AIBU to turn down Australia job offer because son has started A levels?

[FergussSingsTheBlues]

My husband has been offered a job in Australia. Neither is us can find full time work in the uk and we know we’ll need to sell our house in two years if this carries on. We are relieved to say the least. We’ve both lived abroad plenty so it’s something we know we can deal with.

The problem is my eldest son has literally last week just started a levels.
There are zero schools or colleges that do a levels where we would be going, it’s all IB.

Boarding won’t be an option or living apart, we’re a very close family and would find that traumatic.

Has anybody else been in this position? I don’t see how we can make this work because of education and think we’ll have to turn it down. (We know he’d be allowed domestic fees for university but I don’t know further information). My son is bright and hardworking and we don’t want to wreck his prospects

100 per cent your DH should go and then you follow when you can. It's not that unusual. You'd all cope. The dramatics around being a 'really close family' is a bit silly, most families are. It's not the end of the world, and it's temporary.

My friend has recently moved to Australia for work and from starting the process to actually going took a huge amount of time I would hazard that your son would be almost finishing his A levels by the time - but she emigrated i'm not sure if this is a temporary move on your behalf? if your son did want to go the IB is a respected qualification and it is accepted in UK universities. There are also online access to higher education diplomas which are the equivalent of 3 A levels accepted at universities - you may also be able to find fully online A levels The difference with that is there are exams so it depends how these would be sat. I think it's certainly worth more thought than just automatically ruling it out if your son's academic qualifications are your only hindrance.

If you move next summer could he do something different this year rather than 1 year of an A level although that's probably quite hard to sort at this late stage.
I would talk to your son he might be excited by the thought.
What does he want to do at University?

The job doesn't start till summer 2027 - which means son would have done 12 months of a 2 year course and only have 9 months really left.

So if they started Jan/Feb is after move that would be 2028 - which is 18 months away.

They could seearch round see if he can do AS levels this year - so 12 months course or look at other 12 month courses or start IB course here and switch - but TBH most logical thing I can see would be wait out a-levels send DH out and join after - but then you have issue if Uni and uni funding.

DH has at times wanted to change jobs - moving from wales back to england but given kids are sitting A-levels and it could affect uni funding we're waiting it out - but we are not about to lose the house and have income in meantime which OP doesn't.

The IB is a great thing for academically bright kids. If your son is on board with the move I pull look to transfer him to an in person IB in the UK right away to smooth the transfer.

Have you looked into online schooling so he can continue his Alevels? Try Kings Interhigh, it’s a fantastic virtual school although payable. My daughter has been part of their community since year 9 and has this week started A Levels. All her exams were sat remotely at home.

And lots of students make a shift to a local sixth form college for sixth form anyway. It is just his new school will be rather more miles away .

Her son has already made that move. He would be moving again.

The planned move would be summer 2027. The Australian school year begins in January. So the son would essentially be restarting sixth form in Jan 2028 when he might already be 18 and would have just a few more months in school if in the uk.

Surely he can finish his A levels here and apply for higher education in Australia?

I agree he should finish his A Levels in the uk, but he might not want to apply for higher education in Aus. He might want to stay in the uk. OP might not want to split the family up, but in a short time her son will be an adult making his own decisions.

Mine are the same age and would be overjoyed to move to Australia so you do really need to ask him.

You definitely need to work out the visa issues.

if you wait until after A levels and son is 18 can he be included at all?

if you all go before he turns 18 does he age out of being a dependent at some point?

One of her points is extremely valid. Presumably when your husband applied for interviewed for and was offered this role, you knew your son was going into A-Levels. What has changed? Presumably you wouldn't waste people's time by applying for a job in Oz if you didn't expect to take it if offered. We can probably help you more if you give us the full context, explain what your original plan was and why that is no longer feasible?

@Thisismetooaswell I agree that this sounds like the best solution. Although @OccasionalHope mentioned visa issues so they must definitely get that sorted out before making the final decision.

Education aspects aside - where in Australia would this be? Major city or outback? As a teenager, moving would have been hard enough but if it had been eg to <insert mining town here> I think that would have been a lot more difficult than to a city.

I see there is a summer 2027 start date for the job but what is the actual lead time on your DH and the family getting a visa? They’re not quick even with a job offer in hand and your son could well be through his first year of A Levels or beyond by the time it comes through.

Maybe timing just slipped ?- ie they thought they'd get there after GCSE and not 12 months into two year A-levels.

That's what happend to friends we knew who emigrated to Aus - went from dragging on and on in background of their lives to suddenly all go.

I would move. Can your son do a year of IB here before you move?

Go for it. If your son is as hard working as you say , he will academically fly in Oz. Loads more opportunities there for him as a young adult too.

I think it is daft to turn down a job somewhere you would love to live if you have been unemployed for the last two years and are at risk of losing the house.
Like some others I would also plan to split the family during term time from Sept 27 to May 28. I have experience of long distance marriage and whilst it is miserable, 9 months will go very quickly.
But if that is not an option for you maybe you should speak to your son’s current college and find a way that he can do AS levels in summer of 27. He will have an extra year of sixth form level study but that is not important in the long term and at least if he does AS levels he will have something to show for it. Maybe also consider swapping subjects to avoid repeating learning for IB if he is a good all rounder. So include in AS levels one or two subjects he would not have otherwise studied.

If your son is a strong all-rounder, I would recommend he does IB in any case. My kids did IB and, although it has a high work load, it offers a broader education than A levels and is well-respected by UK universities. It's a great opportunity for him and shouldn't be the reason to turn the job offer down.

The IB Diploma is a really amazing opportunity and if you are moving soon then there are schools in the UK that offer the IB for him to get started - mostly private schools. He could then transition over. Talk to your son and find someone who knows the IB Diploma inside out to talk it through

Surely you go, DS goes into the IB class, if he is behind you get tutoring or he redoubles.

Dd3 has just finished her IB (in UK) and she enjoyed it. She had university offers from top universities. Maybe find a school that does it here.

How well do you know Australia? What would your work permit/visa situation be? When your DH applied for the job surely you had this discussion about what would happen if he got it. Why are you both out of work now - that’s a very long time for both of you to be job hunting. If it’s not a permanent job, if you’ve never been there and if you can’t get a visa to work I’d send your DH and let your son finish school. It’s only 20 months between now and A levels being over. I lived in NZ for 6 years so I know how hard it is to emigrate even if it’s what you really want to do.

There's a forum called PomsinOz OP, I'm sure there'll be people having experienced very similar dilemmas on there.

Do you absolutely have to go as late as summer 2027? If you could possibly move in January instead he could start the school year with his peers and not really be behind. If you’re not currently working is there much difference in costs, or can you persuade the employer to take him on earlier?

Are you absolutely sure there’s no full time work to be found anywhere in the UK for either of you? No full time jobs in cleaning, care work, delivery driving, hospitality or retail? It seems very drastic to uproot your whole lives and to disrupt your son’s education at such a crucial stage by moving to the other side of the world.

I’ve not read the full thread but we emigrated to Aus recently. Ministerial direction 119 has massively extended wait times for offshore visas. If you’re looking at a PR visa your son may be well into or have nearly finished his A levels by the time it is granted, and you generally have a year to enter from the grant date.

If you’re seriously considering it I’d probably speak to a migration agent about it as it might be possible for you all to come over to activate the visa and you and your son to return to the UK temporarily to complete his A levels if it is too early.