Children Class age's

[Shazy1]

Hi all,

We have had to move back to the Uk, due to the failing health of my parents. We are applying for school places for our 3 children. Who are;

Girl Aged 12 ( d.o.b 5 Jan. 2002)

Girl Aged 10 ( d.o.b 19 Aug 2003)

Boy aged 9 ( d.o.b 7 March 2005)

We have been told by the local School Admissions Authority that they will be admitted to classes 8,7 & 5. Which is 2 classes higher, in each case, then that which they have completed abroad (class 6,5 & 4). Obviously, we are very worried about this as not only will they each have missed a year of their education but with moving to new country, home, school etc... We feel that they will have difficulty in adjusting and coping.

My question is that is it possible to have them admitted to a lower class, under any circumstances. Can anyone, please, shed any light as this regard.

Thanks all in advance.

Shazy

Something wrong with the maths here! If you mean this academic year they will join Y7, 5 and 3 according to DOB. If joining in Sept it would be 7, 6 and 4. Not sure who has told you what!, but go back and check.

Two of your children are similar ages to mine. The oldest, at the moment will be in year 7 (that is usually the first year of secondary school). The middle one would be in year 6 (last year of primary) and the youngest year 4.

The school year starts on September 1st, so if you're starting in the new school year this would go up one. In the UK school years go on their actual age, rather than ability. Your best bet would be to get them into school, and keep in contact with the teachers. If they are struggling, the school will be able to suggest things.

HTH

Sorry, my maths is off. Should read 7, 6 and 4 this year, 8,7 and 5 in September. Too early in the morning.

Have the local authority identified schools with vacancies?

Are you sure current school uses same numbering system?

Thanks everyone for you input.

So it seems that they will have to go into the classes 8,7 and 5 respectively. We haven't chosen the schools yet but are enquiring about which ones are good in our ward, which is Whalley Range in Manchester.

I will be meeting the Local Council's School Admission team, later next week, and see if they can help, at least for our daughter aged 10, who was born in August 2003.

Do independent schools have the same age classes as state schools, or do they differ a little?

Doodledotmum, Sorry don't quite understand what you mean?

Thanks again all, best regards.

Independent school generally arrange their classes by age and with the same September cut off. They do however take a more flexible approach to putting children out of age group.

But, you have to watch out for secondary transfer if you do this. The prep might agree, but if the destination school decides not to, then the DC either has to move when usual age, ie sitting exams a year early and before preparation is complete (skip y6), or has to finish prep whist seeking an ad hoc Y8 place in the destination school (skin y7).

BTW, to go out of age cohort in the state sector is vanishingly rare, and is hard to secure even with documented special needs. So before you talk to admissions, I though you might want to know what yu are up against.

Can I just check which country of UK you are moving to? There are differences between them.

Also, I think that doodledotmum means that different countries might number their year groups differently and have say a January cut off, so DC do appear to jump forwards and backwards alarmingly. But if you look at the actual curriculum, it can actually be very similar for the same age pupil even when the number given to the year group varies.

Okay - we talk about years not classes in the UK. I helps to learn the terminology.
Have your children been in the US system? Their grades are usually one down from ours in terms of number. However what children learn at different ages is very very very variable in different education systems. So I wouldn't assume that just because they go from grade 5 to year 7 in September that they will have missed a years worth of work. In some areas they may be behind, in others they could be ahead.
One good thing is that the English national curriculum has been designed with a lot of repetition (on the basis that by recovering material previously introduced gaps will be filled in and it re-enforces the knowledge).

Your DD who will go into year 7 will be in the absolutely best position as most children move from primary to secondary at this point. As secondary is a new school and a great mixing point, teachers are very used to treating it a bit like a "fresh start". So should work on the basis of not assuming their classes know/are familiar with the material, but work to re-enforce the basics and then stretch the pupils further. Of course in other subjects it will be a new experience for all pupils.

English schools (and I would expect this is very true for a large city like Manchester) are very used to students arriving in schools from overseas, and quite often with little or limited English. Just adjusting to the curriculum is a relatively minor adjustment.

English state schools are very unlikely to move a child out of their year group based on age even if they have a SEN.

Meditrina, We have moved back from Pakistan and the year ends there in march/ April ( not in all schools). My children went to private schools, as state schools are to be honest a waste of time. They all followed the UK (Key stage) curriculum. So, missing a year would probably mean just that. Although I have been told by a few friends that the private education in Pakistan is of a higher standard as compared to the state school system here in the UK. But I don't think that its going to make up for a full year especially with everything around them being newish.

Anyway, will try our best with the Admissions team, and if the worst come to the worst, then we will just have to cover as much as possible for the missed year, starting as soon as possible with home tuition.

Thanks again for your advice and further advice much appreciated.

Regards.

There are lots of decent schools round Whalley Range. And yes I meant e.g some countries have different class numbering eg. Class 1 could be a year ahead or behind England etc. do you want state if private ?

I still would not think that they have necessarily missed a whole year of education. For your 10 year old you could just see how she would do on a Key stage 2 SATs paper (you can buy them from WHSmiths). If she can get 4s across the board there is no problem. If she gets 5 then great!. If she is struggling to get 3s then she may need some help.

Lots of children do make up a year or more of education (it is not about learning facts so much as skills), and often children who have experienced more than one culture turn out to be some of the top students.

Doodledotmum: Well we wanted state, but if the private schools show a little flexibility, as regard to age in class, then we might have to consider private, as we really do feel that the 'missed year' will burden the children. However, as Meditrina, kindly pointed out, this might turn to another headache some time down the line. So, at the moment just gathering the information before we make the final decision as to state or private. And of course this will depend if any good state schools can offer a position. Do you live in the Whalley Range area? Can you recommend any good schools?

Mummytime: The children's english is medium level, they were taught in an English orientated school in Pakistan and have been to the UK numerous times in the past. Thanks for the positive outlook, especially for our DD who will go to year 7, I see your point and hope that it will make it easier for her.

Does anyone know of any good tutors in our area, is I think that we should start the 'catching up' as soon as possible and also because that way the children will at least have an idea of what to expect.

Regards,

They are more likely to have gaps than actually be behind. Remember in any classroom there is a tolerance of over a year either way compared to chronological age and the teachers are expected to differentiate the learning accordingly . The LA probably won't be flexible at this stage, you may just have to try and see how it goes.

Mummytime: Our DD aged 10 has actually just given her key stage 2 exams in Pakistan, a few weeks ago before coming to the UK.We are waiting for her results. So, maybe she won't need much catching up to do. Do children sit the key stage 2 tests at the end of their 6th year here?

Thanks.

William Hulme is prob the most sought after but not for everyone. Heavily over subscribed and you may struggle to get places. St Mary's, St Margaret's are good - but there are loads that are perfectly fine within 1 mile. Year 7 would be high school - Whalley Range high for girls

Yes! My DD is about to sit hers in a couple of weeks. Key stage 1 is years 1 and 2, Keys stage 2 is 3-6, key stage 3 is 7-9 and then key stage 4 is 10 and 11, and key stage 5 is 12 and 13 (but hardly ever called that, its just sixth form to add to the confusion).