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Original poster

Would you take your kids out of school to go travelling?

85 replies

Travellingtime123 · 05/04/2025 06:59

We’re in a very fortunate position to have the opportunity to take our kids travelling for a year if we want to. We just need to decide if it’s a good idea.

  • We’ve lived abroad for a decade and we’re planning to come back to the UK. We’ll be changing jobs/schools anyway so could take a gap year before we come back.
  • The kids will be 9 and 7 (we’d come back to the UK in time for them to start year 6 and 4).
  • We own a home in the UK so we know where we’re moving back to. Although I have no idea how this would affect school applications etc.
  • Both kids like travelling (we’ve done a lot since they were babies), we’ve done full summers but at a pretty slow pace and obviously only for 7 weeks during summer holidays.
  • Both kids are doing well academically at school, we’d do some home schooling whilst we travel but it obviously isn’t the same as being in school.
  • Both kids are very sociable and make friends easily. They also get on well with each other (usually!)
  • Financially we could do it pretty comfortably without having to make too many other compromises (I realize how fortunate this is).
  • Family would fly out and meet us at various points for a couple of weeks at a time.

In our position would you do it?
If so, where would you go? I’d love to hear tips from anyone who has done it or anyone who homeschools kids this age.

OP posts:
Original poster
Travellingtime123 · 05/04/2025 10:40

cantkeepawayforever · 05/04/2025 10:32

A fully grammar area? In that case, ignore my comment about SATs - the main issue you have is specific 11+ prep, as the exams are taken right at the start of Y6.

  • Check registration dates for 11+ - is it an opt-in or opt-out process?
  • Identify the precise 11+ format for the area - VR/NVR or whatever.
  • Study the admissions criteria and degree of selection for your target schools. Some have a catchment area where a lower mark will gain a place: check date that you need to be in residence in that area to count as ‘in catchment’.
  • Based on the above, consider how much specific preparation is needed. For super-selective grammars serving large areas, parents arranging weekly coaching / tutoring (sometimes on top of private schooling in schools that pride themselves on grammar prep) for at least a year before the test is the norm. For ‘take top 25% of the cohort’ in more deprived areas of fully grammar counties, much less focused familiarisation is fine.
  • Being ‘generally bright’ genuinely isn’t sufficient to succeed in more competitive 11+ areas. Having taught in one, highly coached less able students typically outperform very, very able children who have done little specific preparation.
  • Select preparation materials specific for your area - the 11+ forum is very useful for this.

That’s really helpful to know, thank you! I wasn’t in a grammar area and DH went 25 years ago when things were very different!

It’s definitely something we’ll research further before making any decisions (we are in the very fortunate position of being able to afford private schools if they don’t get into grammar school or one of the better comprehensives).
It might also be an option for DS to have some additional online tutoring whilst we’re away to focus on 11+.

Thank you so much for the information, I definitely gives me a starting point.

OP posts:
spicemaiden · 05/04/2025 10:35

Yes

Original poster
Travellingtime123 · 05/04/2025 10:32

SomeonesSomething · 05/04/2025 10:18

Same here.

And the longer I'm in it (20 years this year) and the more I see of homeschooled children the more I think that, done well, home school can be a fantastic option.

Twinkl home ed stuff will give you an idea of the key skills they'll missing so you can minimise any gaps. And I agree that maths and English are the only subjects you'll need to think about.

What a fantastic opportunity for you all!

Show quote history

And @Hellodarknessmyoldfrien that’s really reassuring and helpful to know. We hope that travelling will be a learning experience in itself (they’ve loved Rome, Athens, Egypt and Petra so I’m fairly confident they’ll enjoy the cultural/historical/educational stuff as well as the more typical ‘holiday’ activities).
They’re both quite keen to learn so hopefully between DH, me and online tutors we can make sure they cover the core bits of the curriculum.
My brother suggested Twinkl too so I’ll definitely look into that.

OP posts:
cantkeepawayforever · 05/04/2025 10:32

A fully grammar area? In that case, ignore my comment about SATs - the main issue you have is specific 11+ prep, as the exams are taken right at the start of Y6.

