What to look for in a Sixth Form

Discussion and advice on Sixth Form matters

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silverysea
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Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:32 pm

Re: What to look for in a Sixth Form

Post by silverysea »

I'm certainly open to her staying in at her current schools 6th form as long as she justifies the choice. I'll already be taking her younger sister on a long drive to North London so she will potentially have a lot to choose from- how do I identify good ones? Maybe I should scout a bunch out in advance in year 10 then show her the best 3 in y11? Why might we prefer a college over a school?

Don't know the subjects yet, knowing her it will be based on how nice and how well the teachers of any GCSE subjects remember her name, rather than the content of the subject. :roll: She's very capable of getting good marks in most situations, if she wants! So far extremely strong in English Geography Music, strong but not enjoying content and not trying hard in all 3 sciences, strong but has to work in maths. Not fond of French or maths.
ToadMum
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Location: Essex

Re: What to look for in a Sixth Form

Post by ToadMum »

aliportico wrote:So maybe that means that they can't set different criteria for different students, but given that those criteria are reached (e.g. 6 B grade predictions), then different students could be given different offers?
They could easily be given different offers if for different subject combinations; for example, for sciences and Maths the school may stipulate a minimum of A in those subjects at GCSE, whereas for History, say, the requirement might be a minimum of grade B.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Rob Clark
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Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:59 pm

Re: What to look for in a Sixth Form

Post by Rob Clark »

I think feeling happy and settled and not wanting to start again somewhere new for 2 years is definitely a reasonable justification for staying put for some children. Not all, of course, because some thrive on new challenges.

I think – though I certainly stand to be corrected – that the way super-selectives get round the regulation which ToadMum posted is to state that the requirement is 'x', but, given that they only have so many spaces available, they only make offers to those children who are confidently predicted to get much higher than that minimum requirement. Eg the admissions criteria states 6xAs + 2xBs, but the school only offer conditional places to children predicted to get almost all A*s.
KB
Posts: 3030
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:28 pm

Re: What to look for in a Sixth Form

Post by KB »

I would say there has to be a very good reason to move as the settling in time ( even in best case scenario) will distract from hitting the ground running. Possibly this could be less important by the time your DD enters year 12, with changes to exams.

Do check how many teaching hours they get per subject . There have been funding cuts and some schools provide less teaching time than others.
tense
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Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2007 3:02 pm
Location: Herts

Re: What to look for in a Sixth Form

Post by tense »

I would suggest a 6th form within independent commuting distance for your DD. Although you mention that you could drive both your DDs, I would be mindful that the sixth form is full of study periods / cancelled group lessons to allow for one-to-ones near exam times etc, especially in year 13. A closer sixth form would also make her social life easier to manage :)

As I know we live vaguely in the same area, I would avoid the two local colleges as you want somewhere very academic (but you may be further north than me with better options?). A lot of the schools in South Herts have excellent sixth forms - would STAGs / Parmiters / DAO be possible options for your DD?

I would ask what steps they take to include new girls, eg, how many of them get prefect roles etc. Also about enrichment activities; my DC's own school is very keen on these, both to encourage personal development - but also with an eye on UCAS forms! Good facilities are a must in some areas, science labs / libraries / private study areas etc, but things like decent 6th form common rooms / sport & music provision can really enhance a DC's day to day experience too.
silverysea
Posts: 1105
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2011 3:32 pm

Re: What to look for in a Sixth Form

Post by silverysea »

Hmm actually the last thing I want is for her to be able to nip home to an empty house and do nothing at every opportunity. I've told her to treat school like a job and if there isn't a class or activity, to go to the library and finish work or revision- she often goes after school as well. Does little at home, it's too inviting to switch off completely - she is not a self-starter out of sight of adults.

That was my impression of local colleges, they are less academic around here.

She is at Roundwood, we have visited StAGS twice and liked but can't see it's better than roundwood. Parmiters and DAO now too far in wrong direction. Dd2 going to HBS so will look there, may as well. I'm thinking north london really, sticking with state probably-worried she'll be disadvantaged for uk uni switching to Indy at that point!

Do catchments still apply at 6th form?
Snowdrops
Posts: 4667
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:20 pm

Re: What to look for in a Sixth Form

Post by Snowdrops »

Not up here they don't.

You have to remember, up until this year it wasn't mandatory to stay on in education so they haven't quite caught up yet. In two or three years, down the line as they realise the effects of the majority of pupils staying in sixth form, then things may change.
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ToadMum
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Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: What to look for in a Sixth Form

Post by ToadMum »

Re your concern about DD nipping back home to do nothing during the school day, check what the schools' policies are. There is a whole other thread on this subject. Some schools allow sixth formers to leave if they have free periods, but DS1's sixth form insists on pupils being in school for the full school day regardless of the number of 'contact hours' they have. Every other Monday he has one class at 9am, and just one other - at 2.30pm...
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
dyslexichelpneeded
Posts: 109
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 9:39 am

Re: What to look for in a Sixth Form

Post by dyslexichelpneeded »

And every Wednesday my daughter's friend has 'Key skills' (the key to boredom), followed by triple PE (most of which is spent standing around chatting). And that's it - with no option to go home. My daughter's timetable initially had a single period of 'careers' first thing on a Monday, and a single period of English last thing. Fortunately, she was able to make some changes, but 7 private study periods in a row, all in school, would have been a bit much. I would seriously check out the non-academic requirements of the school, and its policy on when students can go home/leave the school premises. They are, after all, supposed to be leading them towards independence.
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