I’m struggling so much with sixth form and I don’t know what to do

I’m a year 12 student, I’ve just had the worst month of my life thus far and I don’t know what to do anymore. Strap in because I’m going to have to share a good chunk of my life story here
In the past month, I had an argument which spiralled to the point of my whole sixth form turning on me, my grandad has passed away and my best friend attempted to take her own life.
The argument was over something silly, however because my sixth form is small it was quickly spread massively out of proportion and words were put into my mouth that I’d never say. Sixth form has since become a nightmare, i am no longer allowed in communal areas and everyone treats me like ****. I get dirty looks and people are constantly whispering and spreading rumours. Somebody has even put in a formal complaint/accusation about one of the teachers who defended me so i now feel unable to talk to teachers about anything.
On top of this, I’ve experienced some pretty heavy things which have really really weighed on my mental health. I spend most of my days in bed doing nothing and I struggle to find motivation to do anything.
Because of this, I’ve just not been going to sixth form. After so many years of battling with my mental health and moving schools this truly was my final chance to get an education. I wanted to finally do well in school to get my Alevels and go to uni.
I’m 18 now so I can’t go to a different college or start fresh. I also can’t work because of the state of my mental health - I’m unable to hold down a job for more than a few weeks. I have been on every medication available to me and accessed every type of therapy possible but nothing has helped.
I just feel so lost and I don’t know what to do.

did u mean to say 18 or yr12, as yr12s go from 16-17?
anyway, i'm sorry to hear this if this is true - i'm currently in year 11, and im stressing a lot for my gcses too. just focus on the good aspects of life and study hard - just one more year and then you will leave that sixth form forever and go to uni and start afresh with new good people! like with me, im just telling myself, just the next two months, and then i can relax for the whole summer - you do the same. just one more year, then i can leave. remember that! also, i advise for u not to go on medications unless you REALLY need it - to me, it sounds like u are going through a recent and short period of misery, so pls dont be hard on urself!!

I joined sixth form a year late. Also telling someone not to go on medication is some of the worst advice you can give somebody. Never tell that to anyone again.

loads of medication have adverse side effects I would always seek a solution before thinking of pills...the lovely year 11 is trying to give you advice and that is all you had to say rather than anything positive.....
I was abt to type a paragraph of support but you clearly have ur mind set on what you want to hear....
never mind

geez, what's wrong with you i was trying to help? ur class probably has a good reason not to like u then, no wonder they dont like u 😂

I hope you never get to a point where you need to rely on medication to get you through the day.

geez, what's wrong with you i was trying to help? ur class probably has a good reason not to like u then, no wonder they dont like u 😂

wdym? you hope or you don't hope?

geez, what's wrong with you i was trying to help? ur class probably has a good reason not to like u then, no wonder they dont like u 😂

I’m a year 12 student, I’ve just had the worst month of my life thus far and I don’t know what to do anymore. Strap in because I’m going to have to share a good chunk of my life story here
In the past month, I had an argument which spiralled to the point of my whole sixth form turning on me, my grandad has passed away and my best friend attempted to take her own life.
The argument was over something silly, however because my sixth form is small it was quickly spread massively out of proportion and words were put into my mouth that I’d never say. Sixth form has since become a nightmare, i am no longer allowed in communal areas and everyone treats me like ****. I get dirty looks and people are constantly whispering and spreading rumours. Somebody has even put in a formal complaint/accusation about one of the teachers who defended me so i now feel unable to talk to teachers about anything.
On top of this, I’ve experienced some pretty heavy things which have really really weighed on my mental health. I spend most of my days in bed doing nothing and I struggle to find motivation to do anything.
Because of this, I’ve just not been going to sixth form. After so many years of battling with my mental health and moving schools this truly was my final chance to get an education. I wanted to finally do well in school to get my Alevels and go to uni.
I’m 18 now so I can’t go to a different college or start fresh. I also can’t work because of the state of my mental health - I’m unable to hold down a job for more than a few weeks. I have been on every medication available to me and accessed every type of therapy possible but nothing has helped.
I just feel so lost and I don’t know what to do.

