Moving back to the UK before secondary school after starting later abroad

[Sally21222]

Good morning,

I wanted to ask those who have been through a similar experience their advice. We live in Europe (moved two years ago) my son has done two years of kindergarten and will start a bilingual school in September (aged 6) we plan to stay until he finishes primary school (4 years) and look to return to UK for him to start secondary school, I am concerned as he has started school two years later than he would have in England. I get the CGP workbooks to complete with him (year 1) but he can’t do the English / reading ones without my help. He is reading at level 3 now and will be taught to read when he starts school but my worry is that he will always be a bit behind UK - has anyone moved back to UK from Europe? Did you find your child struggled to keep up?

I doubt it will be a problem at all. The schooling system is different (neither better nor worse before that argument starts up) so you can’t directly compare year 2 year but by 11 and returning for secondary I would expect most of the differences have levelled out.

Don’t worry about CGP or stuff like that at his age, keep reading to him and getting him to read to you - as he is learning in 2 languages it can be delayed in both or one, but that is temporary.

If he enjoys puzzle books then do those.

If you are definitely going to be using state school provision then it will depend if you will be aiming for a selective gramnar school or non selective school. Non selective he will just go into the correct year for his date of birth. If you want a selective school yhrn it us possible he will not have covered the necessary material. If you want private school then there is much more flexibility and right now with rising fees and falling biryh rates there are private schools available right across the ability range.

Thank you for the responses. Hopefully when he does start school it’ll be quite serious. I just worry at the moment as it’s all play based at the kindergarten and I’ve been supplementing at home and not sure how feasible this is once he starts school. I appreciate your advice! I guess I can post an update after term 1 at school!

Ds was 7 when we moved back. Could read fluently in English but struggled in maths, phonics, writing and spelling as is dyspraxic. Got an academic scholarship at 13+ and a first at uni. It helped he had a UK teacher in grade 1 who understood what he might face going straight into year 3. Just keep the fundamentals going and use trips back and tv to connect with history, geography and culture.

Thanks. I think it’ll be a good opportunity as he’ll get really good at German which is a good skill to have, but I’ll keep up the formal English at home. I really appreciate the supportive comments - thank you.

I haven’t done the switch from Europe to UK. However my DC started school in Luxembourg and then we moved to Germany. Formal school starts at 4 in Luxembourg but the first 2 years are like a Kindergarten. However this was important for my DC to learn the Luxembourgish language (it was only English at home) unlike Germany where it is 6 for formal schooling as you said.
She moved into the German system in year 8 but as it was a school near the border she still had her French and then English later at school.
I think if your DS is at a bilingual school at 6 he will be much better prepared for going to school in the UK. And I hope you find a school in the UK that will also give him German so he doesn’t lose it if you are both from the UK.
If you and his father are both UK citizens I would also suggest that if you are going to stay for another 4 years apply for German nationality as soon as you can - then your son has options later in life. It’s 5 years residency now and dual with UK is OK.

I don’t think starting school later makes a big difference. My BF’s children started at 6 - the eldest almost 7. I don’t think they are further behind than children of their own age in other countries.

I moved back into year 4 from Europe having done all my schooling abroad. I was way ahead of my peers (particularly in maths) and when I did my reading assessment as part of my transition back I had a reading age way ahead of my actual age. The most important if you want to move back is to ensure the English language learning at home. My mum was very focused on making me read in English and I’m glad that she did as it allowed me to seamlessly fit into English school.

Work with a tutor - one with knowledge about English schools. It's how people manage here (Skandinavien).

A child age 6 in Germany learns reading and writing a lot quicker than a Reception child in England. They are soon at the same level.

DD and the son of a friend living in Germany are the same age. DD went to school at 4 and he had two more years Kindergarten. By the time both were 11 there were no differences in reading or writing. The boy also went to an international school (parents are German/Irish) and he learned both languages at school, at home they spoke English.

I so much would have preferred a late start like in Germany, the children have a very different start with better fine motor skills, social skills and understanding to learn.

