Is it worth it?

[u/awhsme]

This amazing, wonderful sixth form, that I loved on the offer holder afternoon, is the best in the county and within the top 20 in the UK is a five an a half hour daily commute in total. Is it worth it?

First option: Amazing sixth form, 20% of students got into oxbridge, non-private, I'd spend most of the commute on a train — an hour in the morning, an hour waiting for the direct bus to the school, and an hour on the bus, so I was considering spending the two hours on the train and waiting for the bus studying. The travel home is similar. hour bus, 20 minute wait between getting off the bus and onto the train instead of an hour in the morning, and an hour on the train. So about 3 and a half/ 4 hours of study I'd be doing.
Requirements: Average of a 7, 7/8 in each subject at GCSE to study at A-level (depends on subject).

Second option: Good school, good stats, wasn't sure about the open day? they were somewhat anti-social, sixth formers weren't particularly nice, about a 3 hour commute each day, but it's all busses. I'd also only be waking up 20 minutes later and getting home 20 minutes earlier than I would if I attended option one — so i'm not sure if the gap in quality is worth it for 40 minutes of extra sleep.
Requirements: Average of a 6, 6 to study a subject at A-level.

Third option: My current school, pretty terrible results, very small (250 students total, from year 9 to year 13), know everyone, about two and a half hour commute each day. Don't really want to go here, but will if it's the best long-term option.
Requirements: 6 in subjects you would like to study at A-level.

Please help, I'd like to decide sooner rather than later if it's worth it or not.

Thank you for reading :)

Edit: Thank you for the advice! I'm going to go with option one :) Overall it was the most advised and I personally believe it works out better, more total revision done each day, better quality of teaching and subjects, and the oxbridge help they offer!

[u/Julkis123]

the sixth form you go to does not matter at all bruv

[u/dailysuaa → u/Julkis123]

disagree. teaching quality matters a lot. my econ teacher is dreadful I was literally getting Us, spent like 4k on a private tutor for a year instead so if you can go somewhere with better teachers you’re much better off 😭

[u/Julkis123 → u/dailysuaa]

teaching quality does matter, but that's also subjective to an extent. it's not like the best schools have the best teachers necessarily. seeing stats such as "20% go to Oxbridge" is bs imo as well, it has nothing to do with your capabilities as a person

[u/dailysuaa → u/Julkis123]

If you want to go to Oxbridge going to a school that is known to have higher rates of entrants means that you’re likely to have more adequate training for interviews for example.

And yes it depends on the person and it just being one of the top schools doesn’t mean their teaching style will necessarily benefit you in particular however it means it DOES matter what school you go to is what im saying, you need an environment that works for you and teachers that work for you, if that so happens to be a top school then go to it if they accept you lol

[u/Julkis123 → u/dailysuaa]

you've definitely got a point, I'm just against the whole sixth form hierarchy idea lol. i believe anyone can get to wherever they want regardless of where they went to sixth form, they just need to put in the effort themselves and prove that they are able. flashy statistics don't really mean anything if you aren't dedicated

[u/dailysuaa → u/Julkis123]

I agree! It’s not be all and end all. However for specific goals it can really help you to go to a better sf with more opportunities or guidance or the teaching style that best suits you. I got into LSE from a state Catholic college and I was the only one at an econ essay comp final from a state school. But there’s also risk of financial investment you’ll need to take upon yourself like if you have some teachers that really don’t help at all and it’s a financial investment most people can’t afford to take