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Sixth Form Vs. College: Where's Best?

Deciding where to continue your education after GCSEs can often put you in a difficult and stressful situation. Although further education isn't right for everyone, many people decide that they want another two years of studying. The question is, however, where should you go to do this? The two main options are sixth form or college. Despite the limited number of options of where to go, I was in this very stressful situation this time, last year and felt that it was only right for me to share the pros and cons of each from my perspective, in the hope that none of you have to go through the trauma of deciding where your next place of study lies three days before your due to start, like I did.

Last September, I started at my school's sixth form centre. Obvious choice, yes? Well, actually, no, not in the slightest. For the twelve months prior to the 8th September 2014 when I would have to start my A Levels, I had been completely undecided of where to go. For most of my childhood, I had been pretty sure that the local college was the place for me as I had always thought all my friends would go there. For years 10 and 11, I had a very close group of friends who I spent most breaks, lunches and weekends with. Assuming that we all had the same plans, I applied for the college, did my interview and accepted by place. Meanwhile, I still did my interview for the school sixth form, just in case my college application was not accepted. Unfortunately, it became clear that not all my friends had the same plan. Many were heading to a selective sixth form grammar school. Some were staying on at the school sixth form. As it turned out, only one of my closest friends was planning on going to the local college. This left me with a conundrum: who should I follow?

In my opinion, the advantages of staying on at your school are the sense of familiarity and the location. At your school sixth form, the teachers know your strengths and weaknesses and will be able to adapt their teaching to suit you and the many other familiar faces. If you aren't a big fan of reading aloud in front of a big group but feel more comfortable in smaller groups, your teacher is more likely going to cater their lesson to suit you and your peers. It also helps the other way round: you know your teacher's techniques, and know whether they're one to remind you to write notes or one who assumes you will do just that.
Distance from your home is also a crucial thing to take into account. Currently, it takes me a minimal seven minutes to walk to school, whereas many of the people at the college cycle for thirty minutes each way. Depending on what position you're in, I highly recommend factoring how the duration of time it takes to travel to-and-from the building. Thirty minutes of cycling one way may not seem like a long time but, when it's raining and sub-10°C temperatures in the colder months, five hours of travelling in a week can really take its toll.

On the other hand, college definitely has its perks. If socialising is one of your priorities, college may be the better option. A friend I have, who bravely went to college without anyone she was close to, has made a whole new group of friends at the local college and this was within a month of starting at the centre. As there tends to be a LOT more people at a college (our local college has 10x as many pupils as the sixth form), there is a greater chance of mingling with new people and thus a greater chance of finding someone you think practically in sync with.
In addition, colleges often employ more highly-trained professionals to teach A-Levels. Unlike sixth forms, the teachers only have two year groups to teach, in contrast to the seven at a school, so are more likely going to know the syllabus just as well as their own address. At schools, teachers go from teaching the correct use of commas to eleven-year-olds one lesson to informing eighteen-year-olds on the effects of a poem's syntax the next: disorganisation is definitely more likely.

In the end, I decided that continuing on to sixth form with a couple of friends was the best option for me. It was much closer to home and a smaller year group surely meant that the sixth form was going to be more personable. Having spent the year there, I must say that I am slightly regretting my decision, but only due to the sixth form's lack of experience. Also known as the 'guinea pigs' of my school, my year group was the first year to be taught at the sixth form, which has meant that a lot of learning has had to be done on both the pupils' and teachers' side of things. However, an established sixth form seems to me to be the perfect choice of Level 3 education. Friends who are currently attending other sixth forms genuinely adore where they are studying, and feel that the smaller classes have absolutely aided them; particularly so for the study of languages, where a greater proportion of individual speaking time is essential.
That said, those at the college are also enjoying themselves, with teacher experience giving them the confidence an A-Level student so desperately requires for their exams. The only downside of the college, students there have told me, is that it is difficult to locate a teacher if you are struggling with a topic as the college is so huge, and some have also found it difficult to develop friendships for this same reason. Many of the students who left my school for college have become closer friends amongst themselves, as the large number of students means you may only see the same face once or twice throughout the year.
On the whole, I would say that the most important thing to take into account when deciding whether sixth form or college is for you is the past success of a centre. A teacher who has taught the same syllabus for twenty years is more likely going to know exactly what is required when writing an A-grade answer to that English Literature question, and having that confidence in your teacher will have a positive effect on you.

Whatever you decide, sixth form or college, I wish you all the best with your A-Level studies- good luck!

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