college or sixth form

[Gina]

hiii so i went back to school yday after work experience and the talk of my class was lit bout colleges and whatev because one of the nearby colleges close their apps on 26th of september lmao lit didnt realise we even had to do them so early omf i thought we had til like may! but appaz october/november n stuff is good time idk ANYWAY
what do you thinks better lmao sixth form or college
and whats the difference n stuff please lmao
what did you do
oh also when did you start applying for colleges/sixth forms n all that or whatev

[:odey:]

Definitely college.

It's so annoying how teachers always say 'the jump between school and sixth form is so big, no one ever really understands' its so so true omg. You just well and truly get chucked in at the deepend at school. I chose sixth form just because it was the easiest option, and the majority of my friends were doing it too, and it was literally the worst decision i've made in my life.

College was a million times better I can hardly put in to words the difference.
- Tutors treat you so much better
- Feel more like adults than just the same as everyone else
- So much more freedom

I applied for college in August & started in September, so not sure what all the deadlines thing is, maybe just to be sure you get a place etc.

[lawrawrrr]

I went to sixth form as I wanted to stay at my school and there was one attached, but I think college is a bigger step, gives you more independence! Really depends what you want to do as each one is better for different things :)

[lemons]

i think for vocational courses (btecs) then college but more academic subjects (a-levels) then stick with sixth form! you will also get more support at a sixth form imo and be with ppl your own age

like odey said though 6th form is easiest option and i only went here because i lived 10 mins to it at the time(now 1hr+ :O) and there wasnt any formal interview or anything they basically let everyone in! colleges in my area are rough and disgusting and full of 25+ year olds who stand outside smoking god knows what!

let us know what u wanna study

[Gina]

i think for vocational courses (btecs) then college but more academic subjects (a-levels) then stick with sixth form! you will also get more support at a sixth form imo and be with ppl your own age

like odey said though 6th form is easiest option and i only went here because i lived 10 mins to it at the time(now 1hr+ :O) and there wasnt any formal interview or anything they basically let everyone in! colleges in my area are rough and disgusting and full of 25+ year olds who stand outside smoking god knows what!

let us know what u wanna study
i literally have no clue whatsoever omg ahhhhh
the options i chose for gcse were
ict graphics art triple science
def wouldnt carry on with art graphics or ict though lmao as for science id only consider doing biology prob then err maths
then idk omg

[Kardan]

i think for vocational courses (btecs) then college but more academic subjects (a-levels) then stick with sixth form! you will also get more support at a sixth form imo and be with ppl your own age

like odey said though 6th form is easiest option and i only went here because i lived 10 mins to it at the time(now 1hr+ :O) and there wasnt any formal interview or anything they basically let everyone in! colleges in my area are rough and disgusting and full of 25+ year olds who stand outside smoking god knows what!

let us know what u wanna study

Pretty much this, I think it really depends on what you want to study. I did academic subjects, so did my A-Levels at my sixth form which was part of my school, and it was great. I loved it.

Also in my area, the people in colleges are so much older, mainly because the majority of them dropped out of education at 16, and then decided at a later date that it was a good idea to get more/further qualifications, so have returned back to education through their local college.

At the end of the day, just go to open days, that's usually the best indicator.

I think I applied for my sixth form in early Autumn term, deadline was pretty early if I remember.

[Jssy]

i went to college then sixth form then back to college lmao

school:
- you feel like the plastics off mean girls and everyone is so ******
- you're meant to get treated like adults, nope
- my teachers never turned up


college:
- great
- treated like adults
- mix with other people your age
- my teachers are specialists in my subject areas
- ive gone in to some classes with adults as i dont want to be with ****** 16 year olds who dont give a **** about their education
- better facilities
- freedom

[Kardan]

i went to college then sixth form then back to college lmao

school:
- you feel like the plastics off mean girls and everyone is so ******
- you're meant to get treated like adults, nope
- my teachers never turned up


college:
- great
- treated like adults
- mix with other people your age
- my teachers are specialists in my subject areas
- ive gone in to some classes with adults as i dont want to be with ****** 16 year olds who dont give a **** about their education
- better facilities
- freedom

I mean, I don't understand these 3 points. The first bold point contradicts the 3rd point. Generally if you want to stay with people your age you're better off going to sixth form where you're in year groups, unlike college where you're with whoever is doing your course.

Teachers are specialists in their subject if they're teaching it at secondary in the first place.

