6th form or college?

Well, I am almost at that point but I don't really know which is better and/or whatnot about them.

Reply 1

It sort of depends what you want to get out of it.

I chose Sixth form because its what suited my needs more. I did three A levels and an AS level, had timetabled study periods and its kind of like secondary school with additional privileges? Its definitely more structured if you want something like that.

Sixth form colleges are colleges that you can do A levels at, similar to a Sixth form but depending on which one you go to, majority of the time its more relaxed. This means that it *might* be less structured in terms of mandatory study sessions that you have to be in school for. You might be able to leave more often/have more freedom. But like i said, this is dependent on the college. Some are overly strict- some not.

A college is where you can do courses that possibly lead to careers? Im not sure how to explain it. For example, you could do a course in plumbing, or hair and beauty. Usually there's a variety of ages at college, it isn't strictly 16 - 18 years there.

So your needs, subjects and future aspirations will influence what option is best for you. Let me know if you have any specific questions, I hope this helped! :smile:

Reply 2

F22

Original post

by MikaylaLC

It sort of depends what you want to get out of it.
I chose Sixth form because its what suited my needs more. I did three A levels and an AS level, had timetabled study periods and its kind of like secondary school with additional privileges? Its definitely more structured if you want something like that.
Sixth form colleges are colleges that you can do A levels at, similar to a Sixth form but depending on which one you go to, majority of the time its more relaxed. This means that it *might* be less structured in terms of mandatory study sessions that you have to be in school for. You might be able to leave more often/have more freedom. But like i said, this is dependent on the college. Some are overly strict- some not.
A college is where you can do courses that possibly lead to careers? Im not sure how to explain it. For example, you could do a course in plumbing, or hair and beauty. Usually there's a variety of ages at college, it isn't strictly 16 - 18 years there.
So your needs, subjects and future aspirations will influence what option is best for you. Let me know if you have any specific questions, I hope this helped! :smile:

TYSM!! I'm not 100% sure which career pathway to choose but it'd probably be in STEM or something like that ;-;. I have chosen provisional subjects but I'm still unsure as to what subjects I want to pursue and what really suits me ;-;. It feels that sixth form might be a bit more safer though I could get more out of college, hmmm.

Reply 3

MikaylaLC

Original post

by F22

If you go to a college to take a college course you kind of need to be certain about what type of job you want to do- as the course tends to lead to that. Obviously, if you regret choosing it, its not set in stone- its just more complicated.

With sixth form, you tend to choose A levels you enjoy/are interested in, which often is what *leads* you to your future career if you are stuck. People tend to go into jobs based on these subjects as it is what they enjoy doing. A levels are also probably one of the easiest stepping stones to university- if thats something you are interested in. But there are many different pathways to enter, so don't choose entirely on the basis of that.

If you are going towards a career in STEM, I suggest you take some time now to research different pathways you can take. Some STEM careers require specific subjects for university/some STEM careers want a specific college course.

This is really difficult, and I personally don't think its fair that you have to choose so young- but unfortunately this is the process we are in right now.

Utilise the platforms around you, go to open days if you are able to and talk to staff there (this helped me choose one of my subjects!) If you have a careers advisor at school, have a chat with them.

I wish you the best of luck! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions at all, and I hope that this helps in some way.