School is just 2 weeks away... But which school?

So we're faced with this decision: would it be easier, less stressful and more enjoyable for Ben if he went back a year at school and re-did his Lower Sixth year? Why? Because last year he missed so much school (at least 60%) that it messed up his AS Level exams (we got the results last week). So it means having to so several re-sits alongside the pressure of studying for the A Levels themselves AND applying for university, etc.


The only problem would be that it would mean changing schools in order to do this. But, on the other hand, the new school is more local, is an excellent school and it would mean Ben could 'start again with a clean slate' without his peers passing judgments based on past eating disorder behaviours and so on.

So this week is Decision Time and I've told Ben that the ONLY person he should consider when making this decision is himself. He shouldn't make decisions just 'to please' other people, be it his current school or his parents. He should choose what he feels would be the easier, less stressful, more relaxed and potentially enjoyable route. Also, no-one is pushing him to go to university. He can make that decision later, when he feels ready.

My gut feeling is that he will opt to stay where he is which would mean extra studying and extra lessons. In an ideal world, this would be 'do-able', but if something like the insomnia kicks in when he starts back at school, things could go pear-shaped. After all, he'd need to be in school full time in order to cope and, thus far, he's only managed 1 or 2 full days at school...

The other potential spanner in the works was always the problem of 'sitting around all day at school doing nothing' as he put it. But he's now at a stage where he can deal with this quite successfully. He's discovered that he doesn't suddenly start to balloon out on 'so many' calories when he's sitting in lessons as opposed to exercising at home. This side of things is, thankfully, pretty much under control now.

So we're having a meeting with the Sixth Form Head on Wednesday to see what she thinks.

What does Ben think? There are pros and cons for both options. Like me, he's unsure which would be the best solution.

The trouble is, with school just 2 weeks away, we can't hang around too long before we decide what to do!