College vs school 6th form

[deedledeedledum]

Hello, please educate me (pun intended). I have no idea what the difference is between a 6th form college and 6th form at school. My dc have only been to schools (private) that include 6th form but my youngest has expressed an interest in moving for 6th form and one of the suggestions has been a college. I thought 6th form colleges were just like 6th form at school but just bigger but I'm starting to think maybe they are quite different. Please would people clarify for me

It depends on your part of the country. But sixth form colleges do tend to be bigger. That means they can offer a wider range of subjects, including some non-traditional A-levels, and often a whole bunch of vocational courses too.

Ime college sixth forms allow more freedom. My dc both stayed at their school, with dress code (tho not all schools have this) and they were not allowed to leave the site.

Their peers at the local college could wear what they liked and leave the site if they had frees - handy for driving lessons.

Otoh ime the school sixth form was better for support with UCAS forms and PS as there was more focus on dc heading to uni. Tjo that did mean that if your dc wasn't planning on uni, they got put under a but of pressure. But that may just be that school.

Colleges are more likely to offer other qualifications such as BTECs and T levels. School will usually focus on A levels.

Personally I would have advised my own dc (looking at traditional subjects fir A levels and a degree- eng lit, French, biology, maths) to stay at a school; but there are certainly arguments in favour of college. What does your dc want to study post-16 op?

Btw some places, like Winchester, only have sixth form colleges as an option, so the above jnfo may well not apply jn the same way. And of course I am generalising- plenty of good teaching of A level Eng lit and French at colleges and some schools do offer the odd BTEC.

@clary thank you. My dc is looking at fairly traditional subjects. A-levels. Maths, Bio....maybe something she hasn't taken for GCSEs like Economics or Psychology. Would you say it's better to stay at school then? Even if the 6th form college has good results (taking into account the non selective nature of the place)

Our area has both state 6th form college and schools and lots of independents which include 6th form as hers does. The other option is moving to a co-Ed private for 6th form. I'm worried that she doesn't realise the difference (I didn't) and would get an almighty shock

That depends on what you can find out about the quality of teaching at colleges. There was only one college option for my dc (and several schools). We looked into it and did not rate the teaching of maths or Eng lit as highly as at their school. In addition both dd and ds wanted to take an A level not offered by the college.
You might want to look at those factors. But why is you dc keen on college? Do they want the greater freedom? It can be a really positive aspect.

I think it depends very much on the individual schools and colleges in question.

My dd was tempted by the freedom and independence offered by the college but opted instead to go to a sixth form in a local (state) school, because she had greater confidence in their academic offering and particularly around the support that they would offer for university applications (medicine).

As things have turned out, there isn't actually much difference in the levels of freedom and independence after all. Unlike the school sixth form mentioned above, where kids weren't allowed to leave the site, dd is free to come and go when she has free periods, go off and do driving lessons or sit in the park with her mates or whatever. Also, while the dress code is much stricter on paper, it's not enforced really, and as long as they don't wear anything really extreme, they can pretty much wear what they want.

The school environment has been great for dd. She has enjoyed being part of school productions, volunteering as a peer mediator for younger kids etc. She also feels that the school sixth form has been a much more sociable experience - it's smaller than the college so fewer potential friends overall, but there seems to be a great deal more mixing between people doing different subjects, which dd really values. Her friendship group seems to have expanded much more than that of friends who went to the local college, who only really seem to socialise with others doing the same subjects as them. Not sure if anything can be generalised from this one very local example, but I think the best thing would be to visit as many places as you can and see which one makes your dd feel most comfortable.

So many factors! College will give more freedom (almost like uni, but not quite), will probably be free financially too. But will mean making new friends, and if you're considering moving from an independent, there will probably be a broader range of abilities. It depends on the places and people involved!

I think you need to look at your local sixth form college and what it offers. In my area if you want to do A Levels you have to choose a school sixth form - the local sixth form colleges only offer vocational qualifications. Although you can of course move to a different school sixth form (and many do) as they vary in things like their formality and structure. However in some areas (Teen will probably pop in in a moment and tell you about Hants), everyone goes to sixth form college so there is a wider range of options offered there.

dd is free to come and go when she has free periods, go off and do driving lessons or sit in the park with her mates or whatever. Also, while the dress code is much stricter on paper, it's not enforced really, and as long as they don't wear anything really extreme, they can pretty much wear what they want.

That's very interesting @MrsBennetsPoorNerves (great name!). Just shows that individual research is vital. Most schools around here insist students stay on site, but there is a variance in dress codes for sure, with some allowing jeans and trainers, and others insisting on dark suit and tucked in shirt or blouse at all times. Dcs' school was somewhere between; dd reckons she barely wore her jacket for two years 😀

Haha @sheepdogdelight I had @teendivided In mind when I mentioned winchester!

In my area (including neighbouring boroughs), school sixth forms offer A levels, with a few students doing BTECH. Sixth form colleges do not offer A levels, only BTech or level 1 and 2 qualifications.
Many students move schools for sixth form.

My dds were ready to spread their wings. No way would they have wanted to stay at school, especially with a dress code. I think it's more of an in-between step between school and uni

Another thing to consider - I think schools with 6th forms give responsibilities to those students. Thinking prefects, mentoring lower years, helping to lead extra curricular activities etc. Both mine wanted to stay on at school, in part because they felt they had earned the privilege of those responsibilities. You don't get that at College.

She wants to look at other options as she is currently at an all girls school and she wants to experience co-Ed. She also wants something with a more local cohort. Her current school draws girls from quite a wide circle and more are from the far side of the circle on the other side of the school iykwim so not many nearby.

They offer mainly a-levels. Only a few B-Tech.

OP, I recognise the Esher College website in your above post.
A few things, the admissions for 2023 closed on Friday so I guess you are thinking for 2024. The exam results from 2022 should be released soon. The college was inspected by Ofsted 2 weeks ago after a 15 year gap! This a data will help you gauge the academic level etc. You can hold an Esher college place up until the last minute, it's the private school notice etc that leads to making decisions by April of year 11.

Eagle eyes!! Thank you! She's already registered! Do you have any thoughts?

Yes I live locally and have previously applied for a dc who eventually stayed at their old school.
It's very very large - 1000 students in the year - so it suits confident types and independent learners. The Learning Support Dept is also good. If your dc is a quiet studious learner who enjoys having a class teacher who knows them, school assembles, school sports teams that are lauded in the school as a whole it may not the right environment. In my case it was pretty clear my dc would struggle in the cohort socially and the dc who went from their year at the end of year 11 weren't in my dc's social group.
The teaching is good and it will be interesting to see the exam results and ofsted report.

Also Esher college has a wide catchment - loads from Sunbury as Thamesmead school automatically feeds through, they have guaranteed places, and then anyone who lives on the train line to Thames Ditton or Esher plus lots from Richmond upon Thames who can get a bus to Hampton court and walk.

In my area only a few schools have 6th forms. The school Ds went to did have a 6th form and they offered a choice of around 10 A levels in 4 option blocks or 5 Btecs in two option blocks.

the 6th form college offered a wide variety of A levels and Btecs. Many students, even those from the local private school choose to go to the 6th form college due to being able to study almost any combination of A levels/Btecs.

Thank you @hockeygrass

There are 2 somewhat rambling threads in further education re colleges and 6th forms. You may lose the will to live if you read them.

In my opinion from what I see round my way wrt A levels, colleges can be great for a motivated young person. Maybe not so good for one that still needs more structure or chasing or hand holding.

What is best will all depend on local offer options though and the young person involved.