Future Voices: How did you find the transition from high school to sixth form?

Many young people find themselves struggling with self-identity, body image and social pressures during their teenhood.

However a large majority of teens also find themselves at a point in time struggling with the transition between high school and sixth-form.

Like many people, I feel that the pressure applied to young people is suffocating and unnecessary.

I feel that the education system teaches us very little about the real world and serves primarily to tick the boxes to further the never ending game of 'one-upmanship' we see in school league tables.

I had initially hoped that through my transition to sixth-form I would feel more independent and knowledgeable of myself and how I learn best – compared to my claustrophobic experience of high school.

In some instances, this is now the case, I am treated more like an adult and I now have free periods in which I am trusted to be productive and act responsibly.

I think that I have benefitted from the opportunity of private study afforded to me through sixth-form.

However, I feel that the level of understanding that sixth-form subjects warrant is difficult to achieve due to the short two-year course length.

In addition, through this year-long transition, I still believe that the way that the sixth-form system and high school system operate is really not that different - sadly it still feels like I am working towards a goal that isn't entirely my own.

Despite my transition from a very controlling environment to one which appears very relaxed, I still feel that high grades on a piece of paper are more valued than the development of students into analytical and intellectual members of society who are treated as individuals.

• Have you or someone you know experienced the transition from high school to sixth-form? Leave your experience in the comments.