Moving from Australia to UK with 16 year old son - seeking school advice.

[SusieCH]

We are trying to decide whether to wait until our son finishes high school in Oz before moving back to the UK or move now (I’m keen to move now, husband would prefer to wait). Our son’s 16 and in year 10 in Oz (equivalent to GSCE year in UK) so would start 6th form in the UK in September 2024. He would just have turned 17. The Australian education system is different from the UK in that they don’t sit an equivalent to GSCEs and are therefore not used to exam pressure. Would we be setting our son up to fail? Has anyone moved from Oz to the UK and had this dilemma? We’d be interested to hear opinions and/or advice.

Will your son be happy leaving all his friends behind? Mine would be devastated.
If not, maybe you could wait a few more years until he is independent.

I wonder whether moving to a school that does International baccalaureate might work better than one that does a-levels.

My DHs family did a similar move, leaving him behind in Aus for university, and his sister to complete school from approx 15 years old in the uk. She failed abysmally in integrating at the local private school so completed A levels at college. I would say the leave the kids there till end of school option was a much better outcome.

You need to check that he is eligible to be funded for post 16 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/advice-funding-regulations-for-post-16-provision/advice-funding-regulations-for-post-16-provision-2023-to-2024

what passport does he hold?

Has your son previously lived in UK? What does he think about the move? We moved our children back to UK aged 16,13 and 11 but it was a planned move, all three were involved in the decision and settled in wonderfully. However they had strong connections to UK as started their schooling here and we visited frequently whilst living abroad

He doesn’t have to go to 6th Form. He could go to college (a 16-19 age group college) and do various qualifications there. GCSEs in English and Maths can be done at college while simultaneously doing another qualification like a btec. He could also do an apprenticeship - if he did that he would probably need to do the English and Maths GCSE first (which would take 1 year instead of the usual 2).
The only issue as someone has said is about funding.
All teens in England and Wales are entitled to 3 years of free Post 16 education - I have no clue if coming from another country makes a difference.

They are not all entitled- pre 16s are but post 16 there are immigration/residency restrictions

@MutantTurtles that’s what I wasn’t sure about. But if the OP is looking at 6th Forms they must be getting funding for it.
But I dunno.

Depends on the sixth form - some are very bound to results, but some school sixth forms are flexible. DD's friend has come in from another country (and a couple of others have come from a different country). I don't know what they have in terms of formal qualifications but the school has been happy to take them. Given that there is presumably January-August to play with, there's the possibility that the sixth form could set some work that needs to be covered to make sure they're prepared for the A-level courses.

I’d never move a reasonably happy teenager unless absolutely necessary.

Hi,
I am in the same boat as you regarding moving to the UK in 2024 and my daughter who is finishing up year 10 in Aus now in December. Have you found any concrete information yet?