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Original poster

Is it possible for a child to be held back a year?

30 replies

Drunksushi · 07/05/2023 09:59

Hello,
I’d really appreciate some advice or insights.
We are moving to England from Australia in a couple of months. Entering school in September for both my kids will be difficult:
The older one will go into Year 11 - in to the last year of the GCSE syllabus (there are no equivalent exams to GCSEs in Oz - exam year here is year 12).
The younger will go into year 8. His birthday is right at the end of August. At the moment he is in Year 6 and would not start secondary school in Australia until Jan 2024. Effectively he will miss the first year of secondary school.
Is it ever the case that children can be placed in different years? not exactly ‘held back’ but I suppose it’d be the equivalent.
It’s clearly not a normal thing in England but I wonder if there are exceptions?
It’s very difficult to get information from overseas. We’ve started the process of applying for admission with a school but they won’t speak to us directly yet.
This is the state school system, we can’t afford private education!

OP posts:
Houseplantmad · 07/05/2023 10:09

Our London secondary school won’t admit children out of chronological age group due to funding. We don’t take students into year 10 or year 11 as option blocks are full by then and GCSEs well underway. I don’t know of many schools that will admit to Y11. You may be better tutoring for Y11 and then applying for sixth form next year.
Which area are you moving to?

BlackberrySky · 07/05/2023 10:05

You would need to check with your local council, but summer born children are allowed to enter school the year below, ie instead of starting in Reception when they have just turned 4, they can start at just turned five the following year. By extension then, there could be these kids in Y7 at secondary as they continue on that pathway. To be honest though, I would be more concerned about the older one entering Y11. Effectively they will have two terms of get to grips with the curriculum of multiple subjects and then be expected to sir exams starting in late May.

advice222 · 07/05/2023 10:04

Hi, yes it is definitely possible. I work in secondary education and deal with admissions. We have admitted students into a lower year when they’ve moved from overseas, usually due to the language difference but your reasons are as valid. Most schools would not want to admit a student to Y11 so would prefer them to start Y10. Your only issue could be it the year groups were already full. Good luck!

Butterflyflytoday · 07/05/2023 10:02

I have known schools to be flexible with year 11s starting in year 10 so they do the full GCSE course. It’s less necessary for a year 8 to start in year 7 but if you think it will benefit your child then ask.

CherieBabySpliffUp · 07/05/2023 10:01

Yes, In my school a child was held back a year due to being born prematurely. It was okayed by the council I believe.

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