Brampton or NCS sixthform

Personally, my heart's set on Brampton. I didn't know which one to go to between the two but after the interview, I liked the environment and the grades are the reason I applied. Brampton recently trended on Twitter because of the grades and I think Buzz Feed even made an article on it. You can check their twitter @BramptonManor1 (I think) to see their grades. From what I saw on the Newham Recorder though, NCS did good too but I couldn't find much information. Might see you on results day LOOOL.

Heard Brampton get high grades because they kick a lot of students out in year 12. Checked out the dfe performance stuff and found they had 67 students in year 13 in their first year of A level results and 80 odd in their second. Can't be great teaching if lots of students having to leave. Also found that LAE got a 2 on their Ofsted and that it said students don't. And the progress they should with the GCSE grades they get. Not keen to go to a school sixth form teachers are not as committed to just A levels.

I go there now and those numbers might be because the size of the year groups have changed. I don't really know much about the previous years but I know that mine is the biggest. It's useless having how many people progress onto Y13 if you don't know how many were in Y12 so I can't really comment on that but when I asked in the interviews last year, I was told only one person was asked to leave because they weren't putting any effort in.

TBH although everyone came here with good GCSEs that doesn't mean that everyone's automatically going to succeed from the jump. I think most of us are still trying to overcome some hurdles and get into the flow of thing. That's where the teachers come in and help us. In the two months that I've seen myself make progress from the position that I was at the start and even though I'm not where I want to be yet, I know that I can get there because of the help that the teachers provide. The teachers are always there to explain stuff if we need them to and they are constantly telling us how we can improve so if you're worried about the teaching, there's really not much to worry about.

Do you seriously believe only one person was asked to leave? That's what worries me that you don't seem to get the truth. I went to the open evening and all Brampton did was **** off NCS which got me thinking.... the place and atmosphere just didn't feel right! spoken to a lot of ex students who don't recommend brampton at all!

Truly and honestly I don't really think about how many people were asked to leave. I came in with the mindset that I'm going to get the grades I want so won't be in a position where I have to. Yeah, they have grade requirements to continue to A2 but so do NCS and LAE so if it's going to be a problem here, it would still be a problem there too. I've heard about people being asked to leave those places too so it's not really something I take into consideration because I have the expectation that I will meet the targets I've set for myself which are higher than the requirements. Also if you feel that you're struggling to get what you want here, the teachers (well mine at least) are extremely willing to take the time out to help make sure you understand everything.

To be honest I'm not going to sell Brampton as the perfect place for you because different environments suit different individuals. However, me personally, if I had the choice to go back to enrolment, would I change my decision? No. At first, I really wanted to go to NCS but over time it just started to seem boring and isolated to me whereas Brampton didn't. There are things I've heard about NCS that make me know that I wouldn't personally enjoy it but at the same time, I've seen people go there who look like they are suited to that environment.

So, what is the atmosphere at Brampton like? It's just a bunch of teenagers doing lots of work, trying to do well and have fun at the same time. It doesn't really have a pretentious, stuck up vibe if that's something you're scared of. I don't think the other schools are really fixated in anyone's minds because there's simply too much work with A-Levels for anyone to care that much. I mean some rules can be strict and there's the stress of the workload but you'll find that anywhere. I don't think it's as bad as it may have across.

Ultimately, it's your decision where you go. I can't really comment on whether the environment would suit you because you haven't said what you're looking for, but by no means is the environment here insufferable or anything.

Doesn't it worry you that you were told only one person left and yet everyone knows a lot more did? Not sure I can believe what they say if things are not the truth! My concern is if high grades are got by kicking students out then what does that say about the teaching. TBH any school can high grades by asking those students who don't do well to leave. Agree that different environments suit different people.