And generally, the students that are choosing to go to sixth form and college do give a crap about their education, if they didn't, they simply would have dropped out of education. That's why I found the two years of sixth form probably the most enjoyable, because you don't have to put up with the kids that don't want to be there.

[lemons]

sixth form is fun its like an annoying *** filter

[Jssy]

I mean, I don't understand these 3 points. The first bold point contradicts the 3rd point. Generally if you want to stay with people your age you're better off going to sixth form where you're in year groups, unlike college where you're with whoever is doing your course.

Teachers are specialists in their subject if they're teaching it at secondary in the first place.

And generally, the students that are choosing to go to sixth form and college do give a crap about their education, if they didn't, they simply would have dropped out of education. That's why I found the two years of sixth form probably the most enjoyable, because you don't have to put up with the kids that don't want to be there.
the first statement was wrong it was meant to say other than your age, my philosophy teacher didnt even do philosophy at uni and she was teaching us from a revision guide, couldnt even answer questions we had and no one in our class got above a D, at sixth form people were hell they accepted anyone into sixth form and we had people distrupting all our lessons, i dont understand why they didnt just get kicked out. Apparently getting car shampoo poured through your locker isn't a bad thing?

[Gina]

the first statement was wrong it was meant to say other than your age, my philosophy teacher didnt even do philosophy at uni and she was teaching us from a revision guide, couldnt even answer questions we had and no one in our class got above a D, at sixth form people were hell they accepted anyone into sixth form and we had people distrupting all our lessons, i dont understand why they didnt just get kicked out. Apparently getting car shampoo poured through your locker isn't a bad thing?

am sure they wouldnt mind
free locker wash *+*+

[Jssy]

am sure they wouldnt mind
free locker wash *+*+
i did when i had a laptop in there. people at sixth form were *****.

[geo]

college has been so much better for me. i've spoken to a lot of my friends that stayed on at the sixth form and quite a lot of people failed or don't think they got the help they needed.

for me college:
- meant i could do the subject i wanted to do (film)
- got me friends who were interested in the same things
- allowed me to be myself and not be so afraid
- get along with teachers and have the confidence to actually talk to them. like i now have fantastic student/teacher relationships(?) with them

i got away from people who didn't give a single **** about the subject they were doing

[Kardan]

the first statement was wrong it was meant to say other than your age, my philosophy teacher didnt even do philosophy at uni and she was teaching us from a revision guide, couldnt even answer questions we had and no one in our class got above a D, at sixth form people were hell they accepted anyone into sixth form and we had people distrupting all our lessons, i dont understand why they didnt just get kicked out. Apparently getting car shampoo poured through your locker isn't a bad thing?

Ah, with Psychology it's a possibility that they just took Sociology at Uni. And if they're accepting anyone into the sixth form, then I guess that kind of speaks for itself. At the end of the day, the open days will probably be the best indicator. Not all sixth forms are great, not all colleges are bad.

[Jssy]

college has been so much better for me. i've spoken to a lot of my friends that stayed on at the sixth form and quite a lot of people failed or don't think they got the help they needed.

for me college:
- meant i could do the subject i wanted to do (film)
- got me friends who were interested in the same things
- allowed me to be myself and not be so afraid
- get along with teachers and have the confidence to actually talk to them. like i now have fantastic student/teacher relationships(?) with them

i got away from people who didn't give a single **** about the subject they were doing

exactly same for me so far, imo people just stayed at sixth form because they had nothing else to do and just acted the same way they did at school. i thought people would grow the **** up at sixth form but it appears not

[Kardan]

college has been so much better for me. i've spoken to a lot of my friends that stayed on at the sixth form and quite a lot of people failed or don't think they got the help they needed.

for me college:
- meant i could do the subject i wanted to do (film)
- got me friends who were interested in the same things
- allowed me to be myself and not be so afraid
- get along with teachers and have the confidence to actually talk to them. like i now have fantastic student/teacher relationships(?) with them

i got away from people who didn't give a single **** about the subject they were doing

Once again, do you not put this down to going from compulsory education to voluntary education, rather than going to college specifically over sixth form?

