Better to change schools in Yr6 or Yr7?

[Plornish]

DD is 10. We are British, but we have lived in the US since she was two. She is currently in Gr4 (Yr5) at a small private school. Class sizes have ranged between 9 and 17; her grade has 24 children in it; her grade and Gr5 (Yr6) form a ‘unit’, so she’s effectively in a social group of 48 children.
As in an English primary school, Gr5 (Yr6) is the final year of elementary school, and there are special activities and responsibilities for fifth-graders, culminating in a graduation ceremony at the end of the year. There is no equivalent of SATs (the lack of teaching-to-test is one of the main reasons we went private).
We are probably returning to the U.K., either at the end of this school year, or the next one. We would live in my home town, and I’m confident that we could move into the catchment area of one of two well-regarded comprehensive schools. Both schools have year-groups of 200+.
My head says that she should do Yr6 in the U.K., so that she can get used to the British school system. (All possible primary schools are two-form entry.) My heart says she should have a final year with her friends at her lovely little school, and avoid any SATs stress.
Does anyone have experience of moving schools for the last year of primary, or of starting in secondary school knowing nobody? What is it like to move to a much-larger school at 10/11?
Perhaps I should add that DD seems quite bright. She is very independent and ‘quirky’ (eccentric, not badly-behaved). She doesn’t wear skirts/dresses, and has more boy-typical interests. She gets on well with most other children, but has few close friends.

If you can avoid Year 6 in a UK primary school, grab that with both hands
Teaching to the test, loads of homework and pressure, and all because the school and the teachers get judged on it.

Most kids in UK experience quite a change , going into a high school in year 7: it's bigger, the intake will mix kids from different primary schools, it's a new start, new friendship groups- so a much better place to begin as a newcomer.
And primary schools are organised differently, so are not really a good intro for yr 7.

Above is about state schools in UK.
If you're going private, the big issue is when any exam needs sitting, to get entrance to the senior school. That varies, you'll have to look at what type of school requires what.

We are having a similar conversation at the moment.
For me, the advantage of moving for Y7 is no SATs.
The advantage of moving for Y6 is we get to apply for secondary as an on-time applicant. There is a very sharp line near where we expect to come back to. One side of the line has great schools, the other side has poorer schools. Will there be spaces in Y7 in a good school if thats when we return?

Slightly different view here. My son's in Y6, and his school hasn't given any extra homework this year, and I can see no evidence that they're being 'taught to the test' - they're still doing lots of lovely topic stuff, no practice papers yet. Personally, I would prioritise my child being able to join in the whole 'moving to secondary' process with their cohort, rather than getting worried about a few tests in one week in May.

If either of your favoured schools are ever over-subscribed I would move back for the year 6 application deadline.

Year 6 so that you can submit an on time application in the October for year 7 transfer. She could also settle socially.

I would check with your home town local authority what their arrangements are for people planning to move there but not resident in yr 6 (when everyone applies). I think I have read on mn that at least in some places you can't apply (or can apply but won't get a place) if you're not yet resident - you have to wait until you have actually moved there.

So is there a risk that you would move back, be in the 'catchment area' but the schools are already full and your dd has to travel a long way to a school that has places? (catchment area doesn't necessarily mean that you get a place - in England at least, I have a feeling it may be different in Scotland but am not an expert!)

Unless you are going private, you need to be resident in October of year 6 to apply for secondary with a choice (earlier in some counties) otherwise you are on the waiting list or may have to go elsewhere if schools are full.

I moved my very shy child in year 6 -she was fine. She was able to make friends to make the transition to year 7 much easier. To be honest I would do it now for the application deadline and in order to settle into life before year 7 starts. SATS weren't' stressful for either of mine but I suspect starting a huge secondary knowing no one would have been plus you avoid the stress of uncertainty over secondary places.

Hm I was in a very similar situation as your child when I was her age. I moved to the UK in the summer after year 5 having known everyone in my school, lots of neighbourhood friends etc to London where I knew no one and spent a lonely summer with my siblings as we weren’t allowed to play out due to dangers.
I started year 6 and I absolutely hated it. There was lots of pressure with SATs on other children but not me as I was new so expectations were lower of me which made me feel horrible and I begged them to let me sit the SATs. The only positive of the whole experience was that I got into the local very oversubscribed school where all my classmates were going. Once I started there it was a breath of fresh air and I wasn’t friends with anyone I’d previously met in the other school. Even though out of 200 kids, 58 were from my old school. I think I would’ve much preferred to move straight into year 7. Year 6’s are very arrogant as they’re the oldest in the school and that was very much the case in my situation. Obviously this doesn’t mean the same will happen to your child, my mum had 4 kids so she couldn’t manage my friendships or arrange summer activities beyond going to the park and museums with our nanny.
There was a few girls in my year 6 class who were lovely and I still remember them fondly. There was one situation I remember, you could decide if you were packed lunch or school dinners and we didn’t know what we wanted so mum made us packed lunches and paid for school dinner so we could decide which we preferred. I sat down with the packed lunch kids and ate my food but when the lunch lady called out my class I ran for the dining table. My friends started shouting no no and grabbed me and told me to stop, I couldn’t understand why and I started crying as my mum had paid for the food they’re not letting me eat.
Year 7 everyone was starting out the same, everything was explained and no one assumed you already know. Mind you this was 15 years ago but I work in primary schools and most still look the same in year 6. I think finishing the last year will feel like an ending in itself for her and year 7 here will be almost a natural transition. My only worry would be if she will get a space in your preferred secondary.

