Should your child accept more than one sixth form offer?

[Norgirl71]

My daughter has been offered a place at a local sixth form conditional on GCSE results. She wants to stay at her current school but her head teacher told the Year 11s to apply for several schools and colleges as back-ups just in case they don't get the required grades to stay on. Should we accept the offer that's come from this other school and then decide after our daughter's results are in? (All her other sixth-form applications are still being processed so we have no idea if she'll get offers and we don't want to be left high and dry in August, especially as the sixth form that's made the offer is a good school.) Any advice much appreciated.

Yes, it's totally normal to accept multiple offers and then choose which one you want to go with after GCSE results. It's also very sensible to have a backup if your first choice has high conditional requirements for entry.

I think you need local advice on this as the system varies from area to area. Our area has a partnership between all the sixth form providers, so they lay down the system here. I think DD could accept any or all of the offers, but nothing was set in stone until GCSE results were out and they accepted the actual place. The most academic sixth form only makes offers to those who put them first on the joint application, but that didn't mean that place had to be accepted - the kids could choose from the offers they had got the grades for.

It is good to have a back up sixth form/college just in case results do not go as planned. However, you can still apply to most sixth forms/colleges on results day with actual results but bear in mind the most popular/academic sixth forms/courses may have limited spaces.

Yes it's a good idea to have a backup plan in place in case she doesn't meet the grades needed.
It would be much more stressful to chase around trying to find somewhere with places available on results day.

It's quite normal. They don't actually do the admissions until after results so even if you accepted an offer and don't get the results, they don't accept you. Lots of sixth forms over offer and if lots of kids decide to take up the offer, it's whoever is first in enrolment until the class is full. Esp for popular subjects like A level English etc.

That's very helpful. Thanks everyone.

Yes, it's absolutely fine OP. We had your situation in reverse with DD2 who applied to both a grammar school and a private school for Sixth Form (we could have afforded 2 years, just about). In the event she chose to stay at her secondary modern for A levels despite getting the GCSE grades to move if she had wanted.