[Prosiary]

i cant say which is better as i've never been in sixth form

im in college atm and got my first ever assignment due in on friday, i'm doing professional cookery, college is pretty fun imo I applied in January, interviewed feb and enrolled aug 21st

[Jssy]

Ah, with Psychology it's a possibility that they just took Sociology at Uni. And if they're accepting anyone into the sixth form, then I guess that kind of speaks for itself. At the end of the day, the open days will probably be the best indicator. Not all sixth forms are great, not all colleges are bad.
no i agree with you on that one, was just my experience. it wasnt totally bad because im now best friends with friends id had that i hadnt been friends with for years because of age (i was 18 when i went back to sixth form)

[geo]

Once again, do you not put this down to going from compulsory education to voluntary education, rather than going to college specifically over sixth form?

Well, i did say it was better FOR ME. i'd say the factors were how **** my sixth form was and my subject choices.

i take media and film (well, they're my main focus anyway) and i'm surrounded by people that care for the subjects, are interested in the subjects, want to do well. i've met a lot of people inside these subjects who are similar to me, too. so by taking the things i enjoy hasn't just helped me understand what i'd like to do in uni, but helped my socially.

however, in my other school, i was told that people still pissed about in lessons and couldn't give a **** (which probably explains why many people didn't do as well as they should/could have) even though they were interested in continuing those subjects in further education

and Jssy; yeah! my old best friend tells me quite a bit about sixth form and how nobody has really changed. they all still gossip like they would in yr 8 and don't mix with other people

[Kardan]

I guess my school/sixth form was just strange then. All the kids that never did any work and hated school just did the sensible thing and left.

[geo]

I guess my school/sixth form was just strange then. All the kids that never did any work and hated school just did the sensible thing and left.

but it's compulsory? i guess people could have done apprenticeships and stuff but it's quite a journey away from where my secondary school was located, meaning travel fees could get quite expensive.

i have a 40 min bus journey to college everyday, so i guess some people would rather just stick with whats easy rather than something better for them

[Jurv]

college is so much better, from what i've heard anyway

[Kardan]

but it's compulsory? i guess people could have done apprenticeships and stuff but it's quite a journey away from where my secondary school was located, meaning travel fees could get quite expensive.

i have a 40 min bus journey to college everyday, so i guess some people would rather just stick with whats easy rather than something better for them

It wasn't compulsory back in my day :P I guess that's where the problems lie then, I agree that it would be a lot easier for people to stick with what they know.

[CrazyLemurs]

I see a lot of sixth form bashing lol, I'm offended :(
I think sixth form is actually really beneficial if your subject choices are academic; I'd never have done maths economics and computing at a college! Also, if you're not looking for that independence and freedom so much, sixth form provides a nice balance. 8 hours a week I get to sit and do very little lol

I think the argument that teachers treat you poorly is really only true for a bad sixth form. Our teachers recognise that at 16-17 we don't want to be shoehorned into something so they don't have many demands. Behaviour is another one that really depends; a lot of people I know might not have 'grown up' entirely but have realised that they're lucky to be allowed into this sixth form (entry requirements were 9-10As and 2Bs on average) even if they went here for GCSEs, so they treat themselves, others and the environment properly. And personally, as a pretty grumpy student, I've managed to speak to a lot of new people that have either transferred in or repeated this year and a lot of them don't hate me yet :D

Don't rule out sixth form because your nearest/own school's one sucks. There are alternative sixth forms to go to, just like there are alternative colleges!


Posted from my phone babez xx

[Red]

It's probs diff in england but here people stayed on at school to do a levels (so if they were more academic) and people went to like tech which is probs equivalent to college to do more vocational things. My experience is so diff from most of you guys!! Most schools here are grammar so its through academic selection at age 11 but in my area it was at age 14 (14-18 school) so it meant people who were there actually wanted to be there, and teachers gave you support and treated you with respect. Just research the ones you will be going to Gina!!

[Empired]

If you want to do academic subjects, I suggest you go to sixth form. If you want to do something more btec-y, I suggest you go to a college. As has already been said.

Lots of people in here have been bashing sixth forms but it really depends on where you go. My city has some of the top sixth forms in the country and we have people from the other side of the county fighting to get into one particular sixth form. They won't even give you an interview (yes, ALL the sixth forms around me take interviews damn seriously) if you don't have a B grade average for your mocks and you're still very unlikely to get in if you're only on Bs.
I don't go there but I have quite a few friends from secondary school who did stay on. And they either love it or they drowned. Everyone there takes everything really seriously and just want to come out with the best grades possible. If you don't, the sixth form will chuck you out. At my sixth form it's kinda similar but you only need a D in your subject as AS Level to carry on with it.

What I'm trying to say is lots of people in this thread have negative stories about sixth form, but it purely depends on where you go.

