Is la swap a good sixth form?

Answer 1

Just to say, I know I'm gonna sound like a twat but this all based on the account of friends who have been through the system and having been to one of the schools and seen how it all works and unfolds

Overall I would say that the idea of La Swap doesn't really work. By that I mean the idea that when students finish their GCSEs they are tired of being in a structured learning environment and want more independence and would prefer that teachers leave them alone. Fair enough thats part of growing up but from what I've seen its still too early to give people all that independence, especially in the context of AS exams which are a big step up. During free periods at La Swap, students are not required to be anywhere and there is a tendency for students to sit on the heath, not come in/go home. This might work for some but I think it lowers the work ethic. I'm speaking as someone who went somewhere where study periods were like registered compulsory lessons; you sat in a room with people and did silent work and it meant people got a lot done.

There isn't much of a discipline system as well. If you don't hand work in then....well you just dont hand it in and it doesn't get followed up. Teachers tend not to use school emails meaning they can't keep students up to date with homework room changes ect. the sixth form I went to was completely email based so there was never an excuse for not doing work. Even in the admissions process they say people have to get certain grades to study a levels there, which one would hope screens out the people who aren't as serious. Don't be fooled, they let people who get Cs and Ds in GCSE do subjects like Maths English and Chemistry. Don't judge me for saying that but in 2012 about 40% of people got kicked out for not getting more than 4 E grades at AS so it speaks for itself.

The fact that La Swap is so big means its hard to keep track or everyone, Students and teachers and you can end up feeling alienated. There also isn't much in the way of extra curricular activities such as student voice (prefects+head girl head boy ect). There are good sports opportunities though. La Swap is a great idea - it being all open and having lots of subjects but I don't think it works - people just aren't mature enough to deal with all the freedoms. You could say that the success of a school depends upon the people who attend it but what happens is all the bright spark people leave at the end of year 11 because they want a sixth form where people take things more seriously.

At the end of the day, it depends what kind of sixth form education your looking for. If you want to attend a college-like environment then this is the place but If you want a serious structured school like education I would look elsewhere. But there are some fantastic teachers there who I guarantee will make every effort to help you. I know people who went there who are now at Oxford and Cambridge so it clearly works for some