Moving from Irish to UK school system

[ticketstickets]

My ds has just finished 6th class in Ireland and we are moving to the UK. (England) His birthday is in May and he just turned 12, although some his classmates in Ireland were a whole year older.

My question is, should he go into year 7 or 8? How will he find the work moving from an Irish NS to a UK secondary school? Will it be very difficult to catch up if he goes into the class he should be going in, year 8? Or is it better to put him in the younger class - other advantages being that lot of other kids will be new, not just him.

Do UK schools allow summer borns to choose the year they can go in?

No, he will have to go into the year group for his age, which will be yr8..

He's missed yr7, but that's not necessarily a problem, he's been in a school, learning. They're all starting fresh in September.

so i am wondering is the 6th class curriculum roughly equivalent to what kids in UK year 7 will be learning? Or will he be behind in say, maths?

hes a pretty bright kid in general so not that worries. Emotionally he really does seem like the youngest. He was friends a with a group of kids who are a year older than him throughout NS, the last term or so he seems to have widened his friendship group to boys who are younger. He is in a tiny NS with 2 ages in each classroom and he has also been friends with some of the 5th class boys.

Not necessarily. One of DD’s close friends started in Y7, despite being a year older. The school and her parents felt that it would be a better fit since the UK and ROI curriculums are quite different plus starting with everyone else meant that she wasn’t the ‘new girl’. This was at a top Belfast grammar.

It's not typical. However, she could ask.

Whereabouts in the UK are you moving to?

NW England

Ok, I think it's very rare in England for someone to be educated out of their age group, although not impossible. Have you contacted the school about this, and your other concerns?

He will definitely be behind, especially if he has to jump to Year 8 where they'll have all had a year of the secondary subjects too. He'll catch up but id consider tutors to get him there faster.
Hopefully you can get a school to take him i. Year 7, but those places maybe hard to get as the main entrance round is done.School will be a lot more strict too, it's will be a big culture shift for him.

I moved to England from Cork the summer after 1st year.
I skipped Year 8 (2nd year) and went straight to year 9 due to age.
I found the Irish curriculum more advanced so I didn’t feel behind. I did some short tests and put in all the top sets for my subjects. I wasnt particular over achiever either.
kids adjust quickly op!

I will say, it was a huge culture shock. I found school here very different so he may need some support with that. I was painfully shy though so that probably didn’t help.

I was speaking to someone recently who has just done the reverse with their 14yo - the only thing she mentioned was the difference in the history curriculum between the UK and ROI!

thank you all! I think they want to put him in Year 8, will be visiting the school this week so will see. Useful to have this information beforehand.

I would think it would be incredibly difficult to go from 6th class in Ireland to Y8 in England. Y7 would be a much easier entry point in terms of integrating socially and adjusting to a new country and school system. Look at ‘flexible admission for summer born (England)’ Facebook group. Hugely informative on your rights to request he be educated in Y7. Both my kids are ‘summer born’ (ie April to August) born and educated out of their cohort in England. Schools are much more open to this now. Best decision we ever made.

Academically he will most likely by fine. Irish curriculum is more advanced ime (particularly for maths). Culturally though schools in England are often larger and comparing like for like, the behaviour is much poorer. Like a pp said you can ask for him to start year 7 as he’s summer born.

Definitely worth considering a Yr 7 start. Plenty will be turning 12 in the Autumn so he'll only be a few months ahead.

From a small village school to a big bustling secondary is quite a change. Lockers, getting yourself to classes, navigating the lunch hall and the nightmare that is whatsapps groups. Going to straight into Yr 8 is an ask if he is young for his age. He'll be fine in all likelihood but worth asking if the school would set him up with a buddy(ies) to help out.

Schooling wise, should be broadly the same but schools cover different material so worth reviewing whether there are large gaps. A year of missing entry level language isn't from what I can see insurmountable. A tutor could probably cover it all by half term.

Is he very sporty? If he does Yr 7 it is worth checking with the school whether or not he would have to play on Yr 8 teams if there is an age cut off which is usual.