Dumb Q, I can't do the maths re date of UK school entry

[PeriPathetic]

Looking at schools in the UK for DD to enter on 13+ on CE or relevant school exam.

Here the whole system is v different with Jan-Dec age and DOB rather than the 31st Aug cut-off the UK has. And it's all pretty fluid on top of that too, so she's currently a grade/year ahead (by age) compared to her peers in British schools.

So, if her 13th birthday is Oct 2014, when would she start at the school for entry at 13+?

Presumably Sept 2015.

By 13+ do you mean an upper school which starts at yr 9? Are you moving to an area with the 3 tier system (which we are in but I now most of the country is in two tier)?

The school year runs from September, so in Sept 14 she is still 12. Her year of entry would be the following one, Sept 15 as PP said.

You do however need to check if the school/s you are interested in manage their list by pretest and if so when (in year 6 or 7) and how (exam, interview, both) and if they are flexible for overseas candidates. Or if not, how you secure an offer conditional on CE. Plus of course exam/interview dates for non-CE schools.

Thank you! And phew - as 2015 is when we'll be moving to the UK. Had a bit of a panic that I should be upping my speed on this.

I dunno what I mean anymore tbh - most of the schools I'm looking at say there are entries at 11+ & 13+ (and I'm not sure what the + means - was sort of assuming it was related to the 11+ exam for grammar schools).

They all seem to cater for overseas students, so that's ok. Not knowing when she would start was holding me up with further research, so I can get on now.

I'm sure I'll be back with lots more questions relating to specific schools.

I assume you are looking at independent schools rather than state. You will need to contact the schools you are interested in to check when registration closes. Most close 2 years ahead of entry.

Ah right, thank you. I thought that might be the case, hence my panic at getting my dates wrong.

Most girls will start independent senior school at age 11, so September 2013 in this case, and admission dates will typically be no earlier than 31 October 2012 with a view to assessing in January 2013.

A few schools have a 13+ admission but far fewer than for boys. Even so, you will likely find that there's still the same 11+ assessment process with the late-2012 application for January 2013 assessment, although some also do 12+.

I would suggest that you have left it a bit late tbh, and that you need to ensure that whatever curriculum your daughter is following overseas will segue well into your chosen senior school, bearing in mind that some schools do indeed specialize in taking foreign applicants (not that this is necessarily a good thing, from an educational perspective since you have ESOL issues, and also the implication perhaps that the school is not good enough to attract British students).

There are some all through independent schools in the UK, so it really wouldn't matter when you came!

@JoanBias - Were not foreign, we're British! And all the schools I've looked at so far have 13+ admissions. Her schooling is not English curriculum though but she is working towards iGCSE so not a major difference IMHO.

The only issue is lack of French as that's one of four languages she hasn't covered much.

I think entry to the UK system at 13 in 2015 will be fine for DD. She's adaptable for sure.

Have you got any particular schools in mind, Peri?

Still doing my research :) I've only just got my head around her possibly boarding, but she really wants to and I think it will suit her down to the ground.