The Student Room Group

Should I move schools for sixth form?

I'm really conflicted about whether to stay or leave my current school, which I attended from yr7-11. The school is super close to me and most of the teachers are very friendly, but the teaching quality is not great. If I were to stay, I would have a pretty good chance of joining the leadership team which is a great opportunity. Throughout yr11 though, I had substitute teachers and had to self teach a lot of content. A lot of the teachers are unwilling to mark work and give feedback when that is literally their job. The school also has very academic opportunities and trips. The sixth form doesn't have any sports clubs, which is such a shame for me as I love sports and don't want to stop doing them.

However, if I were to move to a better school, I would have to travel quite far, which would be a huge adjustment for me. However, the schools I have offers from do have sports clubs, and have a great reputation. I've spoken to students who attend those schools and they have all said there are loads of academic opportunities available. However, those schools finish later than my current one which I'm not a huge fan of. They also make you take 4 a levels, when I only want to do 3. I'm conflicted though because the a level results of these schools are significantly better than my current school.

My predicted GCSE grades are 8 G9s and 2 G8s so I don't want to hold myself back by staying at a mediocre school. But I do find the environment really comfortable and there is low academic pressure. What should I do?
(edited 4 months ago)
I would advise making a weighted pros and cons list for all the schools you are considering, this is what I did when selecting a sixth form. I was in a similar situation to you in that I was choosing between my secondary which has limited clubs but is familiar, far closer to me and has shorter days whereas the schools I was looking at elsewhere had longer days, more travel time but also more clubs and trips.
To make the pros and cons lists I went on the school sites for each and read through everything on there relevant to me, absolutely everything, and then wrote it on a google doc table. Once id written everything (as either a pro or a con) I went through and for each point about the school I gave it points (3,2,1,-1,-2,-3) depending on how important it was. Like for me I put the staff as +3 for my current school but relative lack of activities as -1 as its a disadvantage but I can do stuff outside of the schools offer and its not of major importance to me as much as it is to you.
Once you’ve done this for a school, you add up all the points and see which one’s got the highest score! It’s less biased and emotionally driven which worked for me. Change is scary but you’ve also got to consider what’s best for your future. That might be that you should stay somewhere familiar as you’ll spend more time learning the course content and less time fitting into a new place with a new site and staff. However if your school is not great then maybe moving could improve your grades and therefore the uni course you can do in the future!
Hope this helps and happy to help you weigh up your decision if you have further questions with regards that. Have a great day :smile:
Original post by DerDracologe
I would advise making a weighted pros and cons list for all the schools you are considering, this is what I did when selecting a sixth form. I was in a similar situation to you in that I was choosing between my secondary which has limited clubs but is familiar, far closer to me and has shorter days whereas the schools I was looking at elsewhere had longer days, more travel time but also more clubs and trips.
To make the pros and cons lists I went on the school sites for each and read through everything on there relevant to me, absolutely everything, and then wrote it on a google doc table. Once id written everything (as either a pro or a con) I went through and for each point about the school I gave it points (3,2,1,-1,-2,-3) depending on how important it was. Like for me I put the staff as +3 for my current school but relative lack of activities as -1 as its a disadvantage but I can do stuff outside of the schools offer and its not of major importance to me as much as it is to you.
Once you’ve done this for a school, you add up all the points and see which one’s got the highest score! It’s less biased and emotionally driven which worked for me. Change is scary but you’ve also got to consider what’s best for your future. That might be that you should stay somewhere familiar as you’ll spend more time learning the course content and less time fitting into a new place with a new site and staff. However if your school is not great then maybe moving could improve your grades and therefore the uni course you can do in the future!
Hope this helps and happy to help you weigh up your decision if you have further questions with regards that. Have a great day :smile:

Thanks for the advice! I had made a pros and cons list but I hadn't thought about using points so I'll try that out! If you don't mind me asking, did you end up staying or leaving?
Reply 3
Original post by dghjghedjsdfewth
I'm really conflicted about whether to stay or leave my current school, which I attended from yr7-11. The school is super close to me and most of the teachers are very friendly, but the teaching quality is not great. If I were to stay, I would have a pretty good chance of joining the leadership team which is a great opportunity. Throughout yr11 though, I had substitute teachers and had to self teach a lot of content. A lot of the teachers are unwilling to mark work and give feedback when that is literally their job. The school also has very little funding, so there's not many academic opportunities or trips. The sixth form doesn't have any sports clubs, which is such a shame for me as I love sports and don't want to stop doing them.
However, if I were to move to a better school, I would have to travel quite far, which would be a huge adjustment for me. However, the schools I have offers from do have sports clubs, and have a great reputation. I've spoken to students who attend those schools and they have all said there are loads of academic opportunities available. However, those schools finish later than my current one which I'm not a huge fan of. They also make you take 4 a levels, when I only want to do 3. I'm conflicted though because the a level results of these schools are significantly better than my current school.
My predicted GCSE grades are 8 G9s and 2 G8s so I don't want to hold myself back by staying at a mediocre school. But I do find the environment really comfortable and there is low academic pressure. What should I do?

Hey, I moved schools for sixth form and honestly was the best decision of my life.

I moved schools from a school that I had been at since I was in year 7 and knew people since year 1. Honestly I think that the change was the best thing that i chose to do.

It was good practice a head of uni moving and meeting new people. Also having new teachers was such a good thing as you experience different styles of teaching.

But honestly it’s up to you, I would consider why you want to move schools and if it’s worth it. My old school was closer to home and my new sixth form I had to catch a bus early in the morning for. But it was honestly worth it to me
Original post by dghjghedjsdfewth
Thanks for the advice! I had made a pros and cons list but I hadn't thought about using points so I'll try that out! If you don't mind me asking, did you end up staying or leaving?


I'm actually going sixth in September and decided to stay in the end
Reply 5
Original post by dghjghedjsdfewth
I'm really conflicted about whether to stay or leave my current school, which I attended from yr7-11. The school is super close to me and most of the teachers are very friendly, but the teaching quality is not great. If I were to stay, I would have a pretty good chance of joining the leadership team which is a great opportunity. Throughout yr11 though, I had substitute teachers and had to self teach a lot of content. A lot of the teachers are unwilling to mark work and give feedback when that is literally their job. The school also has very little funding, so there's not many academic opportunities or trips. The sixth form doesn't have any sports clubs, which is such a shame for me as I love sports and don't want to stop doing them.
However, if I were to move to a better school, I would have to travel quite far, which would be a huge adjustment for me. However, the schools I have offers from do have sports clubs, and have a great reputation. I've spoken to students who attend those schools and they have all said there are loads of academic opportunities available. However, those schools finish later than my current one which I'm not a huge fan of. They also make you take 4 a levels, when I only want to do 3. I'm conflicted though because the a level results of these schools are significantly better than my current school.
My predicted GCSE grades are 8 G9s and 2 G8s so I don't want to hold myself back by staying at a mediocre school. But I do find the environment really comfortable and there is low academic pressure. What should I do?

All state schools get the same funding per pupil so yours can't be more 'poorly funded' than others.

Sports clubs exist outside school and are often better.

In my experience long travel is not wise and can waste a lot of time and there's no need tp do 4 A levels. Remember your results are considered in relation to your school .. so changing to a 'better' schoool is not always sensible.
Reply 6
Original post by dghjghedjsdfewth
My school is a voluntary aided school and is funded by FCJ sisters which is why its not as much as other state schools but thanks for the advice.

The net funding should be the same just the source is different.

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