Sixth Form: Pros and cons of moving to a super-selective grammar school

[tredawthyn]

DD is reasonably likely to get an offer to the Sixth Form of a highly regarded super-selective grammar school and we're considering pros and cons.

She's naturally bright, takes things in her stride and has found it easy to shine at her current (non-selective) comprehensive. She's been very happy there, but I worry that it has made her complacent - she tends to do the minimum necessary to succeed, and although she's naturally competitive, she doesn't need to try too hard to get top marks. At times I've got frustrated because she's satisfied with just doing more than others around her rather than going the extra mile and being the best she can be.

If she goes to the grammar it will give her much stiffer competition. It will also open up more opportunities for enrichment (in maths, sciences) than will be available at her current school sixth form.

On the other hand, it could turn a happy laid back teenager into a stress-ball. And when she applies to uni maybe they will look at the school name and just raise the bar for entry (not necessarily taking into account that she only went there for sixth form).

Any insights from people who've faced similar dilemmas?

[cantkeepawayforever]

I think (leaving the grammar thing to one side) any change of school for 6th form - I speak as the parent of 1 child who stayed put and one child who moved to a different school - can be tough.

It is such a short time, in the overall scheme of education, and decisions need to be taken in such quick succession (it feels as if only minutes after choosing A-levels and arriving, DD is starting to consider university courses). Having to combine this with making new friends and getting used to a new environment can be really challenging.

Is the only real difference the grammar / comp one? How many extra pupils does the sixth form take, and conversely how many others from the comp leave? DD and DS both went to sixth forms with very substantial additional intakes at Y12, which is obviously easier for the incomers than if there are only a few of them, but even so DD has found it hard to make social headway into established groups (groups from the earlier years of the school she has gone to, and groups of friends all transferring from another school together).

is the provision for a-levels in each school identical? For DD and DS, the choice was easy - for DS, he stayed put because one of his choices had a tiny intake at the other school, and as a result only had one full time teacher, leading to some lessons being 'self study'. On the other hand, the way her particular subjects were organised and examined made the new school much more attractive to DD.

Ultimately, I think there has to be a 'bigger and more personal' reason than just 'oh, it's a more selective school with better results' (what is the value add like at 6th for for each) - in terms of the specific board / course, the teaching, the facilities etc. If all of your child's friendship group stays behind, and they find it very hard to settle, they will need a really compelling reason to stick it out!

[Punxsutawney]

cant I think you are right oldest Ds stayed in his school for sixth form as he was settled and happy and saw no reason to move. Youngest Ds at grammar is anything but settled and happy so the decision to move is easy really as I don't see that things could be any worse elsewhere.

[senua]

We went to look at one too. I expected to be really impressed, but it felt strangely flat. I couldn't work it out at all.
It may have been on purpose. Our superselectives are oversubscribed - they really don't need to encourage yet more applicants. I think they take the attitude of "if you don't want a place then that's fine. Move along because there are plenty more in the queue behind you."

[Hemst]

senua, I'm not sure if it was on purpose (i.e. deliberately intentional), but it did feel as though they weren't bothering - which was a shame as a huge swathe of those there were their own students! My DS felt sorry for them as the teachers seemed so flat and uninspiring.

[PandaandCat]

Similar daughter but had same in year 7 - been very happy and very high achieving at primary, went to very high achieving London grammar. Academically brilliant and made her do 2 hours homework a night but she was so very unhappy there it wasn't worth it. Pastoral care was dire - they just said she shouldn't be depressed as her results were excellent and gave her a older child to talk to who said it just gets worse and school don't care however depressed you are and neither do my parents. So we took her out and moved to a comp and much happier, results may or may not be dipping a bit (not totally clear atm, comp struggles to get languages teachers but still doing really well) but I wouldn't risk it if she's happy and high achieving. University offers are sometimes adjusted for school results.

[summerflower2]

I think it will depend on the provision of her current school. Does the current school provide enough support for students applying university?How is the outcome of their A level exam result? Is the school's teaching good enough, I will look at the percentage of the A*% for the subjects that your DD will choose. And how many students go to university after this.If the current school has everything , then of course it is safer just stay put.

To be honest, A level is different, it's only 2 years, in a short period, students learn their subjects, look at the university choice, apply to university. There are not much to compare between the students, as everyone has chosen their own combination of subjects. So I would make sure the school has enough support for the university application. And there is a culture that most students will go to university, this is quite important as well.

My DS went to a state non selective 6 form with his group of friends. They don't have much chance to meet each other, only find time during lunch time. As they all have different subject options and the school is massive. However, the school has really good university application support. There is talks arranged by school to enrich their subjects, specialist teacher to guide you if you wish to apply to Oxbridge and they check your personal statement and provide mock interview.

Also, A level course is much harder than GCSE, provide more in depth knowledge, I don't think your DD will be able to do minimum to get a good result.