How do you know whether to move your child at sixth form?

[fairfatandfrumpy]

Have a 15yo ds who is doing v well (so far)
How do I know what is right for sixth form?

Surely by 6th Form the choice is more your child's to make than it is yours?

So many variables
Depends what they want to study
Some want to go coed after single sex
Some move from private to state or state to private
Some want a bigger 6th form college experience
Some want a specialist sixth form

I think the child will have some ideas on this.
I would have thought that the 2 main drivers would be appropriate qualifications or wanting a fresh start socially.

6th form?

That's not your decision, surely? 🤔

Oh gosh, yes completely know that it is dc choice, but I am wondering what others have found useful criteria to work out whether a move is a Positive thing or not

You won't know what is right until they have their results - subject choices may change
Some schools will also have limited choices due to scheduling
Usually you can hold multiple state sixth form offers and then make a choice on results day

I think whether it’s positive to move or not will depend on him. So base your views on him. But remember it is also up to him..

I found with each of mine it was pretty much dictated by the combination of subjects they wanted to do.

Like before your child starts / applies for any new school, you go and look round and get a feel for places, and find out what their actual options are. Many 6th forms can't offer what you want. Others might only admit people with 7s or above in the subjects they want to study (which might, or might not be a factor - I have no idea what predicted grades your dc has).
One thing I found surprising around here is there is no co-ordination of information, like there was before Primary school and before secondary school. There was no list of options. You have to do the research yourself.
Of course, at 16, they have a greater range - they can walk or cycle further, or get buses, trains, or trams, so it might be a college or school on the other side of your City or town becomes a possibility.

I think it boils down to
-subject/qualification choice (different settings offer different qualifications and different subjects and even differerent combinations of subjects)
-entry criteria (some schools set very high criteria; this may be a positive - if you want your child to be with high performing peers; or a negative if it's possible your child will struggle to meet them)
-type of setting and how it suits your child (more strict or more flexible; bigger or smaller; mix of other students there; mix of extra-curricular opportunities)
-support for post sixth form options might be important particularly if your child wants to get into something competitive
-practicalities (how would they get there; what would it cost)

But largely what your child feels. Some will be happy where they are and prefer to stay with what they know. Others will know they definitely want to move. Some will be undecided. DD was told that it's worth at least looking at another setting just to broaden your horizons a bit.

There are open days for sixth forms and they will have a prospectus too.
My dd moved for sixth form because she wanted to take subject(s) that the sixth form at her Y7-11 school didn't offer.
It's also a good idea to apply for more than one in case the combination of subjects that your ds wants to do isn't possible due to option blocks or that there aren't enough students wanting to take a particular subject for that course to run.
Different sixth forms have different entry requirements, so it may be possible to an A level at one with a grade 7 whereas others may have higher (or lower) GCSE grades needed.

Agree with @redskytonights We visited a few options with our DD2 – a private school with a mixed sixth form, a all-girls grammar, a mixed comprehensive. All of these were different from the type of school she was at so we wanted her to get a feel for the alternatives on offer.

Her chosen combination of A level subjects was available everywhere so that wasn't a factor, or at least the 2 subjects she really wanted were and she was flexible about the third. Although she got the GCSE grades for all of them, she was put off by varying factors and ended up staying where she was after all. But at least that way it was an informed decision.

Go to a few open days (with DS obviously) - I found that they were really useful for getting a good feel for the school.

Does his current school have a 6th form? If he's happy and doing well then probably easiest just to stay there!

So much depends on what is available.

Dd decided that she had to stay at her current school because it was the only one that offered a specific combination that she wanted. Also her school had been very supportive in various ways (although that didn't last following a change of management in Year 12 so be aware that things can always change no matter what you decide).

Ds decided he needed to move to college because his school did not offer music which was what he wanted to study at degree level.

In our area most schools don't have 6th forms and those that do offer very limited subjects whereas we have two large colleges offerring a wide variety of A levels and Btecs.