  • Check registration dates for 11+ - is it an opt-in or opt-out process?
  • Identify the precise 11+ format for the area - VR/NVR or whatever.
  • Study the admissions criteria and degree of selection for your target schools. Some have a catchment area where a lower mark will gain a place: check date that you need to be in residence in that area to count as ‘in catchment’.
  • Based on the above, consider how much specific preparation is needed. For super-selective grammars serving large areas, parents arranging weekly coaching / tutoring (sometimes on top of private schooling in schools that pride themselves on grammar prep) for at least a year before the test is the norm. For ‘take top 25% of the cohort’ in more deprived areas of fully grammar counties, much less focused familiarisation is fine.
  • Being ‘generally bright’ genuinely isn’t sufficient to succeed in more competitive 11+ areas. Having taught in one, highly coached less able students typically outperform very, very able children who have done little specific preparation.
  • Select preparation materials specific for your area - the 11+ forum is very useful for this.
SomeonesSomething · 05/04/2025 10:18

Hellodarknessmyoldfrien · 05/04/2025 08:31

Yes absolutely do it.
I'm a primary teacher. In terms of gaps, the only subjects you need to worry about are English and maths. Pay for a Twinkl subscription and use their Home Ed resources to keep them up with the maths and English curriculum.

Same here.

And the longer I'm in it (20 years this year) and the more I see of homeschooled children the more I think that, done well, home school can be a fantastic option.

Twinkl home ed stuff will give you an idea of the key skills they'll missing so you can minimise any gaps. And I agree that maths and English are the only subjects you'll need to think about.

What a fantastic opportunity for you all!

Original poster
Travellingtime123 · 05/04/2025 10:10

cantkeepawayforever · 05/04/2025 09:39

Is the area you are moving back to an 11+ / grammar area? Or one with a comprehensive education system for secondary?

It’s a grammar area (which is an additional consideration, I think they’re both bright enough to get in but that does make having potential gaps more of an issue). Although we could pay for private if we thought it was best for them.

OP posts:
cantkeepawayforever · 05/04/2025 09:39

Is the area you are moving back to an 11+ / grammar area? Or one with a comprehensive education system for secondary?

Original poster
Travellingtime123 · 05/04/2025 09:36

DustyLee123 · 05/04/2025 07:47

I’d do it, but I would want the oldest in school for the full year 6, to make sure they’re at the same level and for high school applications.

That’s our plan, we’d leave when term ends in June/July of year 4 (or year 2 for DD) and then be back for 13 months later to start year 6 (or year 4) in the September.

OP posts:
Original poster
Travellingtime123 · 05/04/2025 08:33

TheCountofMountingCrispBags · 05/04/2025 07:51

New Zealand. Such a variety of scenery, particularly all the volcanic activity (boiling mud, lakes of the most amazing colours), interesting native people (better integrated than in Austraalia, Kiwi's not quite as keen to put them on settlements in the middle of nowhere!)
Mountains, plains, windy roads, gorges, 90-mile beach...
Amazing!

That does sound amazing. We all love being outdoors and exploring- I’ve seen pictures of the scenery and it does look fantastic

OP posts:
Original poster
Travellingtime123 · 05/04/2025 08:32

cantkeepawayforever · 05/04/2025 08:07

If you have been abroad for years, with your children educated outside the English school system, they will anyway have gaps and differences in precisely how things have been taught.

Your older child will come back into Y6 - I presume to start it in September - which is inevitably very testing (SATs) focused. This will make their gaps more visible. However, once that year is done, they will start secondary and much of the specific SATs content will either be never mentioned again (grammar and many aspects of writing) or largely re-taught (Maths)

How this affects you depends on the character of your child - if they are robust, cheerful and can cope with ‘doing things wrong / getting relatively low marks compared with their ability’ for a bit, then none of the above should bother you. If they are a more anxious or perfectionist child, then you may want to very specifically focus on Maths, Grammar and to an extend writing (especially specific grammatical features that should be included) using the 2014 National Curriculum documents as your guide and probably structured KS2 workbooks for Y5 and maybe Y6 (to identify gaps) to give them confidence.

They’re currently in a British curriculum school so hopefully they shouldn’t find it too hard when we get back. They are both very confident, outgoing and resilient (I don’t think it would work or be fair on them if they weren’t).

@Westun the tutor suggestion is a great idea (I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it). It would be really helpful to have sessions with someone who knows the curriculum and what to cover. We’d probably aim to do 2-3 hours a day and possibly spend some time at world schools so they can socialize. My brother is a primary teacher and will travel with us during school holidays so he’ll help too (although I don’t want to ask too much so an online tutor would be ideal)

OP posts:
Hellodarknessmyoldfrien · 05/04/2025 08:31

Yes absolutely do it.
I'm a primary teacher. In terms of gaps, the only subjects you need to worry about are English and maths. Pay for a Twinkl subscription and use their Home Ed resources to keep them up with the maths and English curriculum.

