Moving from England to Scotland after GCSE - what happens at 6th form/equivalent?

[Chavvytastic]

I am after some advice please.

DD born Oct 1998 and is in current year 9 (age 14). She is due to complete her GCSEs in the summer of 2015.

If she then moved to the Scottish school system in August 2015 what would happen?

I read a school handbook of one of the 3 potential schools she is likely to attend and one had a chart showing English schools years and the Scottish equivalents. It reads:

AGE 15/16 = S4 (National 3,4,5) = Year 11 GCSE
AGE 16/17 = S5 (Higher) = Year 12 (AS Level)
AGE 17/18 = S6 (Advanced Higher) = Year 13 (A Level)

My understanding (I could be wrong, so please advise me if I am) is that DD could go into S5 and do Highers and Advanced Highers. However, another poster who has been helping me on one of my other threads (about my younger DC) has informed me that DD would actually be dropping a year because of her birthday. Does anyone know if this would be an issue?

I understand the Scottish system is going under some changes with the Curriculum for Excellence and I am yet to read up on it and understand how that works. Would this affect my DDs year group and would she be able to "tie in" to it coming from GCSE from England?

I am so confused.

I would be so grateful if someone could take time to explain the implications/possibilities to me and how the curriculum For Excellence may affect my daughter (if at all - will her year group follow the old highers system)?

if she had started school in Scotland she would have started P1 at around 4½ years old in August 2004 and would have left primary school and started Secondary school in 2011. In August 2015 she would be due to start S5 (5th year).

I had a November birthday and also started school at 4½ years old and left school after 5th year at the age of 16 (was 17 in the November of that year).

p.s. is she only 13 just now and turning 14 this year?

sorry have missed a year in my calculations - ignore my ramblings, so sorry

have rewritten with correct years:

if she had started school in Scotland she would have started P1 at around 4½ years old in August 2003 and would have left primary school and started Secondary school in 2010. In August 2015 she would be due to start S6 (6th year).

it will depend on the school then as to whether she goes into 6th year and does Highers or goes into 5th year and does them there. I would imagine it will depend on the school itself as to the year group she goes into.

it'll all be new when dd reaches that stage - she's P5 just now and ds is in P2.

If you move into the Scottish system she would be placed in S5 where children will be 15.5 to 16.5
She will be 16 and 10 months but would be accepted as she would be at the correct stage educationally.
The Scottish system is a bit more flexible in terms of birthdates.

In your other thread you have said the DC are at boarding school, presumably due to Forces? As your eldest will have studied for GCSE and would be going on to do A levels I would seriously look at the only realistic independent in Moray, Gordonstoun. She would be able to do GCSE and A levels at Gordonstoun as they follow the English curriculum and they also say on their website that they have bursaries for Forces. I know you said it would probably have to be state education but it has to be worth a look at. I just think that the difference between the English system and the new C for E may be too much and if it was my DD I would be understandable uptight at the thought of it at such a crucial time in her education. At an independent she could continue on from where she left off. Just a suggestion!

Thank you everyone for your input and calculations to help explain where my DD sits in the Scottish system.

I think I will phone to local school (the one most likely to be our local school up there) and ask them what they think. They are right next to a military base and are used to children transferring from English system and Service schools.

7to25 - what you say makes sense and that is what I would hope would happen. Are you a teacher or have any experience of this??

Motherstongue - I have looked at Gordonstoun and read up on all the bursaries etc etc but at over £7k at term (for day pupils) we wouldnt be able to afford it. We may look into applying for financial help but cannot do that until the year before entry. We need to make our decision as to whether to take this job in the next few of weeks.