Hi I am sorry you are going through this.. Ur situation may seem complex due to the fact that medication and therapy is unable to work. Is there anyway that online schooling may be more preferable? Please do not feel that you are unable to talk to the teachers due to complaints arising… it is the teachers job to manage that. I advise talking to the teachers whether that be online or real life. I can understand why it can be quite tricky, but if you are determined on getting on alevels please talk to them. Otherwise is there another trusted adult that may be able to change anything even if it’s small? It’s very hard not to be stressed over alevels along side mental health. I really do hope that there is a solution to your situation.

OP, I went through something similar in Y12, though not to the extent it seems you are going through (currently in Y13). I understand you worry about talking to teachers, but I would highly recommend talking to/emailing your head of year/head of sixth form/pastoral team (whichever you are most comfortable with) about the difficulties you're facing in attending school. Realistically, you aren't going to get much help in getting back to school without them. Hopefully, they will be understanding and would be able to work something out with you, like reduced school hours or accommodations such as ear defenders/ANC headphones or sitting in specific areas of classrooms if there are issues with specific individuals in your classes or general paranoia (e.g. I struggled a lot with paranoia so had it organised that I sat at the back of the classroom in every lesson).
A-Levels are such a difficult time as it is, and going through them alone is daunting, but it is doable. Your school presumably has a pastoral team, I would recommend reaching out to them and seeing if there's anything specifically that they can do, such as giving you a pass to leave class if you get overwhelmed/need a break. Also, if you find this impacts your performance during exams, you can receive access arrangements such as rest breaks for mental health that can massively help.
As we're in the middle of Easter break, it may be easier to contact school now about receiving any accommodations that may help, so that when you return for summer term there is the slight reassurance of having those in place. The fact you are being excluded from communal areas (presumably not enforced by staff?) seems a clear case for bullying, which schools are obsessed with taking care of and so if nothing else you could take that angle to see if the school can tone things down. Obviously that is not a proper solution to the wider issue, but honestly it is a difficult situation to rectify, despite your innocence.
My approach in your shoes would be (assuming you cannot move schools whatsoever) to minimise contact with the rest of the sixth form as much as possible and have the strongest support network you can, whether through family or friends outside of school. By the time Y13 starts, people will have been away for 6 weeks and everyone will be much more focused on their studies, so the rumours and ****-talking should subside, making it a bit more manageable - some people may entirely disregard what's currently happening to you and be friendly by then! In such a small cohort, mob mentality is no surprise and when people are separate from the mob for 6 weeks, the strength of it weakens. If powering through summer term like this seems feasible, I would recommend it. Y13 is only 2 terms, after all! (this is what I did, and can say everything did very much die down this year)
However, if your family are close to/can afford one, there are also colleges that are designed specifically for people retaking years that I believe would accept you, despite you being 'too old'. I looked at some of these when I was in Y12 (note: I didn't end up retaking the year as my school was very accommodating) and found they were very appealing, though often they were exclusively online learning, which may appeal. Additionally, depending on the subjects you take, you may be able to transfer to another school for Y13 though I must admit it's rare for another local school to have identical courses to the ones you're currently studying (in terms of units, exam boards, etc).

Ur intentions werent good by saying this… to agree with the class not liking the OP but then giving advice before shows that u were not truly keen to help her. Ik how the OP’s response may of come across as rude, but mental health is not easy, to tell someone not to have medication when shes been prescribed them by medical professionals is dense… dont expect the normal response of ‘oh thank you for ur reply I’ll be sure to do that’ i agree with the OP and what she said.

i hope you never get to a point so low you need medication to function.
I don’t know why you’re so opposed to it, but it’s often the only thing that helps.

i said if you REALLY need it, which now seems like the case... i js assumed u were temporarily in a bad position, my bad i guess

Thank you for the long thought out response! I’m sorry you went through similar, it’s hell isn’t it?
Being unable to go into communal areas was a fairly mutual decision between myself and the head of sixth form. They are, however, okay with me leaving throughout the day and just coming back for my lessons (typically most people stay the whole day).
I have good teachers who are lovely people. So many off them are willing to put time aside for me and even just let me sit in their classrooms while they are teaching (my sixth form is situated in a high school), a lot of them will even listen to me ramble about whatever’s going on, which is really nice. I just can’t help but feel like a burden for needing this support though.
Unfortunately, my sixth form is TINY (less than 50 people) and by the time the year 13s leave it’ll be down to 20 ish as they’re not accepting any new admissions. Everyone talks to everyone as one big clique and it’s unlikely to change🥲
I’ll speak to my teachers when I’m go back. But I’m unsure if they can do anything else? I already sit alone and they’re understanding if I don’t come to lessons/complete my work (I always get it done at home). Do you have any ideas?

