Year 11 to Year 12.

Hi guys,
I am currently in year 11, about to go into sixth form( year 12).
I am really nervous about all this, especially change.
I was wondering, IS LIFE DIFFERENT FROM YEAR 11?? I mean like, friendship groups, study, and school in general??

Thanks 😊

Reply 1

chloenix

Very very different!
The workload is much heavier, you have to spend around 3 hours per evening going through homework and I often dedicate my weekends to work as well! However, the work is more interesting and I think you'll enjoy it more than you enjoyed GCSEs!
Social life is also different. You lose friends and 'popularity' dissipates in my experience. The key to sixth form is finding good friends to hang out with who will keep you going!
I prefer sixth form to GCSEs, because GCSEs feels like school, whereas sixth form feels more university-like. The only negative is the workload, but you'll get used to it :smile:

Reply 2

username5245084

I moved to a sixth form college for sixth form so it was different in that I was more independent, the college was bigger than my sixth form, things were done differently, teachers treated you more like adults. If you’re staying at your school’s sixth form then only some of those will apply to you but if you’re staying at your school it won’t be too different in that you’re surroundings are the same, your friends will largely stay the same (if they’re staying that is!) the biggest change is workload but it’s honestly not too bad if you manage it. The biggest change (that I’ve yet to experience as I’m in y12 rn) is apparently y13 as you’re coming to the end of your course. Work is ramped up, if you have coursework you have an extra load of work to do, uni applications and more. But in y12 you’re overall more independent, you won’t “spoon fed” as much. You’ll have to do extra reading yourself, be more proactive in your learning. But you’ll still be supported!

Reply 3

Racsoix

Depends if you're moving from Y11 --> Y12 in the same school or moving to a new sixth form entirely. I can only comment on the former because that's what I've experienced.

Friendship groups remain rather similar in my experience (mine became larger, actually) and you'll meet a few new people too. Class sizes are also decreased so you'll probably get more teacher contact time both in and out of lessons. Material is obviously harder but you'll be doing fewer subjects (hopefully ones you enjoy) which should help when it comes to revision. Don't worry if parts of subjects are boring; there will be some bits you don't enjoy learning/revising. Expected to do a few hours per night but most people I know didn't stick religiously to that, although make sure work doesn't pile up. Apart from that I'd say just try not to worry (easier said than done) because you'll get used to it pretty quickly. Y13 is supposedly where things ramp up in difficulty so 'enjoy' Y12 for what it is and do well in your end of year exams. Good luck.