Daughter kicked out of 6th form **Title edited by MNHQ**

[Dollytwoshoes]

My daughter has been told she can not return to her complete her psychology A level because she failed her AS. Through out year 12 she's been on target for a B's.They have advised her to do applied science 1/2 A level (whatever this means) instead. Is this because this won't be published in the league tables? I've put in an formal complaint and asking to see governors. Is the head acting lawfully with my daughters best interests at heart. Has anyone else had to deal with this?

LOL - she has been her delightful former island owning self on another thread ;-)

Page 2 of this thread noble

I don't know any former island-owning education professionals (how can you work in education and own an island? )

God I'm so bad at this. Or maybe I'm on the wrong threads. Probably both.

I am confused.....

I don't think island-owner is, or was, an education professional, which is what Copper has said he / she is. I honestly don't think they are the same - the style isn't right, nor is the content and 'tone'.

(If you mean Xenia-as-was? The one who felt that all women should earn enough to be able to, independently of their OHs, send all their children to high status North London private schools or boarding?)

can't while you're here, how did your DC do in maths in the end?

8

No idea whether it was a near-7 8 or a near 9-8, but it was a good result and he's going into A-level maths with reasonable confidence (they got a lot of 9s, so I think he'll be in a slightly lower set, but the timetable has just come out and he has very decent teachers, so all is good)

noble, you had a debate with copperbeech about maths A Level intake on another thread. I am so sad I have just checked.

can't hey, well done your boy, pleased it worked out in the end and he is doing A-level

piggy I know I've seen them around a lot over the past couple of days but I thought they must be an established poster under a name change as everyone seemed to know who they were. I'm glad other people are confused too!

noble I'm just hoping that with the harder GCSE, the much-publicised jump to AS level won't be as bad as it used to be. I don't think, despite the result, that his confidence would take another knock from another sudden big jump.

The new A-level isn't supposed to be harder than the old one, it's just linear and a bit different. Fingers crossed it should be ok.

It's not harder in English Lit either (in fact because linear exams benefit students in written subjects who improve with age, it is in a lot of ways easier with less to study) but , boy, is the A Level harder in film studies! It's like Eduqas said 'how high would you like us to jump, Mr Ofqual?!'

The selection criteria for Year 12 can be tinkered around with as much as a school likes as long as they apply it fairly to all pupils.
If the school is academically selective e.g. grammar school then this is true or if the school is independent.
However if the school / sixth form is a comprehensive there are limits. I am aware of a local comp that wanted to increase it's entry criteria for Y12, but the LEA told them that it was illegal for a comprehensive school to do this so they had to back down.

I'm pretty sure the sixth form colleges which form the vast majority of provision here have criteria for doing A levels which aren't that much less than DDs gs. But obviously they also offer BTecs etc.

I live in Bucks and many secondary moderns have 6th forms. These started because the young people didn't want to transfer to the grammars and the schools could see merit in keeping their better pupils. However a number of schools have been criticised by Ofsted for the low calibre of their 6th forms, narrow A level curriculum, lack of progress, poor teaching and poor results. It may seem a good idea to offer the 6th form experience to all but Ofsted may disagree if the courses are not right for the students. Several school 6th forms, rightly, closed. The students transfer to better 6th forms nearby or the local FE college where there is greater variety of courses.

The 6th form colleges here vary dramatically in what they require to get onto the A level courses
eg Symonds will not let people take Maths or a Science unless they have A/A* at GCSE in the science and in Maths
Barton and Brock let them in with B grades
BUT
kids who are struggling with Maths A level often drop down to "use of maths" so that they can carry on their other courses

Colleges can kick out at any time, but from what I see try to support and make the moves managed
then again a college will never get the 99% A*/A/B because its too big and too varied
without that pressure to achieve something silly, life gets more relaxed