Where to Live?

This is really important. She could join in January which is traditionally mock exams for 2-3 weeks and then results etc. Feb / March would be final topics on GCSE curriculum - off for Easter then exam prep / revision lessons for a couple of weeks before study leave in May - so she wouldn’t be taught very much. Of course she will likely have covered the content already but she also will need specific GCSE grades to get through to the 6th form or the school or apply for a different college. So that might be an important consideration for you - do you only want schools that she can stay on for 6th form or are you happy for her to join for a term + exam term and then move on to a new college.

@Abcdefgh1234 But he works in Hammersmith so makes much more sense to be south.

Cambridge. Definitely cambridge. Good secondary school. Only 50mins by train straight to london kings cross

If she turns 15 in August she should go into y11, but you do may be able to apply for a place in y10 - each school should have a clause in their admissions policy about applying for places out of chronological age group - our school says it can be done in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the school governors.

If she's bright, she'll be fine starting in January of year 10 - you may need to use tutors to catch up or there are lots of online resources - she could use the months between now and then to study the main GCSE subjects on BBC Bitesize or Oak National Academy. Don't let the mumsnet doom-mongers put you off.

I live in Richmond Borough and all the schools here are good or outstanding. There are other boroughs with great schools too - I think someone started a similar thread a week or two ago, so maybe look out for that one.

Would you consider an online school for your DD such as Kings Interhigh? It’s private but cheaper than most independent school. Your DD could possibly start year 10 in September while you are still in SA so your DD doesn’t miss the first term. Then you could look at local state school options for 6th form.

@MumOfTwoMovingToUK Year 11 in UK is a short year as that is when formal exams take place. If your DD starts in January she will be starting just after/during mock exams. Jan to March is learning final topics and from then on it is exam prep. Schooling for year 11s finishes in May and then children go on study leave only returning for exams and once these have finished (June) they have finished their secondary schooling.

Your DD would only gain entry to a school with vacancies and if none are available locally she could be sent to any school with a space. I doubt she would be able to start in Year 10. You need to speak to a specialist in education to get the correct information and best advice for your circumstances. As previously suggested track down an ex SA pat forum.

But you may well not have a choice of schools. It is pure chance whether there will be a space in y11 at any school of your choosing at the right time, let alone one which would accept her into y10. Your dh could move somewhere in October but there be no places locally at Christmas. The LA only has to offer you a place in y11, but that may be at a less good school or one a "reasonable" travel time away.

If she's bright, and you can get her into year 10 rather than year 11, she would probably be able to catch up. It's a real pity that you can't get a school place fixed until you are here, because if you knew where she was going in the January, a lot of schools may have distance learning materials for the autumn term that they used in 2020, and they might be able to supply some of that. If you can find a school that looks fairly certain to have places (there's unlikely to be much movement after September of year 10, so if they've got a few spaces then, you should be safe) then they might be helpful in providing something for the autumn term.

Agree that you would be better looking on an SA-specific Facebook group, to get advice relevant to covering the gap from SA schools. The curriculum is very different in terms of content and delivery and the levels don't tie up at all.
It will also be difficult for your son, don't underestimate how much catching up he will need to do.
Will you be working?
In terms of where to live, there are plenty of nice, safe areas with good schools in every direction from London. Have you spent much time in the UK or do you know people who have already made the move?
Can your husband's employer provide access to an education consultant?

I’m not sure about in year school entry but I think Hampshire would be a worthwhile county to look at. Basingstoke or winchester. State schools in winchester are very good and I know Henry Beaufort weren’t at maximum capacity in the upper year groups when my last child was there so might be easier than Westgate or kings. Things may have changed since then though.

I’m thinking English Language, Literature might be more difficult.

You would probably do best to find a SA expat group on Facebook and find someone who has made a similar journey as it's very difficult for your dd to find a state school that will be suitable for her. Maybe you could home school her from Jan-July 2023 and send her to a sixth form college but even for Sept 2023 start the closing date for applications is this Sept 22 (Esher College) and she need to have selected her 3 A levels when making the application.

Would home schooling for two terms be an option? If she is at a grammar school equivalent and doing well, it may be that she could tackle gcses in English, Maths, science.. especially if you got some help from a tutor. Then she could start sixth form afresh.

You might find a private school or "crammar"(intensive college) willing to take her out of year but in state schools it is very unusual, takes much negotiating while time is not on your side. As above timetables and class groups will be established even if she were accepted into y10 and not all subjects would be feasible to start mid way through. Some schools start the syllabus in y9 and the groundwork laid in previous years. Has she followed a UK curriculum at all? Does she need EAL support?

Loads of reasons to wait until sixth form, I'm afraid.

• you may well struggle to find a school that will take her out of year, so she'd be starting Year 11 a few months before exams
• timetables will have been set, for either Y10 or Y11, so she'll have to slot into the subject option combinations available
• you probably won't be able to apply until she's resident (it won't be enough that your husband has already arrived), so it could be a wait before a place comes up
• she'll be moving at a time when very few others will be moving, so she'll be one of very few 'new girls'

Moving at sixth form would be totally different. Loads of pupils move schools for sixth form, both locally and internationally, so it should be much easier to form friendships. If you time it right, she should hopefully have a good choice of schools and subjects.

You say you're worried about her catching up, but many international students come to the UK just for the sixth form and do extremely well, including in very academic schools. Does your daughter have fluent English? Is she at a good school at the moment?

Where are you coming from ? Have your kids been in an international school over there ?

15 is the worst age to move her. Sixth form would be better.

Hi OP the issue is that state schools typically don’t take children out of year and even private schools are getting more reluctant, based on my own discussions about DD ( also august born).

where are you now? Do you have any sense of how the curriculums compare in terms of content?

You may need to consider an international private school given the challenges already mentioned for your 15 year old. The American School in Cobham might be a good choice.

Bristol is about an hour and a half train journey from Paddington Station. However you will also need to factor in the walk/drive/cycle/bus/taxi to the station at the Bristol end as there's no underground or tram system in Bristol.

So sorry don’t know why I thought you were coming from the US. I see you don’t say.

Hi op I'd you don't mind me asking, what country are you moving from?

Op if your daughter is 15 in August she would be in yr 11 (GCSE year) in December. That’s going to be impossible I would say. Yy is there any way she can stay in the US until she has taken whatever the GCSE equivalent is and then come here in September 2023 for sixth form?

When ppl talk about a limited choice of GCSEs, I think they mean that if you slot in to a year, you have to take the options where there is space or those that fit into the timetable so you may not have the free choice you might have had. And also Yy there are many compulsories so there are only 2-3 choice at all.