moving sixth forms

i have 2 options for 6th form- stay at school A (private school that does IB) or move to school B (good grammar school that does a levels).

i think i would study maths bio chem and maybe latin or further maths (i want to do medicine) so either school would be good for that as they both have good results.

i have been at school A since year 7 and all my freinds are there, and almost all of them are staying there for sixth form, whereas at school B i literally would not know anyone.

also, school B is a further away (i would get the train) and i have a dress code rather than a uniform. i kinda think this would be good for being independant and stuff??

im kinda leaning towards school B, but i would really appreciate any advice!

Reply 1

15977emily

Have you spoken to your parents?

Reply 2

fattyguen

school A has your friends and is closer to you and has good results

school B doesnt have friends and is further away

tbh i wld go for school A but if you want a change then school B wld be good, making new friends is always a plus 😊

Reply 3

ReadingMum

you sound sure of 3 subjects and less sure of what else - that lends itself more to A levels than IB.
How is IB viewed for medicine? I only know about vet med and IB is discouraged for that as you obviously can't go into as much depth since you are taking more subjects.
My daughter's school offered both A levels and IB - the IB students had much fuller timetables and the impression was that the workload was much heavier for IB. On the other hand IB exams are earlier and so are the results.

Reply 4

emmie27

Original post by 15977emily

Have you spoken to your parents?

yeah they are happy with either and they want me to choose

Reply 5

EmRep13

Also something to consider - if you're sure you'd get good grades at either, how would your unis (if you're planning on going) consider both? I know neither is a public state school but getting A*A*A* from a state school vs a private school is viewed preferentially. Apply that to your situation if you want - but honestly if it's a good grammar it's probably the same as a private so it shouldn't factor into your decision.
I actually swapped sixth forms, didn't like the teaching and then swapped back - is that an option you've looked into in the worst case?

Reply 6

ReadingMum

we certainly wondered about that - my daughter swapped from grammar to private for 6th form. She is sure that it was the right choice for her but next week's results will be interesting. She liked the idea of much smaller class sizes as that is what she would be working in at uni, along with a more collegiate style with 6th formers taking more responsibilities on. She was not interested in IB as she is not a fan of languages and had already done German and Latin at GCSE.

Reply 7

emmie27

Original post by ReadingMum

i dont like the idea of the ib either- especially english and a humanity/ social science. my sister has done the ib and her standard subjects have kind of pulled her down (the ib results this year were whack). the class sizes wouldnt be that much bigger so that would be ok i think

Reply 8

ReadingMum

For daughter an A level class at the grammar was around 22 and at the private school they quoted 8-10 but in fact they turned out to be 5 or 6.

Reply 9

OCorOOC6337

It most likely depends on your priorities - how important is independence and more streamlined subjects for you? Are you willing to give up an extra ten/twenty/forty minutes twice a day for travel? Personally, I loved having a largely-new friend group at the beginning of Year 12 and still meet up with my older friends sometimes regardless, so you won't necessarily have to lose friends, and you shouldn't weight friends over your education, but if both options are good (which it sounds like they are) then it's quite reasonable to take it into account. One thing to ensure is that you wouldn't just be choosing School B for the thrill of something new. I'm not saying that you are, or that there shouldn't be some excitement to a different school that would allow you more independence and experiences, but do try and make sure logic and what you truly want are the deciding factors, kay? Good luck!

PS: I haven't really mentioned it, but several people have mentioned about unis liking/disliking IB vs A-levels etc and that is quite important to consider too!

Reply 10

Наталья

If you're fine with talking to new people, and are confident that will be able to get to school B on time, I'd go with B. I do A-Levels, not IB, but I've heard that IB takes up more of your time with all the extra things you need to do. Also, if you're set on medicine, it makes more sense to do those fewer subjects in more detail than potentially have to do more subjects that you're not interested in. Plus, you'll have more time to do medicine-related things, e.g. work shadowing, UCAT revision etc. School B will probably treat you more like an adult and you'll be given more independence (in my experience, 6th forms that make you wear uniforms are as strict as they were in lower school).Whatever you choose, good luck.

Reply 11

emmie27

Original post by ReadingMum

For daughter an A level class at the grammar was around 22 and at the private school they quoted 8-10 but in fact they turned out to be 5 or 6.

wow that’s very small. at my school currently they range from 25-7, averaging about 20 . in sixth form it averages 12-17

Reply 12

Geraldthegoat

Well I have friends in my sixthform but I do wish that I went to college, u get to make new friends and u have more freedom. In my sixthform u can’t leave in year 12 during your frees, only at lunch and break. The teachers said we would get more help but u don’t get help, it’s the same in college u have to be more independent. The classes are smaller but u don’t really get more work done it’s more just listening and writing down notes. But people will listen more anyway because they chose to do that subject + have interest in it. I feel like u should go to school B a lot of my friends find sixthform extremely boring whereas my friends in college love college.

Reply 13

OCorOOC6337

Original post by Geraldthegoat

That's really interesting because in my area, a lot of the experiences were to the opposite effect? Of course, I'm not invalidating what you're saying, but I guess it must vary more school/college to school than I thought. In my sixth form, we're allowed to leave and arrive whenever in both years, I made new friends and the small classes are good because, for the decent teachers at least, you do get more of a chance to have discussions and get help, at least vs. GCSEs. But most of the my friends who went to a new college don't like it much. They made new friends, largely in their courses, but don't like the environment as much, if that makes sense?

What I'm trying to say is that it's probably going to be down to OP's specific schools? The experiences seem to vary as much down to area as sixthform versus college. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