How do I find a sixth-form with very small class sizes - West of England

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DS has ASD (NHS Diagnosed) and probably also ADHD (no diagnosis but assessed as highly probable by EdPsych) and finds the normal classroom environment of a mainstream secondary school extremely difficult to cope with. Lots of days of school refusal or spending the whole day hiding in Learning Support.

Very academically able with various measures of intelligence and ability all in the 99th centile but currently (y10) getting quite mediocre test results mainly due to having missed out on a large amount of teaching time due to these issues.

Really unsure about what to do about post-GCSE study. Intellectually he should be capable of A-Levels but that won't be possible if the current level of distress at being in school at all continues.

I've been googling to try to find a sixth form with very small class sizes - I think he would cope a lot better in classes of 5-10. My own school had 3 of us for physics, 5 for maths with further maths (there was another class for those not doing further maths) and 15 for chemistry - that's the sort of size I think DS could cope with but that school the other side of the country and an all-girls school so no good for DS! But current school has typically 20 in 6th form classes which I think would still be overwhelming for DS. My googling for sixth form with small class sizes has found nothing but various Mumsnet threads discussing the benefits of class size, along with interesting articles, but no way to actually find the kind of school I need.

Alternatively - I have found a small local college that does have very small class sizes and good understanding of ASD and ADHD support, but doesn't offer A-levels because most students have learning difficulties or are of lower-than-average ability - so has various vocational courses aimed at the 16-19yos who can just about scrape 5 GCSEs at grades 4-5 but couldn't cope with A-levels. In terms of the actual learning environment it seems way more suitable for DS but it seems very sad not to give him the challenge of A-levels when he should have the capacity to do them. Would this actually be better though?

I really want to find a school where DS can study A-levels in small groups that are just about big enough to have some class interaction but no bigger than 10 and ideally less than 8. Subjects would be definitely Computer Science, possibly Maths, possibly biology - nothing particularly niche. I can't find any way to easily access the typical class size for any 6th forms. We would be happy with either state or private, just need it to be small, and anywhere within the broad area of north somerset/Bristol/south gloucs/wiltshire so long as it's accessible by bus/train

Have a look at this group - they used to run an FE college in Frome which did A Levels but has closed. Am not sure what has happened but it would be worth contacting them to see what they are offering now:
https://www.aspriscs.co.uk/schools-and-colleges/

If there is anywhere opening a new sixth form, go for that - DD has been in a new sixth form, and the first intake was very small - very much a loss leader. State sixth forms won't often be viable without reasonable numbers, and maths will usually be one of the bigger classes. Very rural schools might be the other possibility for a smaller set-up

If you have no success with A-level study, bear the Open University in mind - A-levels are not required. Maybe even consider part-time OU alongside the local college, so that he can try and build up on the social interaction there.

Unfortunately very small class sizes are uneconomic . The only way schools can pay teachers is by having plenty of warm bodies in the classrooms generating income which makes it doubly hard for dedicated 6th form colleges. Add to that the difficulty of schools managing to recruit and retain teachers for science and maths subjects I am afraid you might be searching for a while longer. The only thing I could say is that he might find the atmosphere of an AL class more positive than a general GCSE class since by definition the students have chosen to be there, so I wouldn’t rule out his present school if they are happy to take him.

When we were looking at sixth forms we found that the ones with the smaller classes had less contact time. For example, the lessons at the school sixth form were one hour long, three times as week whereas at the college with bigger class sizes the lessons were ninety minutes three times a week.

Also, if it's a subject that requires a bit of discussion or bouncing ideas around then a small class is a very definite disadvantage.

You need a small private school. I drive past one every day on the way to own school that advertises class sizes of A level of 4!
I would not take a job there ever as i think the risk of them going bankrupt is way to high, buy in your circumstances i would definitely take a punt on 2 years for A levels, assuming of course you can afford it.
state schools unless mfl the classes are not going to be very small sorry to say. I had 27one year in an A level science! ( i did complain so much that we have now capped sciences at 24 but ….

But not buy

would you consider private? he could weekly board at Wychwood in Oxford??

With the best will in the world, if he is only getting 'mediocre' test scores now, he won't be accepted to do a maths A-level.

