College or Sixth Form with Social Anxiety — Help!!

I've got really bad anxiety and had to drop out of sixth form this year. In September I have to go back into education, but I'm absolutely petrified.

I don't know whether to do A-Levels at college or sixth form. I'll have to repeat Year 12 anyway so I'll already be a bit older than most of the other students. I'm really worried and scared, to be honest. I'm terrible at making friends and my anxiety is debilitating.

I just want an education and some friends.

Any advice on whether to choose college or sixth form would be massively appreciated.

Hi! College and sixth form both have different strengths, so it really depends on your preference. Sixth forms are a bit more like high school than colleges. Specifically, colleges don't have the same are restrictions, though you'll still probably be grouped with people around your age, and the timetable is quite different (colleges won't require you to be on-site between lessons, for instance, and may be more spread out).

In terms of making friends, you'll probably see people more often in sixth form (without specifically making plans), which can certainly help building friendships. In college you can't rely on seeing people in class to become friends, but you can exchange numbers/social media for study purposes, which helps build a foundation for hanging out as friends.

Personally, as someone with anxiety I found college more bearable than high school largely due to not having a be in class all day and the smaller class sizes, but that's specifically for what set me off. My friend also has anxiety and went to sixth form, and she seemed to find it ok, so I wouldn't definitively say one or the other is better for anxiety.

Also, don't worry about being a bit older, I knew plenty of people in my college that were re-doing year 12. You're in good company, and I doubt it'll affect your ability to make friends.