South London Sixth Form Search - any advice?

[MarshHarriet]

Hello. I have realised that we need to start looking at 6th Form choices in September, as Yr 11 begins.

Geographically we would be looking at S London between Lewisham and Wandsworth, and up to Central London.

Looking to pursue science and / or maths A levels , and with a good extra curricular offer, including music. An academically able student, mostly predicted A or A*.

All sorts of establishments considered, except private, which we can't afford.

Recommendations and warnings-off all helpful!

Also, how does sixth form transfer work? Do we list preferences in order, as per secondary transfer? How many applications are allowed? Does the current school know if we apply to a different school as first choice?

Sorry - I feel very behind and under-educated!

Obvious places to consider are Greycoats (mixed at sixthform), Pimlico, Harris Westminster, and Graveney. Also Kings Maths school for talented mathematicians or Burntwood if you are happy with all girls.

The first three are part of a consortium which enables a wider choice of A levels.

And depending on grades and journey times the Grammars (Kent, Sutton, Wallington or Tiffin) might be worth a shot. Newstead Woods offers IB I think.

I am outside London but no doubt there will be a pile on if I'm wrong so you'll still get the answer you're looking for. Applications are direct to the school/college, you can apply to as many as you like (not like secondary admissions), there's no order of preference and you choose the one you want when it's time to enrol. It all seems so wrong when you've previously been through primary and secondary admissions. Keep an eye on the websites for open evenings, when you've been round one you'll have an idea of what to look for at the others.

I started with every sixth form or college in a ten mile radius. We discounted a local consortium because of the travelling time between sites, music being one of the subjects taught away from the "home" school. We discounted another because it was not easy to get there on public transport, another because they didn't offer English A level (before you boggle, they did English with English lit), two more because they didn't offer music.

Oh thank you.

I hadn't thought about Greycoat or the Grammars: do faith criteria apply at sixth form? (I should have said: we won't qualify!) and is entrance to a Grammar possible from outside? A couple of the Sutton grammars could be accessible.

I should have said; boys or co-ed. I suspect my son prefers co-ed, but would choose a boys school if it offered the best, interesting education. He is doing well but finding the GCSE curriculum very formulaic and prescriptive.

I think our list might be those mentioned above, plus Charter, Haberdasher Aske and Dunraven.

Thank you ICouldBeKnitting - less stressful and complicated in some ways then, but nail-biting dependency on GCSE results!

It's not too early to have a list together with the things that are important to you (results, size, travel time, XC activities, sports, uniform). Admissions criteria will be on the school website, there may be a separate one for sixth form. You could see in advance how many A levels they expect pupils to take, what enrichment opportunities exist (DS was against being compulsorily enriched). When you've looked at a few you will be educated enough to be able to compare and contrast the prospectus and be in a position to play spot the difference.

There will probably be interviews...

There is often quite a lot about selection processes for competitive sixth forms on The Student Room. Often more inaccurate than MN (even) but still worth your DC having a look.

I may be wrong but my understanding is that the demand for boys places at girls schools like Greycoats and Newstead can be less fierce than might otherwise be expected given the reputations of the schools, so worth a look. Though it may be strange, or distracting, to be in a minority. The advantage of the Westminster consortium school is that they are only 10 minutes walk away from each other. That said the central London locations will limit some extra curricular.

LOL at being 'compulsorily enriched'!

The Harris Westminster partnership: what role does Westminster play?