Sixth form offer

[Newhere23]

Hi
my son has apply for a sixth form in another school and we thought he has the requirement grade predicted 7 in maths , but the school said they using the trial exam grades ( mocks) in which my has a 6 in maths . So we now without a sixth form place. He does not want to stay on in his current school. Right now we waiting to hear form one more sixth form but chances are low as they only except 50 students from other schools. What do I do. He wants to go to school not college. We live in Hertfordshire area.

You tell him to work his socks off, maybe get a Maths tutor and reapply on results day. There is always movement on results day. If he doesn’t get higher than a 6 then forget taking Maths. Meanwhile get a place somewhere else, as a back up.

@Newhere23 What are the oversubscription criteria in the formal sixth form admissions policy? (It should be in the policy section of their website if not linked from the admissions page)

Sixth form admissions policies and procedures that reject or de-prioritise applicants based on predicted grades are illegal because predictions are subjective. If the school's policy says they use predicted grades then you can point this out to them with reference to this Schools Adjudicator determination: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62d7bf2e8fa8f50c06b95a43/ADA3899_Twyford_Church_of_England_High_School_Ealing_15_July_2022.pdf

Alternatively, if the policy explicitly says that they use mock grades, then that would be unusual - I've never seen it in a policy. Nevertheless, if it was referred to the adjudicator, I think they would consider it to be subjective too, because mocks are done differently in every school, at different times of the year.

Was your rejection letter an absolute rejection, or did they say you could contact them again in August with grades in hand? If the former, then the rejection letter should have informed you of your right to appeal. I would expect an appeal to have a high chance of success in these circumstances.

Either way, provided he gets the required grades for his current school, he has the absolute right to stay there, so he won't be without a place. But if he is at risk of missing the grades for that too then you should investigate a back up option e.g. a local sixth form college.

Does he have an offer at the sixth form already? If he does, it doesn't matter what his current school have predicted, it matters how he does in his actual GCSE.

But definitely worth considering a Plan B, C , D ... if applications are already closed, at least get a plan in place so you know what to do on GCSE results day.
And, he may not want to stay at his current school, but is it worth asking if he can make a late application and use it as an "all else has failed" backstop?

Just out of curiosity, what criteria do 6th forms use to offer places? If they can’t use predicted grades and it’s unusual to use mocks, do they just offer to anyone who applies then only accept the ones who get the required grades?
My DS is applying for 6th forms at the moment, but he wants to do a BTec so the entry requirements are lower. I always assumed that they would look at thd predicted grades on his application (much higher than what they are requesting) so I’m now confused about the whole process!

My DC's sixth form applications asked for predicted grades, but the DC just wrote down what they thought they would get; there was no cross referencing with the school (that we were aware of), so we think this was more to prove that they were capable of the course they'd applied for than to make decisions. Maybe it's different/more rigorous if the sixth form is highly sought after.

They must use fair and objective criteria, e.g. distance, or actual GCSE grade.

It is very difficult for sixth forms, because they want to give firm offers and get firm acceptances for their planning. But if they are state school sixth forms they must follow the admissions code.

Compliant schools tend to give conditional offers to all applicants, making it clear that the oversubscription criteria will be applied on enrollment day when results are known.

The Admissions Code doesn't apply to sixth form colleges, so they have more freedom.

Thank you. I will for sure.

Thank you

Thank you for your input. The school just informed us that they are unable to offer us a place and wish us good luck 🙁. We then pushed further on to why, the replied was that the mocks grade was not met and they are not using predicted grads but rather the trial exam grades. I am sure our current school will except him and they also asking for a 7 as well. But he would like to join a bigger school. I haven’t yet going through all the small print of their policy but I will do. Also I will see if there is any late application around as well. Hopefully I can find some and still have my fingers cross for the one that only accept 50 external students. It’s going to be many sleepless nights.

yes , worst come to worse we can stay at the current one but he would like to change for a while now and we had no idea how competitive applying to sixth form is, this is the first time applying. May I ask if on the result day we can just pick any school and try out luck ? if he had all the relevant grades. I m also concerned as the subjects he wants to do are probably popular one.

have you got an offer already?

The most popular sixth forms will be oversubscribed, so will manage this using their oversubscription criteria. They will also prioritise on-time applicants over those that get in touch on results day.

Many good sixth forms are not full, so it is always worth asking about availability of places.

I was responding to a PP who asked what criteria sixth forms use.
My DC have both finished sixth form; we're not waiting for offers.

That’s brutal as surely they go up a grade mock to real?? That said he’ll need to defo be 7+ material to do Maths A. That’s pretty standard

Yes , unfortunately my were not given that opportunity to prove himself 🥲

In the published admissions policy for Year 12, does it state they will be using mock / trial exam grades? If not, you could refer to the OSA.

The determined Sept 2027 policy/procedure can certainly be referred to the OSA (Office of the Schools Adjudicator). The OSA review determined policies against the Admissions Code - but they don't deal with complaints about schools that aren't following their determined policies correctly.

If the school is not following its determined 2026 policy to the letter, the correct approach is a formal complaint to the school, using the school's published complaints procedure.