Live Life Team
Once you finish school, at the end of year 11, you will have to decide what to do next; you can simply leave, as compulsory education has finished or you can choose to stay in education, in which case you have a number of choices. You may have heard the term sixth-form mentioned, but do not really understand what it means. The name itself is actually very outdated and doesn’t mean much in the current education system.
The sixth-form used to be the next step when the high school years were three, four and five, making six the next natural step. Years ago, this sixth year was normally taken within the same school, but today sixth-forms are separated, as the middle school was largely abolished. High schools took the top two years of middle schools and primary schools had to keep children for two years longer. For many schools, space became an issue as they had to take two extra years worth of children, so many high schools stopped offering a sixth form, meaning you had no choice but to transfer to a college to take your ‘A’ levels.
A few fortunate schools had the space to continue offering both, so this is what sixth-form means, staying at the school you are already at to do ‘A’ levels, because they have the capacity. This solution has the benefit of offering continuity within the structure of the school, which may be best for your learning style.
