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Secondary education

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Original poster

In-Year Moving during Year 12?

29 replies

CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 14:20

Is it possible to move schools in year 12? DD in year 12 is desperately unhappy in her current 6th form.
She had to move schools, as her old school did not have a 6th form and we found what we thought a nice countryside school for her that offered her choice of courses. It turned out to be a bad choice for her. Every day is an ordeal to persuade her to go to school, every night she is crying and asking not to have to go the next day.
At the same time she is producing good grades and talented in her subjects. I don’t want to just take her out with nowhere to go. I tried to phone schools that have her course combinations and exam boards, but there are no options to accept a student except for starting again at year 12.
Are there any loopholes?

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Original poster
CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 14:29

Additionally the year 12 have to stay in school until the end of the school day, even if their courses finish at midday or sometimes earlier. There is nowhere for them to go, there are limited seating areas where they can study a d she is wandering about the school for several hours trying to find somewhere to sit and work. I’m currently collecting her earlier when I can and her classes are finished for the day, but I am getting into trouble due to the absence policy.

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ImpatientAnn · 21/03/2021 15:20

The only issue I could see - other than the new school having spaces - is that the same courses are available - the subjects and the same exam board.

Clockingon · 21/03/2021 15:52

We had to do similar in year 10 due to house move when I became disabled. Dc wasn't happy at his old school so wasn't bothered about moving. It wasn't ideal however it was the best decision we made dc thrived and got grades better than predicted.
The big problem was dc couldn't do quite the same subjects (had to swap and do extra catch-up) also because courses can be taught in different orders/schools choose what topics they are going to study he ended up covering some areas twice and then having to self learn other areas. This worked OK and dc actually did better in English with the book he self taught than the book he ended up reading twice.
I'd say it depends on the individual young person how well this works. Worst case scenario if she moves she has to start y12 again. Worst case scenario if she stays mental health deteriorates and she drops out.

UnderwaterSymphony · 21/03/2021 16:01

Honestly, I would look into a fresh start and repeating year 12.

I did this (I was the youngest in my original year though, and still not the eldest in my new year).

It was the best decision I made (with input from my family).

LIZS · 21/03/2021 16:06

She could restart y12 in September elsewhere. Transferring on year could be tricky if timetable and syllabi do not readily correspond.

Original poster
CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 17:07

We found a few schools with the same courses and exam boards. I school would possibly take her for year 13, but not immediately due to funding. This means she would have to finish year 12 at her current school which puts a huge strain on her and me too. Are there any mitigating circumstances that would help her case to move now?

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Original poster
CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 17:08

She is a July birthday and one of the younger ones in her year.

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lanthanum · 21/03/2021 18:01

You've not only got to find somewhere offering the same syllabus, but they need to be doing things in a compatible order if she's not going to have a lot of catching up to do. I know someone who switched at Christmas due to a geographical move; not ideal, but they managed to make it work. But this late in the year there's likely to be too much catching up.
They may also be reluctant because they're not going to have much time to get to know her and provide predicted grades and advice to help with university applications.

I suspect that starting again in year 12 in September may be the best option.

Do her current school know how much she's struggling? It looks like she's nearly at the stage of "school refusal", and any decent school would work with you on that. The first priority might be to identify a place where she can be guaranteed a space to sit and work, and also for her to have permission to go home early when she has nothing timetabled.

Is she struggling friendship-wise, or something else? You don't want to move her and find there's a similar problem somewhere new. It might be difficult with covid, but you might want to investigate whether she can go for a taster at a potential new sixth form.

PastaAndPizzaPlease · 21/03/2021 18:36

Pull her out of this year, give her a break and let her start somewhere fresh in September.

clary · 21/03/2021 18:54

Staying in school all day in sixth form is fairly standard tbh. Poor that the school doesn't provide anywhere to work tho.

A girl in DD's year, who came from a school with no sixth form, had a difficult year 12 and she left about now-ish and started again in year 12 at a different school. This was without even the disruption of a pandemic and it was OK, worked out well for her I believe.

I agree with Ianthemum - you could do with finding out why she is struggling so much; also a new start in yr 13 will be hard for a school to deal with, they will have to do UCAS and predicted grades on someone they don't know. Honestly it might be better to restart yr 12.

Original poster
CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 22:55

She is struggling because there is no one for her to speak to. She is new to the school. The teacher buddied her up with another girl who abandoned her after five minutes. There were not many new starters in test 12 and it’s a very English country type place. Very cliquey. A lot of mean girls. The teachers don’t care and are too busy with COVID and can’t cope. It’s a small school and very old fashioned. She loved the taster day and she thought it was a quiet and quaint place. Its a horrible place. She had a temperature and they sent her out in the freezing cold to wait for me by the bus stop by herself. Nobody blinked an eyelid. Nobody cared.

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Original poster
CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 23:01

Because she is quiet the teachers are now bullying her. Every time they need to scapegoat somebody they pick DD. For example, a lot of kids were in their laptops and they told DD off and nobody else. The teacher did not tell them that they had to send in their LFT results and they made an example of DD - then it turned out nobody had sent it. She is too shy to say anything and they perceive this as stubborn and pick on her even more. She was a brilliant student and is now a shadow of herself.

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PamDenick · 21/03/2021 23:01

Is this a private school?

Students have 3 years funding post 16 so its not unheard of for students to totally restart YEAR 12 elsewhere.

Original poster
CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 23:01

I’d love to name and shame the school.

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PamDenick · 21/03/2021 23:02

Dont.

Original poster
CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 23:03

Not a private school, but in a very nice setting and it could be private iyswim. It has that feel to it.

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Original poster
CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 23:03

No of course nots

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Original poster
CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 23:04

Of course not, I’d never do that.

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Original poster
CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 23:06

If I took her out and she would start somewhere else, what would she do in lockdown for 6 months by herself?

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lanthanum · 21/03/2021 23:18

Have you talked to the school about any of this? It sounds like you need to...

Original poster
CluelessinUK · 21/03/2021 23:58

Yes I’ve talked to the school a few times, including to each teacher on Zoom on parents evening. They all assured me that they would be very helpful etc but nobody took any interest. Nobody speaks to DD in school all day. They treat her as though she is a strange and weird person. She is very pretty and very talented.

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Original poster
CluelessinUK · 22/03/2021 00:05

She is polite, well mannered and always looks nice.

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lanthanum · 22/03/2021 11:43

I think you need to establish who is responsible for your daughter's pastoral care (form tutor, head of year, or both), and book an appointment with them to discuss her current feelings about school. Subject teachers will, of course, promise to do what they can - which probably doesn't extend much further than making sure that she has someone suitable to work with for any group work, and that nobody is being rude to her in lessons.

What you need is for someone to take a more proactive role in helping her - perhaps by getting her involved in something where she is working with others she may get on well with, or by having a word with a couple of students who might make a better job of "buddying" than the original appointee. It's difficult if there are fewer extra-curricular activities going on at the moment.

titchy · 22/03/2021 11:50

There were not many new starters in test 12 and it’s a very English country type place.

Well that was the problem. It's incredibly difficult to break into existing groups when there are very few newbies.

Move her to a big sixth form college where everyone is new, and don't be swayed by fancy buildings and nicely manicured grass.

titchy · 22/03/2021 11:52

Not sure what the relevance of her being pretty, talented or always looking nice is though.... Hmm