Like Kardan said, go to EVERY open evening you can go to. I think my mum and I went to a total of six in the end lol! And this is gonna sound weird but, whilst you're there, ask to look in rooms that they haven't set up if you can. It's always worth looking in classrooms that haven't been specially prepared. Ask in detail about the course. Even if you don't know what you're talking about, pretend you do. Try to talk to teachers AND students there. Ask students in particular about what they think, how their friends are doing, etc. It's the best way to find out what kind of place it is.

Can't talk about college because I've never been, but that's my insight on sixth form.

Oh wait. Work out what subjects u want to do Gina! You need to have decided by like November. Look at all the subjects u can do and then work from there. If it helps, work out what u definitely DON'T want to do. Work it out soon, too, 'cause otherwise you'll end up panic choosing subjects u don't really want to do/didn't know what the course would be like wherever ur going.

[Kardan]

Also Yuxin; it might be early to be thinking about University, but now really is the most important time. If you want to get on to a particular University course, make sure you look at the entry requirements. Most of the time you will need at least 3 A-Levels (and depending on the course, those A-Levels must be in particular subjects).

What the majority of people do is take 4 A-Levels, then drop one of them going into Year 13, so you end up coming out with 3 A-Levels and an AS Level. Of course, if you do say do 4 A-Levels across both years, you'll theoretically have more chance of getting into Uni (You have another subject to back you up, in case one goes horribly wrong) - but that of course means more work.

Don't do what some people do and end up choosing just 3 A-Levels, and then dropping down to 2 in Year 13. A lot of people did that at my sixth form, and then realised they had to stay on for Year 14, because they couldn't get into the universities they wanted with so few qualifications.

Of course, if all this talk about A-Levels and Universities puts you off, maybe college is the way to go. People usually take one course at college (although I have known people to go to college and pick their 3/4/5 A-Levels and carry on like usual) usually in something more vocational than what you would do at school. For example, my brother decided to go catering at college. You can still end up getting into University just picking a vocational course, but your options are much more limited. With a catering qualification, you're pretty limited to catering. With Maths, Biology, History and English A-Levels, you still have a lot of options for Uni.

Basically, at the end of the day, it's what you feel is right for you, not what our experiences were like :P

[The Don]

hiii so i went back to school yday after work experience and the talk of my class was lit bout colleges and whatev because one of the nearby colleges close their apps on 26th of september lmao lit didnt realise we even had to do them so early omf i thought we had til like may! but appaz october/november n stuff is good time idk ANYWAY
what do you thinks better lmao sixth form or college
and whats the difference n stuff please lmao
what did you do
oh also when did you start applying for colleges/sixth forms n all that or whatev

If you're happy at your school stick with sixth form. You'll find that the teachers will have more of a personal interest in ensuring you pass and get into a good university as they know you and have been teaching you/watching you grow up for the past 5 years, whereas college is far more impersonal, and way more independent. Entirely depends what you're looking for. I stayed at sixth form for a bit, dropped out because I hated my subjects and am now at my THIRD College as I kept changing subjects/had poor attendance for one of them so wasn't allowed to progress to A2. I'm with a lot of mature students now though and it's so independent but I enjoy the challenge of it and know it'll be worth while. However, if I could turn back time I would've picked different subjects and stuck out sixth form. As for when I applied for college, every single one that I've been to I applied AFTER Christmas, for this college I applied for it in April-May, which is quite late. But most people apply after Christmas as far as I know.

[Empired]

Also @Yuxin (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=63975); it might be early to be thinking about University, but now really is the most important time. If you want to get on to a particular University course, make sure you look at the entry requirements. Most of the time you will need at least 3 A-Levels (and depending on the course, those A-Levels must be in particular subjects).
About choosing University courses...

I went to a talk two years ago about what A-Levels to choose if you wanted to take a certain thing at an Oxbridge University. I don't want to go to Cambridge or Oxford but they apply to anywhere.

Basically (from what I can remember) they said:
Anything science-y needs 3 sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) and maths. AND further maths definitely wouldn't hurt.
Anything non science-y but you don't know what to do: History, a language, English of some sort, plus something else omg can't remember.

Basically, if you don't know what to do yet, DON'T close doors for yourself. Don't choose lots of really specialised subjects that might mean you couldn't get on the course you might want to do for Uni. For example you can take Archaeology at some sixth forms but it's not gonna help you much with lots of courses at Uni but History, English, a language, etc. will help you into a lot of courses.

