How to choose the ideal 6th form for my son?

geek84

Hi Folks

My son is in year 9 at the moment and will be starting his GCSE course next academic year, from September 2015. I have heard that the 6th form at his present school is not really that good.

How soon do you think we should start looking for an alternative 6th form? Shall we wait until he completes his first year of his GCSE course to find out which subjects he is good at and which ones he isn't so good at, and start looking for a 6 forms based on that?

What are your thoughts?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

SeduLOUs

I think the decision has to be up to him. By the time he enters 6th form he will be close to being an adult, and whilst you can guide him he needs to make up his own mind.

The 6th form at his school might not be the best one around, but if that's where all his friends are going and you drag him somewhere else, he might end up doing badly as a result anyway.

peachyprice

You start looking at the begining of yr11. There really isn't much point, other than a cursory exchange of opinion with other parents, in making any decisions before that.

2 years is an awful long time in the life of a school, your sons 6th form that isn't all that could be glowing by the time your son comes to make his decision, equally a glowing school now could fall apart over the next 2 years.

You also need to consider the fluidity of 6th form/college courses, there's no obligation for them to offer or even run a chosen course and they will not run courses that don't attract enough interest. This is becoming an increasing problem with the raise in the school age, where before schools could offer a good choice of top flight academic A level subjects for only the very best pupils, school 6th forms are now having to offer more BTec and less academic subject to accommodate those that wouldn't have stayed on at school previously.

If you start looking too soon your son could set his heart on the perfect school with the perfect subjects only to find that by the time he's ready to go there standards have dropped considerably and/or they no longer offer the subjects you want.

You also need to bear in mind that what is the perfect school/college for you may not be where your son wants to go!

Jagraf

MY DD's school ends in year 11 which is now, she's just doing her GCSEs. I think it was at the start of year 11 we started looking at nearby schools. She has been offered a place at two (I think different schools have different admission criteria regarding location etc) but she still needs her 8 GCSEs at C or above, and maths and English included in these, plus Bs in her chosen A levels. Her offer was based on predicted grades by her present school, which the schools ask for. So, she won't know til after 20 August.

I think you need to look separately at the sixth form, as they usually run differently from year 12 - they are a lot stricter and the kids generally want to work hard. But that's just my opinion!

KJX

We looked at sixth form based on what subjects Boy1 was interested in - the school he was at didn't offer the course he wanted to do, so it was colleges. Pass rates can vary quite a lot across subjects (the school's sixth form did really well in sciences and maths, but wasn't so cracking for other subjects).

arbrighton

In 18 months time, there will be open evenings at all the local providers and your son will have ideas of what subjects he might want to pursue and where his mates will be going.

At that age, he will not be happy if YOU choose for him so please step back, be there to offer opinions or support but let him, as a young adult, make a choice for himself.

With this and your D of E post, you are coming across as a very demanding parent, and trying to control all your SON's choices

susancs

I would agree that the best time to start considering sixth form or college is during year 11. Your local sixth form schools and colleges will have open days or evenings for your son and you to attend. My eldest daughter got offers of places at the three sixth forms she applied to (including her own school), but although she achieved the GCSE grades to go to any of them, she then decided to stay on at her own schools sixth form and has been happy there. . We did visit a very high achieving high form schools (most of the independant secondary school pupils try to obtain a place there), but she just didn't like the whole environment of the school. She did really well in last years AS exams and is currently doing her A2 exams, so it was the right choice for her. Some of her friends decided not to go to sixth form but to go to the local college and most of those already know their grades so are confident of going to a certain university for degree courses leading to primary school teaching, the police, social work etc.(place not confirmed yet as have to wait for the offical published results) but she still has to do AS exams and wait for her grades in August. The college also has links with firms where the students do work placements and some of her friends have been offered fab apprenticeship type jobs with paid further education day release training and a great salary package. My daughter says they will end up with degrees, but no student loan as the employers are paying for courses, plus they have a guaranteed job with perks.

kingfisherblue

My son is just coming to the end of Year 10, and has started to look at courses offered by sixth forms in both our town and the next. At the moment, he is looking at what courses are on offer, although he is aware that this could change. He is very keen on mechanics and engineering type courses, and is quite academic, so doesn't want to choose a course that isn't challenging enough.

I think that it is important that your son is the person to decide. At this point in his life, he is more likely to be thinking about his GCSEs and the two years leading up to them. Discussing sixth form choices, especially when courses and standards can change easily in a two year period, is premature in my opinion. He has enough to cope with for now, without being side tracked by dealing with decisions for the future. Obviously, chances are he knows if he is academic or vocational, which will have an effect on his final choice of course, but pushing to make decisions this early is unlikely to be productive.

All I ask of my son is that he does his best. I want him to be happy with his choices, and to be proud of what he achieves, but I don't want him to be worrying about whether his choice is the one I would make. As a parent, my role is to guide him and advise him, taking into account his abilities, wants and needs. It isn't to push him or to try to live his life for him. Perhaps you should take a step back. His school will help to arrange visits to potential sixth forms, but at the right time in his life - around the end of year 10 and the beginning of year 11.

And remember, if your son chooses a course and it isn't the right one for him, he can always change over to a different course a year later. That wouldn't be a disaster, but instead would give him the opportunity to learn why he made a decision that wasn't quite right for him, and how he can resolve matters to move forward.

gettingtheresometime

My son wanted to go to the local girls school for his A Levels where as I wanted him to return to the boys school that he had attended.

He went to his choice and I have to admit it was the best decision he could have made.

marisco_2

arbrighton wrote: »

With this and your D of E post, you are coming across as a very demanding parent, and trying to control all your SON's choices

The OP is no such thing. A demanding, controlling parent wouldn't come on here asking for opinion and advice. They would just steam roll on without any thought or consideration and do what they felt appropriate. The OP even stated in the D of E thread that the last thing she wanted to do was to persuade her son to take part in something that he would hate!

Spendless

My son is just ending yr10 and is at the only school in the town without a Sixth form. I'll be looking for one that will run the courses he wishes to take, isn't out of the question for him to travel to and from and one that doesn't favour kids who have been at their school since yr7 over him (am not talking about for school places) - which rules out one of the nearest schools to me -lol. My own personal opinion is that my DS would be more suited to a sixth form college than in a school. We don't have one in my town but do in another and there's a direct bus, but ultimately the choice will be done to him. I'm not going to insist he attends one he categorically states he doesn't want to but I will offer some guidance.