Changing schools at the end of AS

14

The content of this thread is now also available on TSR Wiki at: http://thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/A_Guide_to_Changing_Schools_at_the_End_of_AS_Year A Guide to Changing Schools at the End of AS Year.

Anyone can add to an edit the page.

RK

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Ok... i've done it, and there've been a few posts about it lately. I dont know where this should go so i'll stick it in here, but I thought i'd just tell people some of the basic facts and stuff about moving schools after AS... mainly because I keep getting about a million PMs about it lol.

I also think that some people are too far up their own backsides in their lovely perfect little lives and need some information on just why people might choose this path. I am SICK of seeing "I wouldn't reccommend it"... unless you've tried it, you shouldn't comment.

Why change?
So why change schools? Well I personally did because i wasnt happy at home, so i moved away from my mother. Many other people do it becaus they dislike their school, or they feel unhappy there. Some parents may force you to move, and some people also change just because they dislike heir teachers. Whatever the reason, changing schools is possible, and can be a great decision for some. It was for me :smile:

What to do first
Firstly, you MUST get in touch with the school/college you wish to transfer to. Do this ASAP because they need to check whether or not the exam boards will accommodate any transfers.
If they say they will accept you, tell your current school immediately that you need AS accreditation for any subjects which you will have to change boards for.

Changing exam boards
This is pretty likely when changing schools. I personally have changed 2 out of 4 boards and it seems fine so far. It's not a complicated as it sounds, and the new school will do most of it for you.
They will give you a sheet for each one, and ask you to fill in your details, and what modules you did at AS for that subject. This will be sent to the Joint Qualifications Alliance, who deal with this, and they will decide whether or not you may transfer.
If you have done a module at AS that your new board will do at A2, the transfer may be declined, and changing schools will become a problem, but if you change to a college, which offers more subjects, and often a choice of modules, this may not be a problem - (i did OCR 16th century history last year but now have to do edexcel modern history as i did a spain module for OCR AS that edexcel do for 16th century A2).
If the transfers are accepted, the college/school will sort the rest of the paperwork.
All exam boards have similar exams for the same subjects, but you could end up doing different modules, or differnt amounts of coursework/exams.
HOWEVER... should you change boards, remember that you CANNOT resit modules. Its a pain, and it puts more pressure on you to do well at AS, but its just the rules. So if you do badl in a subject at AS and then change boards, you don't have a resit opportunity. Therefore, think carefully before changing to a school that does a different exam board for a subject you dont think you're very good at.

A2 results
Not a problem... all sorted by the JQA when you apply for transfer.

UCAS references
My new college just asked my old school for a reference that they added to and made a bit better :smile:

When to move?
I realise that not everyone has the choice of when to move, but to be honest, if youre changing boards, you need to change straight after the AS exams, as otherwise, you'll miss the first few weeks of a new A2 course.

Will I adapt?
Fitting into a new school is always difficult, but you'll find that people do try hard to make friends with you. It's only a year anyway, and you'll find that as long as you make an effort to talk to people and put yourself out there, they'll be very helpful and make friends with you.
Adapting to new teaching may also be difficult, but to be honest, its not as difficult as people think. I have COMPLETELY different teaching methods throw at me here than i did before, but i've found it to easy to adapt. You may have to ask your teachers to go over things again with you in some subjects, but they really won't mind! They know you're still adapting.
Adapting to new exam boards may be the hardest thing, but all it means is that you have to ask for some past papers so you know what you're going to have to do. The questions will be similar to those on your previous exam boards' papers. There may just be some extra marks for certain things (for example, on my new french board - WJEC - the essay in the exam has no marks for accuracy, whereas AQA put about half of the marks on accuracy - grrrr).

Unis
I had a PM from someone asking me if unis would reject them for changing schools... they said it might look like they were quitting... well i can tell you now that if you have a perfectly good reason for moving then why would they discriminate against you? That's a silly thing to think really, and i think that its just rumour mongering. Remember that ts your grades, reference and personal statement (and maybe LNAT or BMAT) that the unis care about. And you know, it cant be a bad thing to show that you can adapt to new situations easily... you'll have to when you go to uni anyway!

Edit: I have 2 offers to study law at Manchester and Birmingham so far... and so they obviously dont care do they !?

Anyway... i think i've babbled on for long enough... but it was annoying me that people keep saying "can you really change?" and "I wouldn't reccommend it". There you have it from someone who's done it and is finding it fine. Ignore the cynics and the sceptics, and PM me for any other help :smile:

Reply 1

abc101

17

Thanks for that. I'm considering moving school perhaps at the end of this term (first term of Year 12) and it's something of a comfort to know it's not too late!

Reply 2

Danny the Geezer

21

Pointless, IMO.

Reply 3

sheepgirl

2

Thanks for the info. Im probably one of the people who PMd you. Im considering changing colleges after my 1st year if I still dont like it

Reply 4

kitsune

12

mmm I changed my school after the AS! :p:

It's the best decision I've ever taken! :biggrin:

However, is not easy. A lot of school do not allow pupils entering in Year 13... in my case, two of my previous school applied there and the girl was rejected straight away... but I was not! :biggrin:

Make sure the Alevel subjects / exam boards. I had no problem with Maths and Physics but I had to do Business Studies on my own.