Not saying don't choose any specialised subjects. Just pick one or possibly two if you don't know what to do yet.

[Aiden]

i had a careers meeting in school last week and i found out we had to apply in like the next month too i had no idea.

[Gina]

i had a careers meeting in school last week and i found out we had to apply in like the next month too i had no idea. i didnt even have a careers meeting lol i found out by a friend going ESHER CLOSES ON 26TH R U APPLYING like err what
thank you for replying btw guys!! you are helping omg im just like ignoring or whatev i am reading them aha

[Inseriousity.]

Strange, I never went to college but my sixth form was alright. Sure there were people who didn't want to learn and just gone onto post-secondary because they felt like they had to but you're going to get those people in college too so seems a bit of a moot point.

sixth forms are generally more academically minded but you can do A levels in a college too so I wouldn't personally choose a sixth form simply for that reason. I'd go to open days, they're useful to see for yourself the teachers and the attitude of the place, which for me was always the most important thing.

[Kardan]

About choosing University courses...

I went to a talk two years ago about what A-Levels to choose if you wanted to take a certain thing at an Oxbridge University. I don't want to go to Cambridge or Oxford but they apply to anywhere.

Basically (from what I can remember) they said:
Anything science-y needs 3 sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) and maths. AND further maths definitely wouldn't hurt.
Anything non science-y but you don't know what to do: History, a language, English of some sort, plus something else omg can't remember.

Basically, if you don't know what to do yet, DON'T close doors for yourself. Don't choose lots of really specialised subjects that might mean you couldn't get on the course you might want to do for Uni. For example you can take Archaeology at some sixth forms but it's not gonna help you much with lots of courses at Uni but History, English, a language, etc. will help you into a lot of courses.

Not saying don't choose any specialised subjects. Just pick one or possibly two if you don't know what to do yet.

I imagine that specific advice would certainly be for Oxbridge only.

The non-science-y advice is decent. English, a foreign language can't hurt. Humanities like History and Geography are also decent.

Anything science-y doesn't need 3 sciences - for sure. Only Oxbridge would probably ask for that. The majority of Unis are happy to accept the specialist Science in which you're interested and that can be enough. If you're doing Physics, they will more than likely ask for Maths, since so, so much of Physics relies on Maths. Further Maths usually doesn't get asked for sciences - I did a Maths degree and it wasn't required to have Further Maths (but having Further Maths did lower my required grade to get into Uni, so it does help).

Basically, taking like subjects isn't usually required (unless it's Oxbridge), but will look very good.

Of course if you're going for say, a Maths degree, having Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry A-Levels will look a lot better than Maths, ICT, Psychology and Travel and Tourism - but the majority of Uni's only really specify that you need to do Maths at A-Level.

[The Don]

Also, unless you plan on doing sociology/media at university you probably should pick other subjects to study as a lot of the top russell group universities consider these to be 'Mickey Mouse' subjects.

[Kardan]

i didnt even have a careers meeting lol i found out by a friend going ESHER CLOSES ON 26TH R U APPLYING like err what
thank you for replying btw guys!! you are helping omg im just like ignoring or whatev i am reading them aha

Strange that the school hasn't made a big deal about it. When I went into Year 11, we had whole lessons devoted to our applications.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and if you want to do Law at University, don't do A-Level Law. The majority of Unis do not require A-Level Law, and some Unis actually prefer to accept students with no law knowledge over A-Level Law students.

[The Don]

Strange that the school hasn't made a big deal about it. When I went into Year 11, we had whole lessons devoted to our applications.

- - - Updated - - -

Oh, and if you want to do Law at University, don't do A-Level Law. The majority of Unis do not require A-Level Law, and some Unis actually prefer to accept students with no law knowledge over A-Level Law students.

I doubt they prefer it, more a case of it doesn't give you an edge over other people. Studying Law at A Level would definitely not be a poor choice of subject if you wanted to study it at University.

[Aiden]

This thread has made me really panic now. There's hardly any information of a list of the best colleges in Nottingham. I've never really thought about it and now I'm confused. I don't even know if I could get into a good college. Erg.

[A4R0N]

COLLEGE GINA IT WILL BE THE BEST DECISION U EVER MAKE

[The Don]

This thread has made me really panic now. There's hardly any information of a list of the best colleges in Nottingham. I've never really thought about it and now I'm confused. I don't even know if I could get into a good college. Erg.