I went from a UK Y6 of 22 to a secondary with 390 pupils in one year - it's s big change but they'll all be doing it at the same time. I'd move her after yr6, that way she won't be 'the new girl' because they'll all be new

As others have said, if those secondary schools are popular, oversubscribed ones, then you really need to be here with an address with which to apply for her Year 7 place on time. If you don't, you risk being given a school further away that you may not like/want because these schools are already full by the time you arrive. Just because you live in the catchment doesn't mean they have to find you a place there; you will be given a space where ever there is one reasonably locally.

(if you are returning military or crown service there is more leeway but I am assuming you aren't!)

Thank you all for your responses. Yes, I think the secondary school I have in mind would be over-subscribed, so it sounds like an on-time application would be necessary.
I guess no one would have any particular expectations of her in the SATs. I’m hoping to visit England in March, so may be able to see what the Yr6 atmosphere in the local primary schools is like.

Please remember most boroughs have a deadline to apply for schools. This needs to be done by end of September or end of October depending on borough. Your daughter will have to be on roll or homeschooled in the UK at the time.

We were in the same situation. We moved so dd could be in year 6. But she had gone to a school overseas with a different curriculum and had a lot of gaps in her knowledge.
Pros- yr 6 was amazing for getting her used to uk life; familiarizing with the area and using public transport, so that by the time she started secondary she was as independent as the other children. She was also more ready socially. Yr 6 was essential in helping her fill gaps and gave her lots of support. Without that she would have started secondary very behind in maths. And finally we were in time for the October deadline.
Cons- yr 6 was a soul destroying Sats preparation year and took the shine off a lit of learning in general. Children and parents have a lot of ideas and opinions about secondary school, lots of drama and stressed children sitting 11+ etc... and we were catapulted in to this world. Within a few months we attended several frantic open days and had to do this fraught application which we didn't really feel ready for. And in the end she now goes to a school we didn't initially apply for!!!
So, in a way, I don't think it would have been that terrible just to turn up at the end of year 6, make a late in year application and leave it a bit to chance!

If you find you will need to move so you can make an on-time application (closing date for secondary is 31 October of the school before entry) then his about planning a trip back to US so she can take part in at least so graduation festivities for her class there?

We didn't move from overseas but lived somewhere with middle schools from year 5. Our youngest would not have thrived. We decided to move to allow her to make friends to move up to secondary school with. No doubt there are loads of kids that have thrived knowing no one day one at secondary but it sounds a big ask to go from a small private school in the states into a state secondary here. I would think it would be easier for her to blend in in a primary initially.

As PP have said you usually need to be resident in the UK when you make the application, it does vary from boroughs, but in mine you need to have a normal home address which can be rented, leased or bought - but you need to be actually living in it to qualify under catchment.

So, basically if you want her to have a chance of getting into the good state school you need to be living in the UK before October 2019.

In a way that makes the decision easier and as a PP said, you can always go back to the US for the end of year party.

Could you cone back to the uk for year 6 but into a private school where there are no SAT's

So much depends on the primary school. Sats were not a big deal in yr6.They often have a school trip away and it would be good to find out when that would be.

If you only want a particular secondary school and it's oversubscribed then you don't really have an option to not move into Yr6. Ask the school what is the current yr7 waitlist.
My local school has 13 children on the year7 waitlist and zero movement. Only the poorly rated schools had year 7 places.

When I first read I thought of missing Sats year sounds fantastic however yes my priority would be what school she would get a place in

I moved from the US to the UK when I was 10 - at the end of the 5th Grade. But I went straight to a private school that did YR-U6 (ie ages 4-18). It was a long time ago, so not sure if there were sats in the UK then, but obviously I didn't do any (had to sit an entrance exam to get into the school). It meant when the transition came to senior school, I was well-settled, and didn't need to be both new and the American kid.

We moved my eldest DD in Y7 (not moving countries, just the normal transition), but moved our youngest to the same school (independent) for Y6. This was because he has some SN which were being very badly handled at his school, we'd seen Eldest go through a pretty boring Y6 focused on sats (which were completely meaningless for her as she was going into private school), but also because the jump from Y6 to Y7 was massive. Our clever, confident eldest found it challenging, so putting our younger, less academic, less confident, ASD child through such a massive change just didn't make sense. Moving him a year earlier made Y7 a much easier transition.

If you move your DD for Y6, they will have lovely end of year celebrations (our youngest even got invited back to his old school for some of theirs), so she won't miss out on that.