If you are not happy were you are studying! Just try and change! :biggrin:

and I think in December is the ideal month to start asking for info as there not many places available in Year 13 :smile:

Reply 5

kitsune

12

mmm I changed my school after the AS! :p:

It's the best decision I've ever taken! :biggrin:

However, is not easy. A lot of school do not allow pupils entering in Year 13... in my case, two of my previous school applied there and the girl was rejected straight away... but I was not! :biggrin:

Make sure the Alevel subjects / exam boards. I had no problem with Maths and Physics but I had to do Business Studies on my own.

If you are not happy were you are studying! Just try and change! :biggrin:

and I think in December is the ideal month to start asking for info as there not many places available in Year 13 :smile:

Reply 6

zoea85

2

I took a year out for personal reasons then changed from my school's sixth form to another college... its gone okay really, its just something I had to do, I needed a fresh start. At one point though, I was continuing an A2 at my new college that I had done the AS in at my old sixth form, alongside two AS's and it confused the hell out of my teachers! Just so glad I've nearly got my A levels. :smile:

Reply 7

s hemmy

7

i had to change school at the end of lower sixth. no problems so far, except i can't resit any history modules. but if you really want to change, go for it!

Reply 8

vector

15

I wouldn't do it after only one term of AS. That's nowhere near long enough to get the feel for everything.

Reply 9

abc101

17

vector771

I wouldn't do it after only one term of AS. That's nowhere near long enough to get the feel for everything.

But after one term I think you can safely assume it won't get much better. I thought it would have improved by now but it's still just as bad, so I'd be stupid to spend longer here (unforch I'm not allowed to leave tho!). If you're still unhappy after a term, you're gonna be unhappy after a year.

Reply 10

cthcth18

i moved from york to portsmouth after ASs as my dad changed jobs. i knew my grades weren't going to be that good, and decided to take on different subjects anyway, as i obviously wasn't very good at one or two of them! the boards were different anyway - so i took the slightly easier way, and repeated the year with not many distractions :biggrin:

i've applied to do chemistry, and so far i've had a conditional offer from hull (straight off woo! and it's the place i want to go to!) and interviews with guaranteed offers from York and Sheffield (which are currently joint second). that was after having handed in the UCAS form about 1 or 2 weeks before the end of term. i'm not sure if they've spotted the dates of my GCSEs though. i didn't say anything about my extra year anywhere, (i had a lot of other stuff to write about mind you!) but i figured that if they wanted to ask me about it, they could at interview or over the phone.

best thing that happened to me, as it gave me an extra year to think about what i really wanted to do. i don't have a clue! but at least i'm not aiming for impossibly high goals for myself.

Reply 11

KgeoK

2

Right, I changed schools at the end of year 12 due to school closure so didn't have much choice. The only major problem I run into was matching up exam boards, as you will need permission from the exam board you're changing to and won't be able to retake any modules from year 12 so it's essential you do as well as possible in the AS exams.
Timetabling may also prove difficult if you leave it late to make a decision as schools may have a clash with the subjects you want to do.
Making new friends, the thing that worried me the most as I went to the school I'm at now knowing not one person, will not be a problem. Everyone I've met has been lovely and welcoming.
You'll need to make sure your old head of sixth form will be willing to write and send a reference for your UCAS form if you're going to apply to university as the new school will not know you well enough to write a decent, honest one.
If anyone wants any more advice from me then I'm more than willing to help, just PM me.

Reply 12

Joshytoohotty

jaydoh

Pointless, IMO.

Well thanks for your professional opinion.

Pay no respect to the poster for going to the effort of helping people who clearly don't live in ivory towers like you obviously do.

Manc ******

Reply 13

TheWildChild

11

hmm, i moved house last year and decided changign schools at a level would eb too much hassle so now drive about 4/5 miles to school everyday! yawn! but im glad, i dont like change. and the sixth form near me doesnt even offer all the subjects i do.

Reply 14

recurring

11

Joshytoohotty

Well thanks for your professional opinion.

Pay no respect to the poster for going to the effort of helping people who clearly don't live in ivory towers like you obviously do.

Manc ******

here here.

Reply 15

tymbnuip

1

@Suzi_law/anyone's who changed schools and had to change exam boards:

I understand that if you change exam boards after you've done your AS exams in the summer you can't re-sit any of them after the change (i.e. in the January), but I just want to clarify that there would be no problem with resitting any of the A2 modules should I do rubbish in them?

Reply 16

KgeoK

2

tymbnuip

@Suzi_law/anyone's who changed schools and had to change exam boards:

I understand that if you change exam boards after you've done your AS exams in the summer you can't re-sit any of them after the change (i.e. in the January), but I just want to clarify that there would be no problem with resitting any of the A2 modules should I do rubbish in them?

Yeah, you can't re-sit any AS modules but you can defo retake A2 modules. I've changed exam boards and though I'm not going to be retaking any A2 modules, I was told that I would be able to if I wanted to.

Reply 17

tymbnuip

1

Has anyone been able to successfully move from AQA Business Studies, Sociology and Religious Studies to the OCR exam board for A2?

Reply 18

Bassoonery

That's great to know - i wasn't sure it was possible.

I'm moving sixth forms after GCSEs this year which is quite normal but I'm upset coz we're actually suddenly having to move away with Dad's job and I couldn't tell people until after the leaver's service. :frown:

I had always planned to stay on at sixth form and I've been so happy I feel like I've been torn away. It's good to know that if I have a really nasty time at my new college it's possible to change... thanks! :p:

Reply 19

UpliftMof0

2

What do you think about looking to change around now? is it probably too late? Im staying positive about changing, although the thing about not being able to resit any exams was something I didnt think of.

however if the school is on the same exam board then you can do resits? is that right?

Changing schools at the end of AS

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