6th form for the smart and college for thick people ?

Robbod

Robbod

Robbod

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14 Jun 2020
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48
Hi,

I was always lead to believe that post GCSE`s that if you are smart/intelligent you went to/stayed at school and went to 6th form.

But if you were thick/stupid and can`t count to 2 you went to college.

Whats your view ?
 
ttaskmaster said:
Depends what you want to study.
Colleges offer a wider range of study, often including apprenticeships, industry-specific training and even some higher learning that most school 6th Forms will not be able to offer.
It's also a change of scene, a different environment, a different way of learning and a perfect getaway if all your school mates were utter dickheads.

I'm presuming you left straight after your O-Levels, though? :D
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I did leave school after GCSE`s yes and went to college
 
ianh said:
At high school our work experience "person" back the late 80's/early 90's Stoke told us all that 6th form was only for those wishing to go to University and that it was mainly more classroom based "theory" to prepare you for that, whilst College was more for Vocational or "practical" learning so things like trades, even if the trade was quite complex and required BTEC ONC/HNC/HND etc down to simpler things like City and Guilds etc.

How accurate that breakdown we were given by our teacher was I've no idea. I'd decided since I was small what job I wanted and knew what qualifications I needed to get to do it and, as my job was a "practical" one, I picked my local college, got my qualification and got my job and never thought about doing anything differently along the way.
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Yeah that is the impression i always got
Terminal_Boy said:
At my old Grammar school in the early 1980s, the very bright kids went into 6th form and onto uni. The next tier down went into apprenticeships which featured the local polytechnic for BTEC or C&G courses. The rest went into factories and retail.
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Yeah pretty much with me also
 
Semple said:
Was it? It sounds like only you were lead to believe that.

To me 6th form always seemed a bit immature, it was essentially just an extension of secondary school - did you still have to wear a school uniform? Did you still have to refer to the teachers as Mr/Miss/Mrs? Did you still have to ask to go to the toilet? Were you given the freedoms of skipping lessons, or leaving early etc.

College was more about treating you as an adult, and letting you make your own decisions on your education. I guess less so nowadays as I believe it's mandatory to be in FTE until 18?
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I went to college
Semple said:
It seems evident based on your replies and a few others that were discussing college/6th form in the 80s and 90s that it's a generational thing.

It's certainly not been thought that way since the year 2000.
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I guess where i grew up was abit behind the times
 
{SAS}TB said:
I think it is / was a wide held belief, certainly back in the late 80's and 90's. I don't think it is the same today as there is much more scope and variety available from what I can see (and with two daughters in high school).

It is also very much horses for courses and at that age you are very much influenced by parents, careers advisors (or whatever they are called now) and your peers. I would suggest very few people at that stage have a clear view on what they want to do and how to achieve it. Some don't like the formal school / college / whatever routine and want to be out in the workplace, some want to sit about and do as little as possible, some have just "outgrown" school.

That was certainly the case for me. Enjoyed school but was very much ready to leave at 16. Had no idea what I wanted to do but didn't fancy more study and exams, or not as a full time option.

I was "lucky" in that I was offered a YTS position at a small local company and went from school, summer off into a paying job (£25 a week!) With day release and evening classes to get an ONC then HNC over 4 years. Didn't even get my GCSE results until after I started work.

Then after 4 years went to uni and did a degree. My work experience and ONC/HNC meant I could start on the second year, but only found this out the day I enrolled but went into the first year exempt from all but 1 class. That was early Tuesday evening and clashed with Fresh Prince Of Bell Air so didn't make that lesson much ....

I wouldn't class myself as thick by any stretch but went

School (GCSEs / until I was 15) > ONC (Technical College) > HNC (Technical College) > Degree (Uni although even that was stigmatised as an "Old Polly")

Don't think it did me any harm, had good work experience and life skills going into Uni. Got a full student grant as I had worked for 4 years and found most of uni "not too bad" work wise - worked very well for me

Long post but in summary it's an outdated but widely held view (or was) I didn't do 6th form and turned out OK but still no Gucci Belt (thankfully)
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When i was growing up this was the attitude.

My sister went to the best grammar school in the area we lived in and i think it would have been frowned upon if someone had gone to college from there post 16
 
Scougar said:
How many 6th forms enable someone to do mechanics, electrical work, business management etc? Not many. They focus on science, math etc. College offers skills and education actually used in the real world rather than generic maths. A levels look good on paper though when applying for uni. That's it. And to be quite frank, the first year of university is also so ridiculously easy I am stunned anyone could fail.

The idea that college is for dummies is just nonsense, but schools want to uphold the view because it gets them money. (I went to a very good grammar school btw, and still went to college because the school simply wasn't equipped for real life. They had very poor resources compared to the cities college.
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I guess but someone who does bricklaying, hair or car repair will always be looked as less intelligent than someone who did A levels
 
Haggisman said:
Only by stupid people...

Intelligence comes in many guises, I know quite a few people who are extremely 'book smart", but lack any kind of common sense - take them out of their very small and specific comfort zone and they don't have a clue what they're doing. Conversely you get those who are not "typically" smart, but are excellent problem solvers (these tend to be your mechanic/electrician/etc. types) who can fix pretty much anything once they have a basic understanding of the fundamentals.



You mean like the posters using "amount of" when really they should be using "number of"? ;)
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I agree that is a type of intelligence.

But if it is why aren't those type of skills taught in schools ?
 
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