A lot of you reading this may think I've left it a little bit too late to write a post like this. I am well aware (believe me) that year 11 exams are literally a few weeks away (!) and plans for next year should be well underway and finalized by now. I've had conversations with so many people about what we're all doing after we finish year 11 and I have become increasingly concerned about how limited people think their options are.
The sixth form at my school have completed their time table for A Levels and have met very little of my friends' requirements meaning a lot of them are forced into taking subjects they don't really want to in order to replace subjects that my school cannot be bothered to fit into their time tables. Most of my friends are unhappy. I've asked so many of them multiple times why they don't look for somewhere else to go and the reply I receive is tragically always: "It's too late."
I want to show people that it's not too late. Most colleges and sixth forms will accept applicants right up until the first few weeks of the next school year. That means you could change your mind even after starting sixth form where you are currently planning on going. So clearly you can change your mind now! My school is guilty of the following which gives students a misleading message; many schools that have sixth forms will say they want application forms in by the mid winter terms so they can figure out a time table. My school have clearly done a shoddy job of this but most colleges will allow you to apply at any point and will do whatever they can to fit your subjects in because they are typically more flexible. This is definitely something you should think about; If your school cannot give you what you need, go elsewhere.
My choice to abandon my school when it came to sixth form was a difficult one to make but I made it very early on into year 11. I've never ever been happy at my school as you can probably tell from my tone when discussing them. I have contemplated many times writing a blog post to review and warn people about my school because I am that disgusted by the way it is run but I feel like this wouldn't reach the right people considering I write a beauty blog and it wouldn't benefit anybody. Instead I am going to be more vague and just discuss the issues I have had so that anybody having similar issues can be inspired to take a leap and go elsewhere.
Clashes with staff are inevitable at a secondary school because they insist on treating you like a child and speaking to you with minimal respect. A secondary school's thirst for discipline often results in you constantly being spoken to like a delinquent rather than a human being with human and student rights. I have a few teachers who are willing to speak to me on an equal level; however, the rest seem to thoroughly enjoy talking down to us like we are an old piece of gum that has been flicked off the bottom of one of the desks. Not only do secondary school rules insist of stripping you of any personality you may have by banning jewelry, hair colouring etc. But they also encourage you to look and behave in a plain, boring manor by punishing you for any forms of expressing yourself that you may undertake and insisting you wear a horrific uniform that they seem to care more about that actual education. I've seen students who get admirable grades thrown into detentions and internals just because they've died their hair when students that muck about and get despicable grades get rewarded when they behave well! I'm pretty sure this isn't specific to my school but if it is, I'm extremely glad I decided to move.
Secondary schools commonly have a senior staff team that cannot wait and are desperately hungry for punishing and belittling students. There is no room for making mistakes at a secondary school because your teachers will soon forget all of the creditable things you have done over the years and immediately speak to you like you poses no rights or assets. Many secondary schools claim that once you reach sixth form you are spoken to with respect and like an adult. I have spoken to so many sixth form students that have informed me this isn't true. And even if that did happen, it should be the same for all students not just A Level students. My school and any other school that have this attitude need to have a serious re evaluation of their attitudes towards pupils and even their parents.
The social side of school can be very difficult also and stimulate a student's desire to move on. I have skipped through so many friendship groups whilst being at school. Mostly because for girls, the thirst for popularity is too much to handle and they forget which friends are their true friends which resulted in me getting dropped a fair few times because I didn't have my PE kit in a paper Jack Wills bag. Furthermore, for most of my secondary school life I have felt out of place and like I didn't belong anywhere. I've only the last year or so found a friendship group that I fit in with and get along with.
You may be wondering why I then chose to move schools after finally being accepted socially. Most of the reasons I have previously discussed when analyzing the attitudes of secondary school senior staff so I will highlight to you now why I think a college is a better environment for me.
First and foremost they encourage you to express yourself and your individuality which is key to finding who you are which is hard when you're 16-17. Secondly, they allow you to make mistakes and offer so much more support into setting things right. They offer much more facilities in terms of making important decisions such as higher education or career paths and they genuinely care about whatever you do. They wont be constantly pushing you to stay at their site. You are allowed much more freedom and space to do what you want and learn however you want which is better for young adults who will soon be expected to live independently. Moreover, you can guarantee that at a college you have much more space and will be in a much more positive enviroment which inevitably enables you to focus much more on the courses you are doing.
My advice to anybody who has had similar issues to me is simply to go somewhere else. Don't trust the school you are currently at because it's clearly not the right school for you. I had so many opportunities to move schools and was too afraid to. I kept trusting that as I got older school would get better and it never did. Move on, meet new people and try new places rather than staying in an enviroment that is unhealthy for you. Think of it as a relationship: you can't stay in an unhealthy relationship hoping it will just get better because it wont. It doesn't. No matter how numinous you feel about it, trust that it could get better if you leave and if it doesn't, you haven't lost out on anything because you weren't happy in the first place.
My advice to people who don't want to stay at a sixth form is literally to keep your mind open. You can honestly do anything you want. Don't allow people to tell you what you should be doing or what your parent's want. You can honestly do whatever you want to do. Look into some college courses or apprenticeships and see whats available to you. Make sure to go on taster days and to open evenings and just never tell yourself it's too late to change your mind because you can change your mind even when you start doing whatever it is you chose to do.
The most important thing is your happiness because if you aren't happy in what you're doing inevitably you wont be happy in the career you end up qualified for, so don't settle for anything less than what you want. If your school can't give you the A Level options you want then find another sixth form. If the college you're looking at doesn't offer the course you want find another college not another course. If your parents want you to be a lawyer and you want to be a magician tell your parents where to go. It's your life and your choice so ensure that you're happy and everyone else can figure themselves out.
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