If you have any vague idea of what you want to study at uni just look at a few university websites and see if there are any specific requirements and then obviously pick those. http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forum.php is amazing for help, even just searching on there will give you loads of details and peoples personal experiences with applying to university etc.

[Empired]

This thread has made me really panic now. There's hardly any information of a list of the best colleges in Nottingham. I've never really thought about it and now I'm confused. I don't even know if I could get into a good college. Erg.
Apply to 3 or 4 colleges. We got told any more and u look desperate. Maybe go for 1/2 good ones and 1/2 back up ones. That way youre safe even if your results don't go as well as u want.
Never hurts to apply anyway. Ur school will tell u if it's a silly decision to apply.

[Kardan]

If you have any vague idea of what you want to study at uni just look at a few university websites and see if there are any specific requirements and then obviously pick those. http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forum.php is amazing for help, even just searching on there will give you loads of details and peoples personal experiences with applying to university etc.

LSE has actually put A-Level Law on the list of 'Non-preferred A-Levels' for it's Law course.

Quoted the wrong post, but you get the idea.

[lemons]

even if u don't wanna go to your schools sixth form apply for it anyway just in case because you'll most likely get in unless you flop REALLY REALLY REALLLLLLLLY BAD

[Kardan]

This thread has made me really panic now. There's hardly any information of a list of the best colleges in Nottingham. I've never really thought about it and now I'm confused. I don't even know if I could get into a good college. Erg.

I might be teaching in Nottingham next Friday. I'll try and find out which colleges are any good :P

[Aiden]

i think i will apply to bilborough college in notts. for one since that's consider okay-good from most people i know
don't know any others really
i asked for a 1-1 interview so hopefully i get that soon to talk to a careers officer

[The Don]

LSE has actually put A-Level Law on the list of 'Non-preferred A-Levels' for it's Law course.

Quoted the wrong post, but you get the idea.

Fair enough, that's crazy! I guess it's because at A-Level they can only teach you so much, which results in a lot of topics being condensed to the point of inaccuracy resulting in confusion for those students who learned the wrong things. It's easier to work with a blank canvas.

[Alkaz]

100% college. I did 2 years at 6th Forum and then college, I went to a different school for 6th form and the teachers had it in for students who joined in year 12 for some reason, the majority of us who joined the school did poor and the students who were there throughout the entire school did reasonably well in comparison. College was 100% different and I really regretted not going to college first. At the time, the local college to me had a bit of a bad name which made me plump for 6th formt, it was the worst mistake of my life.

[Paige.]

college is definitely better because i didn't like school much and sixth form is basically just like it really
i'm at college and my boyfriend and a couple of my friends go to sixth form and they all hate it and they tell me about it, it is much stricter and literally set out like a school day and stuff
college treats you more like an adult imo

[Futz]

hiii so i went back to school yday after work experience and the talk of my class was lit bout colleges and whatev because one of the nearby colleges close their apps on 26th of september lmao lit didnt realise we even had to do them so early omf i thought we had til like may! but appaz october/november n stuff is good time idk ANYWAY
what do you thinks better lmao sixth form or college
and whats the difference n stuff please lmao
what did you do
oh also when did you start applying for colleges/sixth forms n all that or whatev

What would you like to go into?

[Gina]

college is definitely better because i didn't like school much and sixth form is basically just like it really
i'm at college and my boyfriend and a couple of my friends go to sixth form and they all hate it and they tell me about it, it is much stricter and literally set out like a school day and stuff
college treats you more like an adult imo
i messaged one of the people who chose to stay onto sixth form at my school and their reply was this

Well I am enjoying it so far I got into a college and another sixth form but I just turned them down bc I think it's better to stay with teachers who know u as a learner. However I do sometimes wish I went somewhere else as I had to compromise on my option choices but luckily they don't impact my uni choice at all. On the results side of things, ccc had a 100% a level pass rate so that's really good! I just think it has a bad rep tbh
the main thing that bugged me about sixth form was about all the people who choose to muck about in school
i thought theyd just take an easy option and stay on at same school for sixth form but i was reading through the diff courses and a lot of them to take you need a B or above in the subject or 5 C-A*s for certain ones or like history and things like its a lot harder to choose the courses prob for the people who do muck about considering in mocks they always seem to get Ds/Es
i then asked the person who stayed on again

