Sixth Form Problem/Advice

To be perfectly honest, I was so excited to go into Sixth Form as I knew from the beginning that since we were no longer of 'compulsory' school age we would be given more leeway: more free periods, chilling in the coffee bar, a more relaxed teacher-student relationship. I know I have reached the stage in my school career where I could (and would, if I had the choice) leave school and never have to look at a school uniform/code of conduct ever again.

First day of Sixth Form, I was completely shocked.

Not only did we have to sign contracts which stated that we could not leave the school building at any time, but free periods consist of study, where we sit in silence until our next class, and we have two 'coffee bar' breaks a week, out of 45 periods. Due to me choosing to do the four sciences (Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics), I have three free periods a week; my classes have 20+ students in each, and the pace, in my opinion, is excruciatingly slow. I know it has only been the first week, but I do not want to be treated like a child anymore - for the past twelve years I have sat in a classroom and been lectured to, and now I have to do it again (by choice)?

University places are getting harder and harder to get, and I want to study Astrophysics or Physics in University, preferably in Queens University; but I can't see any other option than to stick out these two years, which personally I feel I won't enjoy.

Does anyone have any advice? It would be very appreciated!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1

EmilieTheGreat

Maybe consider going to another sixth form, or a college? My sixth form sounds nothing like yours...you can leave whenever you want and the teachers don't care if you don't work-when you fail, it's your fault! Same with the local colleges. It isn't too late to change where you do your studies!
Failing that, make the best of it. If you can handle two years of it, then stick it out if you feel you have no other choice.

Reply 2

Hellz_Bellz!

o_o wow that's completely different to my college life.

I do Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Spanish and I have *runs off to fetch timetable* 10 free periods a week! What kind of college do you go to?

Reply 3

Nymthae

That's a sixth form for you. Colleges tend to be more free, but from what I saw at the sixth forms they are so much more restricted. At college, we could go as we pleased off-site and at sixth form you couldn't leave until the end of the day.

Ref teaching speed - probably nothing you can do there. Wherever you go, places still have to cater to the students and quite frankly most people don't pick things up first time. I had large classes, but that's because it was a large college and they're popular subjects so eh, unless you go to a much smaller sixth form or college you generally will find that.

I kinda felt a little like you. It really sucks. It's marginally better than high school but still nowhere near what I wanted, although probably only marginally because I had the more college freedoms.

Free periods...I had a few, but my college day was 9-4 whilst the sixth form I went to see was 9-3 and so you basically lost 5 frees then. I think I had ~8 or so, so it would've dropped to 3.

Unfortunately, if you want to get where you're intending it pretty much is just sticking it out :|

The speed may improve a little as people settle in, but I think they do their best to 'ween' you in during the first term - which for the more able students tends to be an annoyance rather than a help.

Sixth Form Problem/Advice

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