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What is Sixth Form/College Like?

Considering how you only do 3/4 subjects for A-Level, do you have more time on those subjects?

So say if i picked Maths, Economics/Business and Geography.

At college, would i have around 3 periods on say Maths, and 3 on geography a day?

How does college/sixth form split the subjects into periods? Is it 1 subject you learn per day? Maths a day? Then Economics/Business the next? Geography the day after? How do they create your timetable lol. I'm so curious, as i had so many subjects at KS4, and understood how the timetable would be arranged. For A-Level, i'm not entirely sure haha. Can someone explain? How is the timetable arranged?

Oh, and other questions:

*Would sixth form give A-Level students less periods of the subject which are taught by the teacher? I'm curious; considering how the teachers have to also teach year 7-11, how many periods do the A-Level students get? And how is this different to college?

*Plus, if the sacrifices are that in sixth form, you get less time taught by the teachers, would it be better to go college considering how college focuses primarily on the A-Level students and not KS3/KS4 as well?

PLEASE HELP ME!!

(UNSURE STUDENT WHO NEEDS HELP IN DECIDING WHETHER TO GO TO SIXTH FORM/COLLEGE)!!
In my sixth form we have two teachers per subject and nine hours of each subject a fortnight. I have a mix of subjects everyday and lessons are usually double periods.


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Original post by Schu98
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Every sixth form is different, but at my school you get 3 doubles for each block per week (each double is about 1 hour 30 mins). If you have a subject in that block, you have a lesson; if not you have it free. I take 3 AS subjects so I get two free blocks (6 doubles) every week, but most people have only one block (3 doubles) free. The only exceptions to this timetable is if people have lessons for GCSE Maths/English re-takes.

Don't worry too much about not having enough lesson time - I doubt they'd teach a subject if there weren't enough available hours to do so/you had less time than other colleges/sixth forms and were at a disadvantage. :smile:
(edited 9 years ago)
It usually depends on the sixth form- I've been to two. Generally, your subjects will be spread over the days. My first arranged the timetable however they could, so on one day I had all four subjects with a double in one, but the next day I only had two subjects on my first period and my last. But my current one tries to make it so on the whole I have one lesson per subject everyday plus a free. In sixth form, you have more time per subject (I have between nine and twelve per fortnight, depending on the subject) and I've found that teachers actually give priority to us over the lower year groups (that's not to say they'll be happy about you interrupting their other lessons!).
The other thing to consider is that you'll be expected to take responsibility for your learning at college or sixth form- imagine a whole other subject that's actually just free periods you're expected to use wisely! Trust me- A-Levels are seriously not as easy as TV makes them out to be!!!
But sixth form on the whole is a really good experience- I've found there are lot more opportunities available and if you choose a good one, you're mostly surrounded by like minded people. (However, if you'd like some unsolicited advice, choose at least one non-academic subject you really enjoy and is fun for you, e.g. art or drama. I didn't and I really regret it!!).
I hope this helps, and Good Luck!!! X
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oswalds
14
At my 6th form at least, we have a mix of subjects everyday. Normally I have 3-4 lessons a day. Most days I have all of my subjects except for one, except for Wednesdays when I have all of them. For example, Monday, I have Philosophy, free, Psychology, English Lit, free, but no History on a Monday. We have four lessons a week of our subjects, then in Year 13 5 hours a week. There is a lot more focus on us at school, than the younger ones. I know that college is a lot more independent.
Depends on the sixth form or college. I go to a sixth form and my sixth form is quite like school, just with a bit more freedom and responsibility. At my sixth form, we have a fortnightly timetable. I get 10 frees per fortnight. For each subject, I have two teachers and 9 lessons per fortnight (except for Citizenship, I have one teacher and one lesson a week). I don't have double periods of anything (thank god!). Each period at my sixth form is one hour long, and we have 5 periods a day, with a 20-minute break after period 2, and a 50-minute lunch, followed by a 20-minute form session, after period 4. Usually I have 4 subjects a day with 1 free, but on Thursdays, I have all 5 of my subjects. It can be hectic sometimes, but we're provided with a lot of support and the teachers make sure we're on track to get our targets.

We have a sixth form college nearby and it's a lot different to my sixth form. The college is definitely more lenient and a lot of students do end up skipping lessons as the teachers don't care as much if you show up or not. You're given a lot more responsibility and you're treated like an adult (you even call the teachers by their first name!). From what I've seen, the teachers provide more support at sixth forms than colleges.

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