Sixth Form Dilemma

helloo
i live near some of those schools and currently go to a grammar (st olaves in orpington) so might be able to help
before i start, keep in mind that bexley grammar is IB whereas chis and sid are traditional a levels - it makes a massive difference. i dont know about the other three so research it
i personally don't think you'll have any issues with making friends. it's more about being miserable. because i am currently quite miserable due to a variety of reasons, but a significant proportion of those are academic related (im a year 12 for context).
my school is an outlier though because they are very very academic and intense. from what i've heard, chis and sid is quite relaxed for a grammar school so you should be ok. don't go to bexley i beg - the school itself is good, its just that they do ib and everyone i know who does ib regrets it. don't do that to yourself, why would you willingly do that to yourself. a-levels are hard enough.

the pro to grammar schools is that a lot of the people around you are very academically focused. i mean that could be a con but for me it gives me some motivation to work hard. as a nerd its also fun to talk about stuff with them.
if you go to a taster day, my biggest advice would be to talk to current year 12s and ask them how the school does predicted grades. my school are very strict and i wish i knew that earlier. year 12 you will thank you for asking that question now, even if it feels like a long way away
good luck!!

the pro to grammar schools is that a lot of the people around you are very academically focused. i mean that could be a con but for me it gives me some motivation to work hard. as a nerd its also fun to talk about stuff with them.
if you go to a taster day, my biggest advice would be to talk to current year 12s and ask them how the school does predicted grades. my school are very strict and i wish i knew that earlier. year 12 you will thank you for asking that question now, even if it feels like a long way away
good luck!!

thank you for the advice!! I went to the taster day for bexley and ended up realising it would make me miserable, even if it made me for “employable” and “desireable” haha
I hope you’re doing okay also 💗💗

I’m also quite academically focused but I really value personal time my own interests and time with friends so I’m not sure how that’s gonna work ;; I’m also a nerd but also kind of a geek so that’s something
I personally felt like the atmosphere was a bit uptight, and while the people I met were nice, I didn’t feel like we’d be comfortable with each other. I know that’s too soon to say, but just a little observation :]]

i'm so happy you've made that decision ❤️
yeah i nearly fell for the employable and desirable marketing too but honestly i don't think its worth it
i'm doing a lot better now ty, i think i was just feeling a bit down when i sent that message

grammar school doesn't necessarily mean work yourself to the ground, so i'm sure you'll be ok as long as you manage your time well. work hard and play hard
fair enough that you feel that way. i just wanted to add though, as long as your current school/any comprehensive you want to go to is ok with it, feel free to 'trial' out a grammar school sixth form for the first week of the new term. i know several people who did that and actually ended up switching to another sixth form, albeit from one grammar school to another. the way this works is that on results day you accept multiple offers (without letting any particular school know that you've done this) and reject once you know for sure. there's several cons to doing this, but it works really well if one sixth form starts slightly earlier in the autumn term than another.

Hello!
I would recommend that you choose the sixth form that you feel that you will be most comfortable at. You are more likely to do better academically if you are happy and comfortable in your surroundings. If you chose somewhere simply on the academic status and how 'employable' it may make you, but you don't feel happy or comfortable there it could very easily impact your grades and motivation. I have always found that when I am most happy and comfortable in the environment that I am studying, I do significantly better in my exams and assignments.
I would also recommend that you don't choose somewhere to far from home, if you commuting every day, as sixth form can be tiring as it is, so having additional travel time may add extra stress on days if you need to be there earlier or later, than normal.
Hope this helps
Suzan - Student Ambassador

interesting idea!! I don’t think I’ll follow through with it, but thank you anyway!! My only decision now is between two comprehensives (Thomas Tallis and Eltham Hill), but I’ll probably just consider it over the summer ^^

Hihi!!
I’m a Year 11 and I’ve already decided on my A-Level options (History, Geography, and either PRE/RS or Sociology depending on the school).
The issue I have now is deciding the school I want to go to, which I feel like is a very commonly asked topic but something I would really appreciate advice about ^^
There’s a quite a few schools that I’m considering, but the question is essentially comprehensive vs grammar sixth forms. I’ve gone to the taster day for one comprehensive (which I didn’t like) and one grammar school, and I foolishly didn’t book any taster days for the other 2 non grammar schools because I had 3 taster days already, so I’m worried I won’t be able to settle in as well if I do choose to go there
My general worry is also that I won’t be able to find my kind of people or good friends (again, a common fear) at any of my sixth forms, but I’m thinking that maybe it’ll be better at a comprehensive school rather than a grammar school.
The comprehensive sixth forms are closer to me, being around 20-30 minutes, whereas the grammar schools are 40-50 minutes. I want to go to a grammar school to benefit my education and give me maybe better academic opportunities, especially because I don’t know what I want to do in the future; but I’m wondering if going to a grammar school would make me miserable.
Obviously, it will be this way for any school, but I’m not really sure if I’d fit in with the grammar kids. I feel like my personality and interests didn’t really mix with the people there, and that maybe a more mixed comprehensive school would be better. I’m not someone who deals well with pressure, and obviously A-Levels is pressure. But I fear a grammar school might make it worse…
The sixth forms I got conditional offers from were Bexley Gramnar, Chistlehurst and Sidcup Grammar, Eltham Hill, Thomas Tallis and my current school;;
Any advice or personal experiences with grammar schools is appreciated!! Thank you.

You are that student who does the same subjects as me (Geography, History and Sociology). How are you doing?

Subject wise, I’m doing great!! School wise I don’t think I’m settling in very well, but I hope things will get better 💗💗 how are you doing?

fair enough you've still got plenty of time
i hope you enjoy your summer and good luck with results!!

Subject wise, I’m doing great!! School wise I don’t think I’m settling in very well, but I hope things will get better 💗💗 how are you doing?

hey there! im planning to go olaves aswl. how competitive is it?

heyy i hope you’re doing well
it’s quite competitive to get in, they add up your best 9 gcse grades to give you a score (max being 81 or 9 grade 9s) and basc rank all the applicants based on that. for my year i think you needed about 75 to get an offer before the start of term, and then they kept giving offers through the first few weeks of term to people with slightly lower total scores