Depending where you are in Germany, the last year of Kindergarten may also include basic writing, reading and simple maths so I would check with your son's setting how they prepare the children for school.

My ds was born in Germany, attended primary school in Austria and moved to the uk system when he was 8. As pp mentioned learning to read at 6 is much faster than learning in reception. When he moved to the uk system, the only subject where he was behind was ‘computing/ict’ which he started in year 6 having not done anything with computers in his Austrian school. Caught up really easily and apart from some rather elaborate cursive script there was no difference between him and his peers who had been educated in the uk system.

Thank you everyone! Really appreciate your feedback!

My nephews grew up in Germany and are trilingual (mum English, dad Italian) and went to German kindergarten then bilingual school (English/german).

Standards are about the same by end of primary.

They didn’t really struggle with English grammar or spelling because they read a lot in English at home. I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you.

I had one move back year 4 (UK) and one move back year 2.
The oldest one had successfully done Kita then year 1 and year 2 in Germany. The younger had only done Kindergarten.
Oldest one was ahead in cursive writing, a little behind in English SpaG, fine in maths and science (HSU). They caught up within 2 years on their SpaG and smashed their SATs but lost all their German in the process.
Younger one came back innumerate and illiterate but caught up within 4 years and smashed their SATs.
German as a phonetic language means their reading should be okay, most do English as part of their studies in Germany from year 3. My third child who still lives in Germany picked up her English reading using diary of a wimpy kid.
In year 4 they are all preparing for Uebertritt in any case, so will be intensive and should be okay coming back in year 7.
However, having missed their SATs in year 6, that may mean secondaries will have to use their own data for expectations (year 7 is mixed ability anyway).
You may have some weaknesses in English until they are back permanently. You need to find a secondary with German offered if you can - be warned, Spanish is increasingly popular now.
Finally, there will be reverse culture shock, do not underestimate it. Xenophobia if their German accent is strong, do not underestimate it. And although I hate the Leistungsdruck and the many kids having Nachhilfe, and the streaming and the not so hot on SEND/pastoral compared with the latter in the UK....I do think now that the German system is better by far, uni is free, mittlere Reife/Abi are a ballache to get through especially in Bavaria BUT still a much better education than you'll get in many a secondary state school here. Just warning you. Schools in England have limited budgets, limited resources, inclusion isn't working as it should, waiting lists for SEND are appalling, CAHMS is not fit for purpose and the curriculum is not accessible for everyone. Please think carefully before returning.
You are correct that KS3 year 7 transition is the right time. Or you'll get stuck. But make sure your school is a good fit because the grass may feel greener in Germany.
And the LA here will not let you repeat a year like sitzenbleiben over there, they will not care if your child is behind - they will be forced to join their correct year group according to age. Also, you often cannot apply for your place properly until you are actually back in the country.
Any questions, ask (I work in education in England but had a child at Gymnasium).
Good luck x 🍀

Remember children move country without knowing any of the new language, and settle into school quite quickly.

Knowing you have a few years... watch tv/films in Englisg, read English books etc alongside what they are doing at school and they wil be fine.

Not quite the same as mine attended English International Schools... but the biggest thing they had to learn when we moved back to the UK was the cultural references. They hadnt watched the same tv shows, done the sane swimming lessons, been to the same clubs, ... just things like that.

@Sally21222
My bilingual child started school at 6 on the continent and by the time he was 9 he had read the entire Harry Potter series in English without anyone teaching him specifically to read or write in English.
Obviously all children are different but for him it was simply a transferable skill.
By age 11 his spelling was better than mine had been at that age, even though I had been raised in the Uk, because I am dyslexic and really needed more input than I received.

In my opinion, unless your child has a specific education need, academically speaking they will be more of less of a similar level to where they would have been had they been in the Uk, especially if you read at home.

All I can say is my DC is now fluent in 4 languages but decided to study English at university. She has her bachelor and is now doing her masters. So I am proud.