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Secondary education

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Original poster

Moving from All girls grammar school to Mixed Sixth Form Grammar school

23 replies

DaffodilTulipRose · 06/08/2019 17:24

Hi All,

Does anyone have any experience of moving from a all girls grammar school to a Mixed Sixth Form Grammar school ? Good / Bad ?

Any advice and tips for DD how to settle there ?

I am currently weighing down the option for DD to move to a mixed Sixth form which will be around 30 min away and taking 4 subjects at A levels VS
moving to another all Girls Grammar school where she has to take 5 subjects for A levels and is an hour away?

She is quite good in her studies, so am wondering if the experience of settling in a new environment of mixed sixth form , would not let her achieve her full potential ?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated ?

Many Thanks

OP posts:
TeenTimesTwo · 06/08/2019 18:08

The 1 hour away all girls 5 A levels sounds awful to me.

No one needs 5 A levels.1 hour commute each way is a lot.

What does she want to do?

avocadochocolate · 06/08/2019 19:12

Agree with Teen. Don't even know how 5 a Levels can be fitted into a timetable. My DD is doing 4 A Levels and has almost no free periods.

BelindasGleeTeam · 06/08/2019 19:14

I went to all girls indy 11-16 then mixed grammar 6th form.

Bloody loved it. It was fantastic because it was mixed. Absolutely 100% glad I moved and it helped me so much socially.

BelindasGleeTeam · 06/08/2019 19:17

Oh and I did 5 A levels. Mixed 6th form was 5 minutes drive, my old girls school 30 minutes.

It made a big difference socially and in other ways to be nearer home at that point. I was playing county level sport and doing a lot of extra curricular activities so losing the 1hr each way bus every day really did make a difference.

Penelopepeace · 06/08/2019 19:19

DD went to 6th form at the local boys grammar. The move was slightly stressful as we didn’t know until she’d got her GCSE results whether she had a definite place.

She loved the school and is still friends with many of the students she met there. I agree with pp - where does your DD want to go?

badgermushrooms · 06/08/2019 19:20

I did it - went from all girls to a mixed 6th form attached to a boys school. It was fine! I don't have any tips because there really wasn't anything tricky about it, other than a bit of awkwardness on the part of a few of the boys who were clearly a bit scared of us for the first couple of weeks.

But, really, it's got to be up to her at this point in her life.

Indicative · 06/08/2019 19:20

There is no need to do 5 Alevels and indeed unless doing Maths and FM really no need to do 4 (unless 6th form starts with 4 with a view to dropping 1) as uni offers are mainly based on 3 so I wouldn't let the 4/5 be the deciding factor in any way.

Which would she prefer as if she has a strong preference and is forced down the other route that may have more of an impact on how she performs.

PenguinsCantFly · 06/08/2019 19:33

I went to an all girls school and then mixed 6th form.

It was a bit of a shock at first but loved it.

I enjoyed having male friends again - such a different dynamic to being surrounded by girls on the time!

Original poster
DaffodilTulipRose · 07/08/2019 14:22

Thanks All for your responses

@Indicative you are right
Its going to be Maths and FM and the school which starts with 5 subjects later drops 1 subject

Missed mentioning above

DD is academic and not sporty , so will do well where there is good support for Academics

Just wondering if adjusting to new env and settling in Mixed form (which was earlier All Boys and now would have 1/3 girls) which seems would be really good socially - can see a positive point here from above messages - but would take the focus off / distract from acads ?

VS

Moving to All Girls might would have same env and help her to focus on acads from the start

OP posts:
Original poster
DaffodilTulipRose · 07/08/2019 14:39

Also, how hectic is it to start with 5 A levels, and then drop out 1 ?

5 A levels being : 3 subjects, Maths & FM

OP posts:
Indicative · 08/08/2019 03:51

If she is doing Maths and FM i woukd definitely go co-ed. If she pursues that route into uni it is male heavy.

crazycrofter · 08/08/2019 09:04

Does she have male friends already outside of school/ is she used to mixing with boys?