Oganesson118 · 05/04/2025 08:22

No

SaladSandwichesForTea · 05/04/2025 08:11

I'd I'm absolutely honest, I'd focus on the short European breaks now and do the travelling when they're older.

I do get the travel bug though 🛩

SaladSandwichesForTea · 05/04/2025 08:10

Will the schools hold their place or will you meed to potentially put them in new/seperate schools for primary and then the eldest change again for secondary?

cantkeepawayforever · 05/04/2025 08:07

If you have been abroad for years, with your children educated outside the English school system, they will anyway have gaps and differences in precisely how things have been taught.

Your older child will come back into Y6 - I presume to start it in September - which is inevitably very testing (SATs) focused. This will make their gaps more visible. However, once that year is done, they will start secondary and much of the specific SATs content will either be never mentioned again (grammar and many aspects of writing) or largely re-taught (Maths)

How this affects you depends on the character of your child - if they are robust, cheerful and can cope with ‘doing things wrong / getting relatively low marks compared with their ability’ for a bit, then none of the above should bother you. If they are a more anxious or perfectionist child, then you may want to very specifically focus on Maths, Grammar and to an extend writing (especially specific grammatical features that should be included) using the 2014 National Curriculum documents as your guide and probably structured KS2 workbooks for Y5 and maybe Y6 (to identify gaps) to give them confidence.

Westun · 05/04/2025 08:01

Absolutely yes I would! There might be UK based online tutors that you could use for the child going into y6 - but this would depend on the time difference between the uk and wherever you end up.

Zippidydoodah · 05/04/2025 08:01

In your situation, I’d do it in a heartbeat. What a fantastic opportunity!

GreySkirt · 05/04/2025 08:00

Covid anyone?

Your two are the ages mine were when they pretty much missed a years worth of school (Scotland, state). A 10 minute worksheet a day was enough for swathes of children and no interaction with friends family & no travel either.

And they’re fine…

Absolutely go for it! I’m jealous!

herbalteabag · 05/04/2025 07:53

I would definitely do it at that age, better now than later. I would also try and keep up with the missed work as much as possible - I don't think it would be as hard as you think to do that without impacting too much on your adventure.

Purpleturtle43 · 05/04/2025 07:52

Travellingtime123 · 05/04/2025 07:43

It’s the year they’d being going into (we’d homeschool whilst travelling for year 5 and 3). It’s the main thing that gives me pause, I care about their education and don’t want them to have gaps

Show quote history

I'm a teacher so obviously value education but I love travelling myself and strongly agree that a great deal of education happens outside the classroom too. I think it sounds like a great opportunity for you all.

I would either scrap the home schooling and put them into the year below or make sure you are doing a proper job of home schooling and teaching the whole literacy and numeracy curriculum as best you can so there aren't gaps. In the classroom the pupils would usually do about an hour of numeracy and perhaps 1.5 hours of literacy a day, however you would probably manage it in less given there is a much smaller ratio of children to adults.

Travelling should give plenty reading and writing opportunities. There are loads of great online resources you can use too. The other curricular areas should be taken care of as part of your travels!

TheCountofMountingCrispBags · 05/04/2025 07:51

New Zealand. Such a variety of scenery, particularly all the volcanic activity (boiling mud, lakes of the most amazing colours), interesting native people (better integrated than in Austraalia, Kiwi's not quite as keen to put them on settlements in the middle of nowhere!)
Mountains, plains, windy roads, gorges, 90-mile beach...
Amazing!

bettyboo9 · 05/04/2025 07:50

Go forth and enjoy that special time. Your children will learn far more in that special year than a year at school and also make friends along the way. What a wonderful opportunity.

Sirzy · 05/04/2025 07:50

Go for it!

but do be aware that if they are in a state school the place won’t be held for them so they may end up having to go to a different school

MissJeanBrodiesmother · 05/04/2025 07:49

They probably will have gaps. You just have to decide how important that is. You also have to consider whether you will be able to get them back into the schools you want them in. I would also question whether travelling around for a year is what a child those ages would enjoy or need. An adult would love it. A child might prefer a more normal life at school with friends, families, playdates and just holidays.

OneWaryCat · 05/04/2025 07:48

Go. It sounds amazing. You'll never have the opportunity to have so much time together again and they are young enough to catch up in school. It also sounds as those you are well off and educated enough to help with any future needs of your children, so I don't see this year off affecting them in the long run. (E.g studies that show children who miss school are more likely to live in poverty as adults etc)