i'm glad to have helped btw, ccc are getting really strict on applicants so don't worry about people maybe mucking about bc ccc turned away kids in my year cause they were little ***** XD everyone is pretty serious during lesson, it's frees that are for fun (p.s if you havent realised ccc is my school lmao abrev for it)
idk anyway like idek what id want to do
if i was following my schools set of courses the ones id narrow done to are like
biology
psychology
being my main two because i feel like id actually be able to understand them lol like my main worry bout courses are i dont think ill understand many of them??
im fine at gcse level and can understand and stuff n get good grades in mocks and whatev
but i feel if i go any further ill be completely lost lol but then after that would be
maths
physics
chemistry
art
then possibly english lit
but english is like my hell and i think id hate it so much lol
and i have no clue whatsoever with what i want to do after lmao theyre more based on ability than whati need at uni or whatever
but i dont even think im smart enough to get into uni lmao let alone whatev so am just doubtful rly
whoops prob not doing it right lol
but ohwell am sure ill figure it out soon
will prob see what my school says because surely they wont be making such a small deal out of it in a weeks time idk
if they do then ill just plan a one to one with the careers advisor and see what she says about it all

[Jssy]

a-levels are a jump up but i found it was just a lot more work, wasn't necessarily hard

[Circadia]

When choosing where I wanted to go after high school I only ended up looking around the Sixth Form I ended up going to, I don't recommend doing that but it was because the only other college local to me has a pretty bad pass rate and only does BTEC courses and I wanted to do A-Levels so decided to go to Sixth Form. I applied in the September and got accepted straight away because I already had 5 A*-C's due to starting my GCSEs a year earlier.

Sixth Form/AS Levels are quite a big step up from High School/GCSEs and I absolutely bombed first year, but this was the same across country, my year only got 86% pass rate which is down from 91% last year so its a considerable drop but this is most likely down to removal of the January exams, so I've got to resit some of my exams. I also went from 2 A's in Maths at GCSE to coming out with a U at AS Level... but yeah choose what you think you'll enjoy. If you want to stay with more academic subjects, definitely go with Sixth Form, but if you want to do more vocational studies then go with College

[Kardan]

Yuxin; - Physics is probably the subject that has the biggest jump from GCSE to A-Level. Maths is also pretty high up there.

[Gina]

Yuxin; - Physics is probably the subject that has the biggest jump from GCSE to A-Level. Maths is also pretty high up there.
maths is prob 1 id want to do but not sure bout physics then lmao

[Kardan]

A good thing about maths is that there are a number of modules you can choose from, so essentially you can choose the areas of maths that suit you best. Of course, it depends on what the sixth form/college offers - some of them may have a fixed way of doing things.

[Jssy]

yeah Kardan; my sixth form you needed 4 C's to get in and as long as you got an E in the subject at AS you could carry on lmao which I think is stupid. But they accepted people that got D's at GCSE and those are the ones that made sixth form hell for me, if entry requirements were stricter it probs would have been better

[Kyle]

It would seem that anybody here bigging up colleges either took non academic subjects or went back at a later date. I too have experienced both college and sixth form but since neither were compulsory as they are now I don't know how helpful the advice will be. I went to 6th form straight after school. It was very strict and detentions were given just like in school. Some sixth forms have uniforms, mine didn't. generally there were more people that wanted to learn and do well at that age in sixth form than in college. I finished AS levels at sixth form and returned to college 2 years later to find that people didn't really care for their subjects and weren't very self motivated to do well in them. far more people at college were already in work.

remember that whilst a lot of your education is compulsory, university isn't. take subjects you like learning about, take as many as you like. drop the ones that interest you the least and if you do want to go to university then consider the ones that will be the most beneficial for your course. some are critical thinking and essay based and others are memory based. it's good to have a nice mixture. as some a levels are totally different/huge leaps from gcse to a level, as are they from a level to degree level.

as for law a level well the only university that has actively advised against it to my knowledge is LSE. I had a wildcard choice of law at bristol and got an offer with no sweat with a law a level and 'soft' choices to boot. it's a very interesting an highly applicable a level! you'll only be able to take a language if you have a B in it at gcse. media and film a levels are genuinely useless. they're not required for degree level study but I suppose they are a fast track to an extra few UCAS points.

meh do what u enjoy and go where people that you enjoy learning with will go. all that matters is u don't sell your soul for an education, it's not going to even be that useful for your future anyway!