Ds visited one of these colleges and immediately felt at home. He did change his subject slightly after a taster session.

It is a choice made by your child at this stage. There will be open days/evenings when you can take them to visit the sixth forms of various schools and get a feel for things so look out for those and go to them.

One of my DDs did move school and the main reason was that the school she had been at was not offering the subjects she wanted to take at A Level. Not sure why they weren't as they had staff who taught those subjects. So she moved to one that was offering them. She is now at uni and about to go into her final year at Cambridge, still studying her chosen subjects.

Sadly where I live family income often affects the choice of 6th form. Families who struggle to pay bus fayres or don't have access to a car are often unable to allow their young person to go to the 6th form college that offers a wider range of courses.

Easy for us to make the decision to move as her school was only 11-16. It was a nasty shock to discover that free home / school transport had finished though, we’re now paying over £1200 a year for a college bus pass. She seems to be settling very well though and (fingers crossed) is happy in a college setting which is hugely different to school.

My 3 all went to different places for 6th form. Around here, staying put for 6th form isn't really an option unless you're at a private school, but this is what influenced their choices:

• One chose based on her social group and strong art dept
• Another on high academic calibre of students and strong support to get into med school and opportunity to do IB instead of A levels
• Last, indecisive, one chose on the fact he could start with 4 A levels and drop one later, whereas the place he would otherwise have chosen wanted him to pick 3, or 4, and stick to them throughout the 2 years. This decision was made a day or two AFTER the start of term in year 12. Lastminute.com.

They were all happy with their choices. But things crystallise as year 11 goes on, so best to apply for several if you're not sure.

I had one who stayed at their school. They were happy, got the grades and they did the subjects they wanted to study. Got great A levels and are now at a top uni. Easy

I had one who moved from their outstanding state school, same one as their sibling, to a Co-ed private school. Main driver was that they had never really liked the secondary school so had decided by year 10 they would want to change. The state school didn't offer the subject they wanted anyway so that made the decision.

We looked at:

another state school similar to the current school where they knew people,

a really great state school with a huge sixth form where they didn't know anyone

A highly academic state 6th form college which was a pain of a journey and where they wouldn't be a priority candidate due to location, being highly selective and being in a school with a sixth form

A very progressive co-ed private school

Another co-ed private school.

We discounted any single sex schools, state and private also any with 6th form entrance exams as they didn't want to do them but was happy to do interviews and spend a day there.

In the end we had offers from everywhere except the 6th form college, we discounted the progressive private school as the deposit was too big to lose if it wasn't a firm choice. We held both other state and the one private place until results. In the end one state school didn't have enough demand for one of the options so didn't run it and so that was off the list.

Then child decided the other state school was too big and couldn't see themself there so we were left with the co-ed private school,

Now year 13 and best decision ever but it wasn't made by us but by our child and to be honest, at 6th form you can't do it any other way.

Surely it's down to whether they want to move or not? If they are happy at their school, like the teachers and can do the combination of A levels they want then why move?

If they had wanted to move I would have wanted a sixth form that had a large Y12 intake (or ideally a sixth form college) as it's such a short course, you don't want to be 'the new kid' for the whole thing and struggle to settle in?

I would want the teaching. class size and results to be on a par with what they were leaving.

I agree. Your child should make the final decision. At sixth form it's not a matter of where should you send them it's where do they want to go

Where we are, you can apply to whichever 6th form you like.
It isn't co-ordinated by the LA like Primary and Secondary admissions are - you can hold places at more than one place and don't have to rank them in order.

Go to open days/evenings with DS. My DS doesn't have a sixth form at his school. We e had lots of discussions about what he would like to do next, including colleges or a sixth form at another school. After months of him thinking about it and guidance from us and school, he has decided there is a college he would really like to get into. It's quite selective so he'll need good GCSEs, but he knows that.

I'm not suggesting you are-but just in case anyone has the wrong end of the stick (a lot of people do) move if from private to state for 6th form won't make any difference to University offers.