Moving from US High School to UK Secondary

And ranking : ib-schools.com/league-tables/uk-top-ib-schools but many take gcse rather than following pyp and myp prior to year 12.

You need to narrow down which schools offer ib diploma and would accept without gcses. If you plan to remain in uk long term it would be worth taking English and Maths gcse at least since most employers expect it. List here: www.ibo.org/programmes/find-an-ib-school/?SearchFields.Region=&SearchFields.Country=GB&SearchFields.Keywords=&SearchFields.Language=&SearchFields.BoardingFacilities=&SearchFields.SchoolGender=&SearchFields.ProgrammeDP=true

@tennissquare thank you. My main question right now is :

My question is, has anyone had an experience of moving to the UK and their teen going straight into the 2 year IB programme. How was that for them. We have UK passports and NZ passports so not daughter will not be an international student.

@Keryne , you should start with ACS Cobham to get an idea of the cost / difficultly.

@tennissquare sorry just new to mumsnet, no not yet. Thinking of Surrey, Woking area.

You would do best to start a new thread with where you will be based in the U.K. and the age of your dd. As you may know state places are allocated by the post code of where you live so you can't apply until you have a home in the uk. Private schools and further education colleges can offer options but your dd needs to be in the school year so aged 16 on 1 Sept 2024 (or turning 17 on that day). She will need to pass an exam to be offered a place at a private school that takes international students.
Re university, you need to be resident in the uk for 3 continual years to apply as a home student for home fees, it's worth arriving in the uk as soon as possible to build up the time if you are considering a Uk uni.

No not yet. Any suggestions?

@Keryne , do you have a place lined up at a private school already?

Hi, we are moving from NZ to UK for Sept 2024 school year. My daughter will begin the IB as will have missed out on GCSE and A Levels as will be over 16. My question is, has anyone had an experience of this and how difficult is it for them to go straight into the IB without having known the teachers etc. Any advise or opinions appreciated.

Due to the US airforces bases at Mildenhall and Lakenheath plus all the international movement around the science park and uni in Cambridge im sure the schools in East Anglia are quite use to students moving with international qualifications. Try Framlingham College in Suffolk and Greshams in Norfolk.
Greshams has an IB programme and Btec options which are a practical option to A levels - the agricultural course is meant to be amazing. It also has a Dyson state of the art STEAM centre.

Over the decades a multiple waves of immigrants arrived to UK. Most recently Ukrainians. They simply went to the age related year. Only those who didn't know English had a big challenge.

ultimately the school will have the discretion to admit or not. I lead a sixth form college, we have taken students from all over the world. Depending on the subjects they want to take we do sometimes ask for them to sit an entrance test (maths, science, languages where specific prior knowledge is required). The only students we have had transfer from the American education system in recent years have struggled though. One returned to the American system, the other had to resit his first year. The assessment methods were just so different - all testing in the USA had been multiple choice (I realise this won’t always be the case but it was in his high school) and he really struggled with long answer essay style questions. We’ve had much more success with students from Australia and New Zealand. And as previous posters said there will be an expectation of Maths and English at GCSE unless the student already has an equivalent qualification

Some schools/ colleges might give an assessment to check levels.

Id suggest moving for GCSE or once meet uni entry reqs.

We would check the level and allocate an appropriate level course. Some countries don’t have a GCSE equivalent and jump from junior cert type (Below GCSE) to senior (level 3 A level equivalent).

So it must be possible to move from American teaching into IB, the USA schools don't have formal external exams prior to IB starting.

I would be trying to find an IB school.
International schools do it after GCSES and quite a few American schools offer it as well in my State.

There would be no gcse requirement to enter year 12 and they tend to attract expat and international families. Still might be an issue longer term though as gcses or equivalent in English and Maths are expected in UK.

And how would that help OP?

It depends, there are Primary Years and Middle Years IB programmes which precede the diploma and can be taught in lieu of national curriculum and gcses, but few schools in UK offer it and those that do are fee paying.

Isn't IB an alternative rather to A- levels for older kids? To take IB you have to have GCSE or comparative exam

My DD has just started 6th form college after doing GCSEs and has made friends with a girl who moved here from America in August. The first question my DD asked her was how she got into college without GCSEs. Apparently she got her diploma 2 years early and that has enabled her to transfer to 6th form.

From what I understand (I've never met the girl but she hangs out with DD a lot), she's half British and half American.

Many Sixth Forms (but not all) will offer Maths and English resit lessons alongside A-Levels. Any (state) Sixth Form will need to show that either the student is studying Maths and English GCSE, or has passed it. (If they are taking Maths A-Level however, the student is exempt from the maths GCSE course.)