Getting into school

[nicisavella]

Hi! We are moving to Kingston from Cyprus in August. My DS is 8 and we were told that he would be put in Year 4 even though in Cyprus he is only in Year 2. This is because children start school at the age of 6 in Cyprus. Has anybody else faced this issue and if so, any suggestions on what i can do about it? Thanks!

[Periwinkle007]

Yes I think you would have to assume he will go into year 4 and find out what work he will need to do to try and catch up. The school will help support him catching up but if you know in advance this will be the case then perhaps try and get hold of some workbooks for Yr3 children and start looking through them with him to get an idea of any areas which he may need help with. You may well find that the 2 years in Cyprus don't leave him much behind as they are presumably more concentrated work. Most of reception in the UK is learning through play and some phonics and numbers to 10 effectively. Yr 1 then builds on that and so on. I think normally around yr 3 they expect them to learn the vast majority of their tables but I don't know any more than that as my kids are younger. The main things to focus on would be reading, writing/spelling and basic maths.

[Patchouli]

Did he have some sort of preschool education before he started school?
If so you might find it could be similar to our early years foundation stage and he's not even particularly behind.

[nicisavella]

He did pre-reception and reception before year 1. He has been attending a private school which follows the English curriculum. Thanks for your replies!

[Periwinkle007]

he will probably transfer across with very little problem then.

[nicisavella]

Thanks very much!! I feel a lot more confident now!
Have a great day!