Hi,

My DD1 just started in Year 10 and I believe we will be applying for 6th forms around this time next year? Can someone please explain to me what the process is and when I should start looking? Is there a limit on how many schools you can apply for? (We are in Bucks).

Thanks

BM x

The 6th form open evenings are usually in the autumn term, or early in the spring term. We just went in year 11. I think you can apply to as many as you like, there is no CAF or anything, each school has its own application process.

The schools usually advertise. My DC led this and I had nothing really to do with it other than saying they ought to look at at least one other to have a comparator. In the event my DD moved school (her choice, I had massive reservations which did prove founded in the end, sadly); my sons stayed put, though one did apply to, and get, a place elsewhere, which he decided not to take up. This was the right decision. I don't think many people round here trawl round more than one or two schools unless there is a big danger of missing grades. The biggest movement here is between grammars (the girls' ones to one of the boys', and the girls' ones to a mixed one) and into grammars from non-selective schools.

Round here the open evenings are usually between October and Christmas as I recall, and the application process takes place after Christmas. The application process must not require incoming students to have different grade offers from those who stay (to comply with the schools admissions code) but schools can decide whether to apply oversubscription criteria or not to offer to those they feel won't get the grades. As far as I know only one school here uses such a system and that is to restrict those they 'interview' to those with a certain number of A* predictions. Of course they are not really allowed to interview either, so they say that it is to 'discuss subject choices' or something.

Sixth form applications are dealt by each individual school/college although your local council will have a list of dates of their open evenings. Many sixth forms require you to register to attend their open days/evenings so look early for open evening dates and book tickets online. Remember to book tickets for yourself as well as your child. Despite the rules, my experience has been sixth forms do seem to be harsher on external candidates so look at ones that your child has a realistic chance of getting into. The entrance requirements could be, for example, x8 grade 6 grades overall, to include 7s in the three A levels they want to take. In other words, x5 6s and x3 7s minimum. Some do it by a points system. Not always the same points system, so read the online prospectus carefully. Some grammars have exams for external candidates to take, normally during school term before the GCSEs. Do prepare for these. They also have "get to know the school days" in July of year 11, once your GCSEs are over.

Even if you hope to get the grades required to stay at your present school it is sensible to get at least two other offers for sixth forms which will take you with slightly lower grades.

DD didn’t bother looking at other sixth forms. At the time she was considering doing german, and very few other schools offered it. The two possibles (after we discounted the ones she couldn’t get to easily) both had their open evenings on the same day and she couldn’t be bothered to choose.

Schools have to have the same entry criteria for both internal and external students. However internal students will be given priority, as long as they meet them, whereas external students are competing with all the other external candidates.

Which GS do this please? I know of none ...

The grade requirements HAVE to be the same for external candidates but often there are too many and that's where the over-subscription criteria come in.

As Amber did, I left it to my daughter to decide whether she wanted to look elsewhere for sixth form. She attended an open evening at another school to see what they were offering, particularly because they were offering two different sixth form routes but also because she also wanted to puncture her school's rather complacent assumption that no one would ever contemplate switching schools!

As far as I'm aware, none of the schools here set exams for external candidates - it's not just grammar schools that do, though. Harris Westminster does, for one (hanging out on TSR has its uses ).

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Yes I know Private schools do but Grammars?

Harris Westminster is a state school, but as it only has a 6th form has no internal candidates so all candidates are treated the same.

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