The Sixth Form Years

A reflection on time at sixth form, becoming and adult and moving on

At sixteen, school was over but university was still years away. Two long years that felt like they would last forever. Two long years that felt like they would never end.

In the meantime I just had to get through sixth form and focus on my A levels. Heading into classes on the first day, this felt like it was going to be brilliant. A break from my old school which was badly funded and full of disruptive teenagers who didn’t want to be there. I was now learning alongside like minded young adults who chose every morning to get up and come to college.

It was a completely different atmosphere from the off - it was a melding of schools (and school cultures) from all over the North East of England. Yet it felt like for almost everyone I met, we should have been friends already. We had so much in common - we liked the same music, we studied the same topics, we had the same attitudes to life.

With friends from school it was often a friendship in spite of how we met - these were friendships created because of how we met.

Little did we know in those first few days that we would form some of the strongest friendships, the most intense relationships and the best nights out - only for us to drift apart years later. In this stage of our lives, we lived it as if it would last forever, but we were just in a holding pattern. We were preparing ourselves for adulthood and for university, jobs and our lives beyond.

Despite the overriding pressure of A levels, sixth form felt like a much more relaxed environment. It was no longer mandatory - if you wanted to mess up your chances by skipping classes then that was just up to you. Nobody was going to tell you off - it was your responsibility.

The balance of work and leisure time also felt less restrictive. There was more self study time and free periods than there were formal lessons. Lots of time to go to the library, work on your homework, revise for exams and set yourself up for success. Except, I don’t think anybody actually did that.

What we did instead was hang out in the common room. Somewhere between a cafeteria and a youth club it was the hub for the whole college. Groups slowly formed over the first few weeks and their usual spots and tables became established. To start with, we’d kill the time by playing pool, chatting, playing music and very occasionally, studying. Over time though, we’d slowly unlock new abilities and freedoms.

It would start with the first of us getting a driving licence - now we could feasibly leave and come back in between classes. Then once a few started turning 18, we could start to blag a group of us into the pub, or the bookies. Nothing ever very serious during the day, the odd pint at lunch or £5 on a horse (usually shared between us) - after all, we were all good students at heart.

At night though - it was a different story. These new freedoms and an injection of cash (from the governments new Education and Learning Allowance) meant that distances shrunk and options opened. Between us we could start to cobble together an adult lifestyle.

Not all of us could drive, and not all of us were old enough to drink legally. But once we had a few over 18s with proper ID - we could usually blag the last couple in (even the baby faced among us). A few people could drive and borrow their Mums car that we could all pile into. Between us we could afford a minibus to get home after a night out and one of us probably had a rough idea where we should go.

With those few adjustments and a bit of planning - we were now proper adults.

The memories I made on those nights out stay with me to this day. I still remember it being £1.52 for a pint in a Samuel Smiths pub (this was before they outlawed the fun in them). During the week you’d collect up all the 2p pieces you could for risk of spending the rest of the night with loads of loose change in your pockets.

After every night we’d go to GiGis Pizza and order a Parmo or “London Pizza”, two Middlesbrough delicacies.

We’d occasionally get lost because mobile phones were still pretty new and someone would forget theirs - or we’d be out of credit. But there was a simple rule - we’re going out drinking and making it to The Empire by 11:00. We’ll see you there.

The music scene was made up of what were affectionately called “Landfill Indie” bands. Largely interchangeable but incredibly fun bands with catchy guitar riffs and a signature sound which is completely reminiscent of the time. Ironically, these bands now have huge millennial followings and can sell out tours and arenas to this day.

This went on every week - every Thursday night in particular. Always the same and always great fun. But although we didn’t appreciate it at the time, this whole lifestyle had an in built time limit. We had two years to complete our A Levels and then either find a job, or go to university. Being from a deprived Northern town - the preferred route for most of us was to find a university.

That would mean we were scattered to Manchester, Newcastle, Loughborough, Portsmouth, London and other equally far away parts of the country. We’d all be back for summer holidays, but our lives moved on and moved further apart. Less of what we loved about Middlesbrough remained and many of us (including me) have never really returned other than to visit family.

Every now and again you might bump into someone in the pub, call out their teenage nickname and have them say “haha - nobody has called me that in years!”. We’ll always share those times, and I think if we all met up again today we’d share enough in common to remain friends. At least I like to hope this is the case anyway...

We didn’t know it at the time, but there was a Thursday night in The Empire that was our last all together. Childhood, school and sixth form friends would part ways and gradually drift apart. Not because of any huge decision, but lots of little ones that build over time to create a bigger shift.

It’s funny that the main reason we went to sixth form at all was to prepare for university and for adult life - we may have missed the fact that we were starting to live it already. In fact those two years may have been some of the most formative experiences that would go on to have a profound effect on who we are today. And although the pubs and clubs have changed names and closed down, the people have moved away, the time has passed - there is still a part of it that we all carry with us.

So, although sixth form is a transitional time and one with a defined time limit - it was never lived that way. I expect for lots of young people now - it isn’t lived that way today either. It’s your first time becoming an adult and a huge number of milestones are reached and accomplished. Driving licences, first pints, first nights out, first sex and relationships. It can be one of the best times of your life, but unfortunately it can’t last forever.