The Student Room Group

I want to drop out of sixth form.

My mental health is horrendous to the point where I'm actually missing school. I dread everything I do at this point. Even the subjects I've chosen can't take me out of it. I'm stressed and anxious the whole time I'm at school because I don't feel safe there. Truly at every point I think that someone's going to start picking on me, so I'm in survival mode the entire time. I just want to stop going because right now it's the only thing I can think about and it's making me miserable. I can't bear it. I hate it so much but I don't know what to do about it.
Reply 1
I was in your exact position two years ago, and I'm going to be real with you- listen to yourself. Drop out.
Everybody pushed and pushed me to keep going, to stay in sixth form even when I was barely attending and could barely take care of myself. I was then pushed into applying to university on the UCAS deadline date even though I didn't want to and felt like I wasn't stable enough to do it. Then once I was pushed into sitting my exams, I finally snapped under the pressure, broke down and didn't actually sit the papers. I ended up with 3 Us.
I expressed wanting to drop out numerous times over the course of the two years I was in sixth form, but teachers and family really got into my head to the point where I felt like I couldn't. Now two years on I'm at the open uni and applying to brick unis using my credits, but I'm pretty sure one university just rejected me today because of my Us from a-level.
What I'm trying to say is that you know yourself best. If you feel you need to drop out for your health, please do it. Prioritize yourself. I spent over a year trying to heal from what being forced to stick with a-levels during such a turbulent period of my life did to me, and even now those a-level grades are coming back to haunt me. You can resit in the future when you're feeling better, or you can go an alternate route like I did. Dropping out isn't the end of the world at all, you have the right to leave education whenever and to come back when you feel ready, even if that means never.

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