But I agree with others - class sizes of those numbers aren't economically viable.

It’s probably too far for you unless you’d consider boarding but Kingsley in Bideford.

https://www.rendcombcollege.org.uk/

Small classes aren't financially viable and some courses are wrapped up if the college can't afford to run them. Classes of 10-15 are more realistic.

If you could manage private, Wycliffe might suit. Or Kings College, Taunton. Or Queens College, Taunton.

There are definitely private schools that would be ideal. I know of a small, non selective private school near me (but far from you I’m afraid!) that has an intake of approx 20 students in their sixth form. Classes of 3 and 4 are typical. This school is used by lots of local parents who have academic children with additional needs which can’t be met in the large, overcrowded and underfunded states.
unlike the other sixth forms in the area which require grades 7 and 8 to study a levels you only need grade 6 in gcse.

I had the same issue with dd and there simply was nothing, state school sixth forms take whoever wants to come and meets the criteria to a certain extent so since compulsory education or training until 18 classes have swelled. In the private sector they want the money from more students!

Choosing less popular subjects helps though, only 6 in DDs German class, or sounds odd but look at the sixth forms of schools which don't have the best reputation, the troublesome students won't be staying on for a levels so classes are smaller often and teachers delighted to be teaching students who want to be there, my DDs friend had very small classes whereas dd changed to the "better" sixth form college

One thing to note is that small class sizes are often because only 8 want to do the subject - not because they actually want a class of 8. So even if there is normally 8 in a class they will happily take more if they can.

The year above me had 4 for further maths. The year below had 5. 3 years below (my brother’s year) had a cozy 3. My year - started off at 11! (Went down to 8/9 as people dropped it.) No reason for i lt - just random fluctuation. 9 was actually a really nice number. But if Inhad expected to become of a tiny group of 4 then I would have been disappointed.

On the more positive side - the level of noise and disruption from an A level class of 20 is very different to that of a GCSE class of 20. All the A level students want to be there, (hopefully!) like the subject and want to do well. So he may cope better than you think.

Thanks for the advice. I suspect choosing unpopular subjects at an unpopular school might be our best option!

The other thing I have thought about would be an online-only school but that seems like a very lonely existence.

I'm hopeful that despite mediocre results right now, we may actually turn things around and get some good GCSEs - eg his Maths teacher says he's clearly way ahead in class, dealing with A-Level type topics in discussion of mathematical ideas and is very quick to grasp new concepts but keeps falling to pieces under exam conditions. The teacher thinks he ought to be getting grade 8/9 based on actual ability and understanding but is currently hovering around a 5. With enough exam practice over the coming year he might get a good enough GCSE to be ok to progress to A-level.

I think talking about small class sizes when we were at school is irrelevant. For example, there were only three of us in my year for A level French. We sat our A levels in 1977. Nowadays no state school would run that subject if there were only three students as it isn't financially viable.

I think the option to look at private education is probably the best option if it is at all possible.

A friend's son on the ASD spectrum dropped out of college and completed his A levels by distance learning. However, my friend had to go to great expense for him to complete the practical element for physics. He had to go away for a week and stay in a hotel to do all the practical work for his physics A level. You would need to find a centre to do this for biology. My friend's son did maths A level entirely by distance learning, but I can't remember what the third subject was.

You would then need to find an exam centre for your son to sit his A levels, and pay for them as well.

Cross posted. Most 6th forms ask for a minimum of a grade 7 or 8 for the student to take maths at A level.

With the proposed A level subjects even private schools may have larger class sizes for those as they are popular A levels.

It's usually the undersubscribed subjects such as classics that have fewer students.

A bit of an offbeat suggestion, but have you looked into home educating...? Our area (not near you unfortunately) has an enormous number of home educators and they often band together to buy tutors for small groups of students.

Otherwise, yes, a very tiny private school. There are lots of them around with only a couple of hundred kids. There's one near here with only 11 kids in their lower sixth - for some subjects the teaching is 1:1!

This one says it caters for SEN and only has 37 in sixth form!

https://www.isc.co.uk/schools/england/gloucestershire/tewkesbury/bredon-school/