Should I be worried id ds doesn't start prep until Jan 2010 he was born 9/5/04. How many ears is this behind the UK?

[quokka]

I live in S'pore and ds goes to an international school. his birthday is 9 days after the cut off so have been told he wont start prep until 2010 and year one in 2011. The school year starts in Jan here. The only prob is we don't know how long we will be here and don't want him too behind if we move back to the uk? I know boys benefit from starting school later but is this too late?

I didn't think this was going to be as issue until now. When we were shown around the school they said it would be up to me to decide if he would go through as its only 9 days and now it seems it is not negotiable! He is already at the preschool (2 days a week) and loves it so am reluctant to move him. Also the school is walking distance from home. Should I fight to get him in prep for 2009 or should I just chill out and worry about it later?

My son is exactly one year younger than yours (to the day) and started preprep reception last month, so in the UK your son would start reception Sept 08, Year 1 Sept 09 and Year 2 Sept 10 so by Sept 2011 he would have finished the Key Stage 1 curriculum.

Here prep school doesn't usually start until Year 3 (hence preprep or infants before that).

Given that you are already a term later with a Jan to Jan school year, if you do think that you're coming back to the UK within the earlier years I would ask to start earlier. If you think that he will be in Year 3 or above by the time you get back I might not worry so much tbh. But you probably need to compare curriculums. If he is starting reception that much later would they already be expecting him to be able to read and write for example.

They don't expect them to read by prep. He will be doing another 2 years or pre school where they learn through play and its child led. The school he goes to runs of the NSW curriculum. If he was going to a local school, he would have to be able to read before they would let him into the school.

I have asked dh what our plans are but he said we may go to Australia, the US, or UK. We definitely can't stay here longer than 10 years otherwise he will have to do a year of national service!

NSW = New South Wales?

FWIW in Scotland your ds would start primary one in August 2009 aged 5 and be starting Primary 3 in 2011 out of 7 years at primary.

so he will be 5 when he starts? that's only 1 year difference isn't it. not too bad.

yes = New South Wales.

2 years of Pre school so he will turn 4 and 5 yrs
1 year of prep will turn 6yrs
year 1 will turn 7yrs - this is when a curriculum is used for reading
then 6 years of primary school

And school years start from Jan - Dec. MY head is spinning trying to sort this out

It seems to be a one year and a term gap with the UK system. It would be a bit of a shock to go direct form reception to Year 2 say, but possibly less of a shock to go from Year 4 to Year 6. But international schools cope with these changes all the time. If you think that there is a good chance that you will be in England in 2 or 3 years time then I would request an ealrier start, otherwise go with the flow.

yes well I have read alot about boys starting later is much better which is why I haven't started a scene at the school yet! Might just ask that he goes into the older preschool class next year and then this time next year we might have more of an idea of where we will end up?

Thanks for natter and info

if you started him when he should start though and you end up moving to america he will be in the right year.

if you moved to england could not just ask them to put him a year behind what he should be so he only misses the rest of whatever year he was in in singapore as opposed to the rest of that year plus another one.

Sounds like a year plus a term gap, then. I don't think I'd worry about that myself -- he may well benefit from the later start, especially if he's happy at the preschool.

My son is 3 months older than yours and starts school next September (2008)

My DD started school in the UK in Year 2, and she was in the top group by half-term.