So glad to hear your teachers are so understanding! And that's such a small sixth form, god, I'm very impressed you're managing so well. Mine is huge by comparison - 220 per year! - so it's much easier to disappear into the crowd. The idea of a sixth form of only 20 people sounds hellish - should be illegal! /j
I totally get what you mean about feeling like a burden for needing the support, but at the end of the day A-Levels are very important and to do well in them, you have to take absolutely all the help you can get, including to do with mental health. That being said, they aren't the only path in life - apprenticeships, T-Levels, BTECs, etc are all available and often don't care so much for your age. Listening to students and providing support is literally part of the job of being a teacher, and it's great that your teachers are doing so much to help you get through each day. They wouldn't be listening and helping you if they didn't genuinely want to help you, so that should provide some level of reassurance.
It's difficult to think of much else to help, especially as you're getting work done independently - perhaps asking the teachers for a bit more help facilitating that, e.g. emailing powerpoints/handouts used in class? Assuming they don't already do that of course. Perhaps some kind of accommodation during sixth-form-wide events, though I'm not really sure what that would actually consist of. Letting you know in advance of fire drills, maybe? I found fire drills difficult as it was literally everyone there, so if I knew in advance I could at least mentally prepare myself - though obviously they aren't exactly something that anyone can sit out. I'm not really sure of anything else to be honest, the size of your sixth form makes it so difficult for you to avoid everything. It sounds so tough, but it's great your teachers are forming such a strong support network for you.
When I was at this point last year, I was essentially doing the same things as you - leaving when no lessons, avoiding communal areas, etc. I found it so difficult at first (especially as 2/3 of my classes were with some really awful people), but found that constantly reminding myself it was less than a year of this and what joy it would be to beat them all in exams really helped me manage and adjust. It makes for lots of free time to study and outperform others (which really motivated me, lol). There are of course low points, and when those hit the communication with teachers is vital, so they understand where you're at and how much extra support they should be providing - I found that many of my teachers sort of took a backseat to helping me out at the start of Y13 because of no communication over summer about how I was feeling, so would recommend very much not doing that! To combat, I set up weekly meetings with head of sixth form that she sought me out for as I would often struggle silently and teachers wouldn't know I needed any help. I also really threw myself into any and all non-school friendships I had to not feel so isolated - humans are social creatures, we aren't built for loneliness, no matter how introverted we are.
Getting physically into school can be a huge achievement, make sure you're taking the wins as they come, no matter how small. Very generic CBT-esque advice, I know, but I find I always forget that actually showing up to school is the hardest part (for me at least) and so celebrating those small things by eating a chocolate bar or something is always good.
Also, I realise I didn't mention this in my original reply but if you can find another place to 'rot' other than your bed that's a similar kind of environment that you do your work in, that allows for that psychological separation of proper no motivation doomscrolling and as-few-spoons-as-possible working. I move from my bed to the bed in the spare room or the sofa when I struggle. And by work, I mean the most low-effort stuff honestly, like watching YouTube videos summarising content or copy and pasting notes into Quizlet. Even though it's small, it gives that small sense of having done work so not feeling like I totally wasted the day away. Obviously doesn't happen every time though, many a day has been spent in bed until like 5pm.
I realise this is quite a personal, anecdotal response so take it all with a grain of salt, we are of course different people going through different situations and at different stages of those respective situations at that. But basically the gist of what I'm trying to say is figure out all the problem areas with going to sixth form and the ideal fixes to those (within reason), then see what can actually be done. And remember, you're doing really well! A cohort of that size is IMO ridiculous and shouldn't be allowed - there's always going to be people left out - and the fact you're managing to get work done despite everything is exceptional. There's only a year until you're done with lessons and you'll only come in like 10 times for exams, and then you never have to see any of them again. A lovely thought if you ask me!

You’re so kind, thank you for your time!
It’ll probably come as no surprise but my sixth form is being shut down for having so few pupils- my yeargroup is the very last lol.
I’ll definitely talk to my teachers and make more of an effort to get into school. When I’m there I find myself so drained and exhausted that I literally need to take a nap but I think showing my face is the thing that matters most at the moment.
Thank you again for your time, wishing you the best of luck with your Alevels!