Talk:sixth form

What is the origin of this term? Sixth form of WHAT? Anybody know? I'll keep looking, but there doesn't seem to be any logic to it unless you divide 12 years by 2. Then WHAT DOES THAT have to do with anything?

• In the olden days (when I was at school) we didn't use the American system of counting the years at school all the way from infants to when you left. The "first form" was the first year at secondary school (after the eleven-plus). Most people left after the fifth form i.e. when they were about 15 years old. SemperBlotto 16:23, 19 June 2009 (UTC)

Yes. The "first form" has been called Year 7 for a long time now, since it is the seventh year of compulsory education. Add five years and you get Year 12, which is the start of sixth form. Equinox ◑ 00:40, 13 July 2017 (UTC)

Sixth form is a term that’s still used in public schools. At King Edward’s School, Birmingham (KES) the year groups are, in ascending order: Shell(s), Remove(s) (or rem(s)), Upper Middle(s) (or UM(s)), Fourths, Fifths, Division(s) (or div(s)) and Sixths. At the adjacent King Edward’s High School for Girls (KEHS), the order is as follows: Lower Thirds, Upper Thirds, Lower Fourths, Upper Fourths, Lower Fifths, Upper Fifths, Sixths. Most of these meaning are missing at Wiktionary apart from Removes and Divisions which are defined at least a little differently. For that matter, break(time) was formally called ‘recess’ much like in America but most people just said ‘break’. Overlordnat1 (talk) 07:51, 10 July 2022 (UTC)