of year 12 or 13. It probably depends on your LA. My dd school is only partly state funded though.

academy status at our school (although through choice, not the Harris type).

DC get into Y14 if they still need to retake things, or if the wrong choice at start of Y12 means they had to change A level options - plus, they have to be good kids.

What about Harris type?

Is it an academy or LA school Gently?

I don't think most of the students at DD's school are mentally ready or mature enough to take 10/11 GCSEs in year 10. They are all doing 2/3 this year in year 10, but the school wants the students to maximise their grade potential and won't enter any of them for early exams if they can get a better grade by waiting a year. (They all do two GCSEs in year 10 by doing two years' worth of work in one year for those subjects BTW).

It is also oversubscribed so there is no capacity for anyone to redo a year of 6th form. And, all the LA schools are struggling to balance their books so there are no funds for a year 14. (I am on the finance committee of one of them so I know this for a fact)

All special schools have a Y14 and plenty around here will let you redo either Y12 or 13 (not both) if there is a compelling reason. I know one girl who is redoing Y14 in a super selective massively oversubscribed grammar so its not an automatic no. Each school will make their own decision based on the specific factors involved.

Special schools with a 6th form that is

Bunbaker - it's a superselective GS. Became an academy a few years ago. Gets pretty decent results. The kids do lots of extra stuff in the 3 year 6th form but there's no 'repeating' a year. Most of them do 4A2s plus the EPQ plus CS AS and GS AS and A2.

To clarify - there's no Y14. The 6th form runs from Y11-Y13. They do 12 (I think - DD1 did 12 but it might have changed now) GCSEs in Y10. KS3 is complete in Y8.

Wow! The pressure in that school sounds horrendous. DD goes to an above average comprehensive. Last year their 5 GCSEs inc English and maths was 70% and they managed to get 4 students into Oxbridge.

This is in a school within an LA that is seriously underfunded.

Agree how pointless for the kids. No child needs that many GCSEs or A levels. The cynic in me says they do it that way so their year 10s don't leave once they've finished GCSEs, and for their A level points score.

Typically two years.

I teach at a sixth form college, and we allow for a third year (some even do a fourth!). At my daughter's school, (state funded) they also allow for a third year. The most common reason is not getting the correct GCSEs the first time round and needing to redo a level 2 programme before progressing on to level 3.

Did you put your child into a private school without working out how many years of fees you needed to pay?

Are you not from the UK originally?

No, I am not from here (but I have lived here so long it isnt really an excuse any more, other than not having had interest in the secondary system until last year, and not experienced it myself, OR had friends with kids in secondary) I somehow thought it was 3 years senior school and 3 years sixth form. I did not realize it was 7 years, where I am from it is only 6, so 13 years of compulsory school in total.

Does reception not count as formal schooling?
In Norway primary is year 1 to 7, here it is reception till Y6 - so 7 years of school. With UK secondary being 7 years, that is 14 years of school!