Moving school at Sixth Form

[Looking for help]

The scary thing is that if some 16 year olds are likely to be so inflexible about moving, you have to choose a school at 11 that is going to serve its purpose for your child by 6th form. That's a tall order. I'd like to think my children would move if there were compelling reasons to do so, so I'm going to have to set them up to be open minded about this from 11 onwards. Anyone rate my chances of success?

Pretty low, really, if your children are anything like mine.

All of mine and a lot of their friends were determined to move for 6th form at the start of Y11 - we looked at other options with them, but when push came to shove, they all decided to stay. Sometimes, I think they want to feel as if they are acting independently, and making their own decisions. I was a bit afraid for them, as the 6th form at their school is very good, but managed for once, to keep my mouth firmly shut. Time passes, and exams came and went, and they all opted for the easy life....as did most of their friends.

A lot of the schools round here seem to push their 6th forms too, snowdrops, but reality is that in most of the good ones, there are relatively few places for new students. Only the colleges will have lots of places, and these have all those age old problems, catchments, feeder schools, lalalala, so unless you are interested in some of the nonpopular courses, you may have difficulty getting in - the college my third child was interested in, which was an easy commute, was so oversubscribed, she didn't really have a chance, but by the time we got a sorry your application was unsuccesful email, she had already decided to stay where she was.

[Snowdrops]

There are also some 6th forms (my dd's included) who have minimum entry requirements .

You have to get at least a B in your gcse's to attend Ripon Grammar School's 6th form. They also ask for referral letters from present school.

[Looking for help]

Ours requires the minimum 5 A*-C, but at least a B in the subjects to be studied at A Level, except in Maths and Science, where As are required - the classes are also quite small which means that not many new people are accepted, however the 6th form open evening was busier than I recall the y7 one to be

[Sassie'sDad]

It's going back some time now. Eldest dd in year three at uni. Privately educated until year ten in single sex schools, She had no option but get used to a co-ed Comprehensive because divorcing parents meant financial crisis. She coped with this surprisingly well. Never a gregarious type and always shy, she kept to a small clique of (mostly) girls. Divorce finally concluded in her pre GCSE year, she probably would have chosen to stay in the sixth form. I got her to consider other options, among them RHS and Myton School. We visited RHS. I found the atmosphere very like her earlier Kingsley School, businesslike but everything understated and inspiration absent.

Myton's head and staff were fantastic. They arranged a very welcoming and enthusiastic visit and for dd to spend an additional day in Mathematics and science lessons . The teachers were inspiring and there was a real chemistry between teacher and pupil. Dd showed true interest for the first time in years! However, having spent the previous ten years driving each school day a triangular journey between Warwick, Coventry and Rugby (and fitting in a work day at the wheel) I stipulated that I would no longer do so. It was public transport or move somewhere truly local.

I moved to Rugby. We were living ten minutes walk from RHS and youngest had transferred to adjacent primary. So eldest willingly attended RHS, rather in awe of fact it was a GS. (all my siblings were GS educated so, I was too!)

I feel, looking back, she was more isolated at this last school than any other. Although she got ten GCSEs at decent grades and fair A levels grades, it was always acknowledged she was coasting, doing as little study as possible. Socially she made no headway at all.(It was then I discovered it possible to get a C grade in Chemistry without being able to write a chemical equation, know about valency etc!) I was very disappointed with the Biology teaching (teachers left school following year) and preparation for making a career choice and university.

There was an awful parents evening on this where we were lectured by a young woman from Coventry University on the theme 'all university courses are of equal merit'. How I kept my seat I don't know! In fairness to the school it had an excellent head of sith form and help with university entrance, in the fraught period of offers, was spot on!

Why wrong choice? Because dd obviously thought least effort would continue to reward. Having done little work in entry year to medical course and poor results in parts of year two she has changed course to a related but less demanding degree. She complains it is going over work she already knows! I bite my tongue and wonder. Two more years and what next...?

I now feel very guilty for influencing dd in favour of the local (easy option for me) as it clearly failed to elicit her real co-operation and promote the work ethic. I have thought hard about naming individual schools and making criticism, deciding finally that if experience has any value at all, it is to underline the point that life is a lot about horses for courses and luck. Being a parent and making decisions is a very tough call. It is hard to know what the stress of divorce and moving house/school (we moved three times in ten years) does to a child and each child is unique. My youngest on each move found at least one truly inspiring teacher and made the 11plus, scholarship and public school seem like a walk in the park. Know your child!