[Inseriousity.]

oh and about the thing bout people not wanting to be there, went to uni and there were people there who only went for the drinking/social life (they were quickly disappointed after freshers was over) and you've even got to pay for that. it's inevitable really wherever you go that there'll be people who arent as invested as you are. luckily when you get older, they tend to get less disruptive too.

[-:Undertaker:-]

I stayed at the sixth form of my school, wasn't as good as school at all but it was still better than nothing. And certainly better than university.

It all depends on whether you like school or not. I loved school, so I stayed.

[Gina]

I stayed at the sixth form of my school, wasn't as good as school at all but it was still better than nothing. And certainly better than university.

It all depends on whether you like school or not. I loved school, so I stayed.

yeah i love school haha i think ita great i just dont like the early mofnings ;l

[:odey:]

@Yuxin (http://www.habboxforum.com/member.php?u=63975); - Physics is probably the subject that has the biggest jump from GCSE to A-Level. Maths is also pretty high up there.

I did both Physics & Maths at A level too, the jump is giant. But I still enjoyed both.

[RuthOnToast]

i think for vocational courses (btecs) then college but more academic subjects (a-levels) then stick with sixth form! you will also get more support at a sixth form imo and be with ppl your own age

like odey said though 6th form is easiest option and i only went here because i lived 10 mins to it at the time(now 1hr+ :O) and there wasnt any formal interview or anything they basically let everyone in! colleges in my area are rough and disgusting and full of 25+ year olds who stand outside smoking god knows what!

let us know what u wanna study


Not all colleges are good for btecs. I go a six form college that mainly does a levels and a few btecs.


Plus where i live with have 2 colleges and one is horrid and does only btecs people their are really rough (i don't go to that one)

[Shar]

I couldn't stay at my secondary school 6th form because I didn't get the entry requirement of 6 B's. I moved to another 6th form because that's what I thought would be best as all my family used to think that college was ****. I hated the new school, it was quite hard transitioning into a mixed school and trying to build a good rapport with teachers who already knew most of the pupils from year7-11 and didn't care for the new ones. I lost all motivation of studying and I ****** up the exams. I then couldn't stay at the 6th form due to my poor grades so I moved to a college much to the dismay of my parents. I took new A-level subjects and actually grew to love college. I think it was better for me because it gave me the freedom I needed and I didn't feel overwhelmed or made to feel dumb by lecturers who didn't even know me properly.

6th form if you need a push or college if you can/want to get on with it on your own (you can still ask for support though).

[alilbitoflauren]

College

College

Posts merged by mdport. (Forum Moderator) as they are the same.

[Zak]

I went to college and I turned out ok

[lRhyss]

Sixth Form - I had no choice because of my area.

It was either;

- Wake up at normal time (Half 7); get up, have a shower and get the bus in to then arrive back home at like 4pm so I could do work for a few hours then have some me time.

or;

- Wake up at like 5AM, get ready, have breakfast to get on a bus at half 6, to then get on another bus at half 7 to arrive at college, then arrive back home at like 6/half 6pm to do work then go to bed.


Sucksss

I turned out fine though

[lemons]

College

good advice


College

good advice again

[Empired]

- Wake up at like 5AM, get ready, have breakfast to get on a bus at half 6, to then get on another bus at half 7 to arrive at college, then arrive back home at like 6/half 6pm to do work then go to bed.
A lot of people do this in my sixth form. Some of them don't arrive home until 6:30 / 7 every evening and set off at 6 in the morning. They just do most of their work on the train.

[Jazz]

late to the party but college for me

i had a support network in college that was worlds better than the school/sixthform system

[welshcake]

I stayed in school and went to sixth form as the thought of college scared me so much. Also in year old 11 I was fundraising to go on an expedition to Uganda the year after so I had to stay in school for that.

I really enjoyed sixth form, despite having a bobba of a teacher. What I liked was the fact that you already knew the teachers and what help was available to you. You didn't have to find a new place and make new friends. But thinking of it now, maybe college would have prepared me for university a little more as I went to university not knowing anyone or the place at all. If that makes sense.

[Alysha]

I went to college and absolutely hated it, so after a month I went back to sixth form with another 3 people from my school, who I didn't even know that well.
I'd say college prepares you more, but at the same time, I think wherever you feel most comfortable is where you'll get the best grades. My school had links with colleges and other schools for subjects that they didn't offer anyway, so it was the best of both worlds for a lot of people.
I think people have said it before, but vocational subjects are best suited to college, where as academic ones are probably best suited to sixth form.