Sixth form unnecessarily restrictive and strict

[Libre2]

DS has stayed at his comp where he got really good GCSE results (all 8s and 1 9) and had a very good friendship group.

The school was great and provided fantastic support and he got on well with staff. He has moved into the sixth form there and it seems to have gone a bit crazy. They have brought in serious rules and regulations - they have to sit in silence in free periods, with no headphones, they are not allowed to communicate with friends, they must be studying. One of DS's friends has four frees in a row and has to sit in silence for 4 hours. His parents questioned this and was told "he'll be fine".

They are giving out behaviour points for minor infringements and basically still treating them like children. DS is completely fed up with this - he has engaged brilliantly and done a lot of reading around his subjects and completed all tasks, but wants more freedom.

He is thinking of swapping schools in the city - sadly we don't have a sixth form college - he is worried about being lonely and missing friends, but doesn't really engage with them anyway as they are all maths/science and he is arts. Has anyone else encountered this or moved in the first half term?

....they must be studying.

Well, that's what free periods are for. How disruptive would it be for students who are trying to work if others are sitting nattering to friends?

There is a library for study, and there is a 6th form common room for socialising. Currently, they are not allowed to use the 6th form common room during free periods. How is mandating study in any way creating independent learners?

Do you really think it's reasonable to say you have to sit in silence studying for four hours?

That’s why they (used to) have common rooms! I went to a sixth form a bit like this. Had to be in for 9, even if your first lesson wasn’t until hours later. Weren’t supposed to leave until 4, even if you finished at lunch. Mine was just a stand-alone sixth form college but it was stricter than school.

That was 30 years ago and I would’ve hoped things had improved! Some of the more sympathetic staff did let us use their classrooms if they were free but we didn’t have anywhere to just hang out and chat.

The one I went to used to have a common room previously but there was a fire and they just never rebuilt any communal spaces.

If it doesn’t suit him (and it sounds like it doesn’t) move quickly as it won’t matter so much now but it another month it will be stressful with missed content etc… move quickly if he’s going to.

Why are they not allowed to use the common room?

So they will eventually be allowed to use the common room?

Trust me, Y12s need to be told to study in their free periods at the start of sixth form. They are still in Y11 mode and think that they will be able to get by with going to lessons and then half an hour homework per week. A-levels are completely different and he should be doing around 5 hours per week per subject of independent study. That's what the free periods are for, not for chatting with mates.

If he gets into good habits now, he is far less likely to crash and burn in his exams. Y12 need showing, not telling how to study.

While I understand the surface-level why on the school's side, I wouldn't be happy with this if it was going to be for all students throughout both years of A-levels. In addition to being miserable (and risking resentment impairing their engagement) it's simply not scaffolding them for post-secondary success.

So I'd ask questions about the plan. Is there a way for students to earn increased independence after this first term? If not I'd look into moving quickly. But if this is short-term and they gain more freedom soon (presuming they stay on track academically) then I wouldn't.

Re the "study periods are for studying" argument... not all students study best in silence in a single location. In fact, most don't. Figuring out how to study effectively, how to utilize collaborative study, and enjoying academics are all incredible important.

DDs sixth form did this for the first few weeks. It helps them settle in and not go completely giddy with the freedom. They were soon able to use the common room and go home in frees - I think it was around October half term, but school insisted that it was not a given. I do believe it helped install some self discipline.

What’s the point of the common room then? Have there been issues regarding Y12 students whereby these rules are being enforced?

That sounds silly.
In my 6th Form people would study together - discussing the plots of novels, getting each others ideas and opinions, helping each other out if someone couldn't understand....
In fact there were times we were expected to do group work.
Urrgh.
Get him switched to another school/college asap.

DS school has half the free periods like this and then the other half they could choose. Problem with way it timetabled for DS was that he seemed to always have structured study at 9 am, when it would have been a lot better for him to have it later in the day. He said it felt like detention and actually got his back up rather than promote a good work ethic.
He switched to college and does a lot better there.

I’d arrange to take him to visit some alternatives. You don’t want him to loose his enthusiasm and motivation.

We started something similar in our 6th form last year. Y12 need showing 'how' to study because they've been hand held through GCSE, especially students who come to us externally. Many of them have poor work ethic, are late and don't turn in homework etc. However, we only do this up to Oct half term. They have to be in 9am to 2pm then they are free to do what they like.

Blimey. Our 6th form had pool tables, table football and a stereo. We would go to the study rooms or library if we wanted to work. That was 25 years ago though and I get times have changed but silence seems a but much. I loved my sixth form years as we made lifelong friendships, and it gave us more freedom and responsibility with our time. We all did really well with A level results too. I think the silence would have made me rebel more and i'd have ended up in trouble. 😆 I found it a bridging gap between the strictness of school and the independence uni. I would find out if other places follow the same strict rules. x

Seems perfectly normal for the start of 6th form to me.
It gets the kids used to using their free time to study rather than messing about with friends. They'll be less restrictive once everyone is using their time correctly and parents stop complaining that their little darlings don't like doing quiet independent study!

probably because they would be dicking about in there and not getting any work done.

Why? It's standard practise in all good colleges and 6th forms! They've been spoonfed all their studies up until now, with any time they aren't in lessons is time to mess about with friends. They need to learn that free time can also mean you study quietly. All the good 6th forms and colleges are stricter until October ½ term.

I can’t quite understand how the friend is sitting in silence for four hours. That would be 8 am to 12 noon or 1 until 5 with no break.

This is nothing like my son's sixth form, he would be really unhappy there. I would consider moving asap if you don't think anything will change.
Can't they leave school during free periods? My son and his friends have driving lessons or just walk to the shop. They shouldn't sit in silence, it's not even good at that stage because working together and talking about their work helps them.

Now is the time for him to bail and go to a different sixth form.
This one will cause him to disengage from education.
It seems the strict rules are a desperate clamp down to try and get already disengaged students to engage in education.
You can’t chain teens to desks in silence and expect them to focus on learning.
Sixth form is when they need the freedom to be self motivating and learn how to manage their own work/life balance in preparation for Uni.

Your DS would do better at any other sixth form than this school. It’s being run by a complete incompetent.

What is this obsession with complete silence in schools these days in study sessions or walking along corridors etc.
In my day we could talk to each other and it would often be about the actual work we were doing.
We'd help each other out, encourage each other, discuss subjects together or give advice.
Now...no talking in the corridors, no talking in study periods, only 20 minutes for lunch so no time to talk then.
We may as well go back to online learning and doing it all from home if there's not to be any communication between these poor teenagers.

Well, if he can't sit and work independently for a few hours at a time, he might not be cut out for university.

I would find out what the medium term plan is - talk to the Head of Sixth Form.

Where I teach, it starts off very structured/prescriptive but then y12 earn the privilege of spending non class periods in the common room, going off site etc.

It's monitored so if they miss deadlines, rock up late to lessons, or prat about in class, they lose those privileges. If they're managing their time successfully, they get a lot of autonomy.

They're 16 & it's a whole new approach to studying. They need to get their heads around the whole notion of 'independent study time' rather than 'ping pong in the common room time', & THEN they can be left to their own devices a bit more...

It's ridiculous anyway and it's not preparing them for anything. My older son went to a top uni and they were heavily encouraged to work with other students.

Are university students forbidden from talking to each other?