My daughter is planning to do the same (just going into year 11 now). She already has male friends anyway so I can’t imagine that mixing with boys at school/college will distract her particularly. She’s really looking forward to a slightly more relaxed and lively atmosphere. All girls can be intense!

On the other hand if your dd doesn’t know any boys I think a mixed environment would be beneficial anyway otherwise uni/work might be a shock!

Decorhate · 08/08/2019 09:15

Dd moved from an all-girls school to an all-boys which took girls in the 6th form. Loved it, made lots of friends, did well academically.

Friends’ children who moved to a different all-girls school or one which was mixed all the way through did not find it as easy - friendship groups were already in place & hard to fit in. Whereas for dd, all the girls were in the same boat. And the boys were very welcoming!

crazycrofter · 08/08/2019 13:04

That’s interesting decorhate. We have three possibilities - large (but selective ) sixth form college, boys grammar that takes girls in sixth form and mixed grammar. I’ve said similar to my daughter - the last one only takes about 20 new students (boys and girls) so friendship groups will already be set. The first two options seem better to us.

BubblesBuddy · 08/08/2019 15:47

Most DC when they get into 6th form are welcoming to new pupils. My DDs school took on about 15-20 in the 6th form and many are part of the strong friendship group 10 years on. The girls were not intense or bitchy. I never know why this tag is for young women only!

By the way, at my local co Ed boarding independent the girls and boys mix very well judging by the condoms found by the grounds staff!

BubblesBuddy · 08/08/2019 15:50

Oh - and boys can rank the girls in terms of attractiveness and “shagability” plus other less than pleasant nicknames. No school has pupils that are all sweetness and light. Co Ed or single sex.

BackforGood · 08/08/2019 23:47

5 A-levels sounds frankly ridiculous. Add that on to two hours a day traveling (presumably when everything goes smoothly and not when there are transport issues) and I think you are setting her up to fail.

Both my dcs moved from an all girls school to a mixed school for 6th form. Like a previous poster, can't really offer "tips" as such as there really were no issues. A lot of the pupils were male. Er... so what ? It kind of reflects society. Indeed if she is going on to use that maths and further maths at University, she will find a lot of males there too - but tat that point, away from home and living with many of them too.

MarchingFrogs · 09/08/2019 22:40

she will find a lot of males there too - but tat that point, away from home and living with many of them too.

Some universities do offer single-sex flats, if not actually men-free halls. As yet, not single-sex lecture theatres, though. Fortunately.

DaffodilTulipRose, which school does your DD prefer? Sixth form is usually regarded as the first point at which the decision is predominantly the student's to.make, rather than their parents'. Obviously, the balance may be affected by the need for fees to be paid, or if the student would be dependent on mum / dad providing transport.

Pineapple1 · 17/08/2019 10:55

@BubblesBuddy

Yea, all boys do that don't they... All about the sex appeal... They don't care for academic affairs, just sexual....

No, that's not how it works.

BubblesBuddy · 17/08/2019 23:32

It is in some schools, believe me! Regarding the new girls.

ErrolTheDragon · 17/08/2019 23:50

If she is doing Maths and FM i woukd definitely go co-ed. If she pursues that route into uni it is male heavy.

If she's doing maths and FM, I'm guessing some sciences in the other 2 (starting an extra subject and dropping one is sensible btw) ... I'd say that would sway me in favour of the girl's school. I'd certainly want to check what the sex ratios would be in her subjects in the coed school - they're likely to be male heavy too, less mature than uni students...

FWIW my DD did maths, FM physics and comp sci (the latter to As) in an all girls school ~1hr away, and has just finished her second year of an engineering degree and has no problems at all with the course being male-heavy.

QOD · 17/08/2019 23:53

My dd went from an all girls grammar to a boys grammar that takes girls just for 6th form. Was absolutely brilliant for her. She made some really nice male friends. Soooo little bitching and just nice lads

ErrolTheDragon · 17/08/2019 23:54

But as others have said, this should be mostly your DDs decision.

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