Helping Teen choose College

kaznelson

My daughter is about to go into year 11 and has started looking into which college she wants to go to

Has anybody any advice on what we should be looking for? She wants to study A levels and go on to Uni.

I have no idea - are their league tables? Ofsted reports etc?

Also does anybody know if you get free bus passes or will we have to pay

Thanks in advance

Rikki

Can she not take her A levels at her school?

debs66_2

I would suggest checking out which ones are in your area, and going along to some open evenings. we just did that for my youngest, and the nearest one (on our doorstep) was a shambles, despite its grand claims on local radio/newspaper advertising.

we ventured a little further into the city centre and the difference was clear from the minute we walked in. she now has a place there in september subject to her exam results.

re bus passes, no, you don't get them, but what price your child's education..? If your daughter qualifies for EMA and attends most days a week, the college should have a scheme in place for help with transport. We live 15 miles away, and only just discovered that my eldest (who already goes to the college) could have been claiming for the cost of travel over the first £10 - but they only pay up for the cost of the cheapest method of getting there, you can't go hailing a taxi each day lol

one benefit of college over sixth form is that they often have courses that will put the child on a path to a career, as well as the usual A level subjects. we went this way because my youngest did NOT want to stay on in sixth form. rather than her just leaving and going into any job, we talked about a possible career path and she wants to work in travel. she's therefore enrolled to study airlines and airport management, with a guaranteed interview afterwards for a large airport company.

actually, my eldest went into sixth form for a year, and transferred to college after her first year, because she felt 'babied' at school. her confidence has since grown and that has shown in her work.

You may spend a little time now doing the open evening circuit, but you don't want your daughter to get it wrong and have to wait a year to start again on the path that is right for her.

good luck!

kaznelson

Rikki wrote: »

Can she not take her A levels at her school?

Unfortunatley not, her school don't have a sixth form

Thanks for the great advice Debs, I will arrange to attend all the open evenings :-)

badkitti

if she knows what degree or other higher education she wants to do/careers etc, thewn that will help a lot - you can use a UCAS site to see which unis do that course and then e-mail the unis to ask what qualifications they prefer - or e-mail them to ask if the qualifications your daughter wants to do are suitable for that courses

robnye

as mentioned - visit several colleges/sixth forms if possible.... i went to 3 with my daughter, she ended up at the sixth form at her current school (against our well intended wishes), she is due to take her A levels and acutally admitted she made a mistake in staying at the same school.

as far as the league tables where concerned, there wasnt a lot between the half dozen sixth forms/colleges available, it all comes down to how your child feels about each college

nb my daughter will be going to university in sept 08, so it hasnt worked out bad for her

Piggles12345

Ofsted reports and league tables give good indications of academic profiles, but the place has to feel right. You know where you go somewhere (a new work place for example) and you just feel that it is right? That's how she should feel about college because she will be there for the next two years of her life.

To some extent, the academic merit of a college does not REALLY matter, as long as her personal academic profile at the end of her first year looks good, then she should be able to apply for a top uni and do a good academic course.

At this stage, getting into THE best college isn't everything as long as she works hard when she is there because getting into THE best uni is everything!!

Good luck

robnye

Piggles12345 wrote: »

Ofsted reports and league tables give good indications of academic profiles, but the place has to feel right. You know where you go somewhere (a new work place for example) and you just feel that it is right? That's how she should feel about college because she will be there for the next two years of her life.

To some extent, the academic merit of a college does not REALLY matter, as long as her personal academic profile at the end of her first year looks good, then she should be able to apply for a top uni and do a good academic course.

At this stage, getting into THE best college isn't everything as long as she works hard when she is there because getting into THE best uni is everything!!

Good luck

ditto......
if they work hard enough, then they will reap the rewards...

my daughter certainly did at he end of AS year, (some of her friends didnt, and are retaking the year)....... and she looks like she will be ok this year