Moving from South Africa to England - Grade 11 - 17 year Old

[sagreem]

Hello There. We are relocating to England from South Africa &* I have a 17 year old daughter who has completed her Grade 11. In SA she would do her Grade 12 next year & go to Uni. We need some guidance - Will she need to finish another grade/year In high school or do a bridging course before applying to University.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

Regards
Sagreem

In the UK A levels or IB takes 2 years to complete in our years12/13 same as grades11/12 in SA).

I would therefore either suggest she completes one further year in SA and applies to uni having completed her education there or if she is to make the move with you I suspect she will have to drop a grade to be able to complete the 2 year course to give her adequate qualifications to get into uni.

When do you plan to move over here? Our school years run from September to July.

There are two really bad times to move within the english education system and the bad news is that age 17 is one of them. She won't be able to do another year in school because students her age will have already completed one year of a two year course. She won't be able to join half way through A levels (or Btec), the only option there would be to start with the first year, and take the whole two year course.

I don't know enough about the entry requirements for a foundation year at university, some courses that are normally three years long have a lower entry requirement into a foundation year. She would need to look at specific entry requirements. My suspicion is that this would not work as she has not completed her education in South Africa, she is still missing a year.

I am not an expert, hopefully one will come along shortly but I think she will be looking at a two year course before university rather than one year.

1. Does your daughter receive an actual recognised qualification for completing Y11 or not? 2. Is English her first language or not?

If she has an actual qualification and English is her first language then, my advice would be to contact some UK universities and ask them. I would consider Scottish ones as they have "Higher" exams which they sit at 17 years old rather than A levels. The other problem that you will have is that even though you are moving to England, your daughter will still probably have to pay international student fees. If she doesn't have a qualification and English is her second language then she can enrol in a language school to take iELTs and take this qualification alongside A levels. Some colleges do offer alternatives to A levels e.g. The University foundation Programme UFP is a one year programme designed for overseas students wanting to apply to UK unis. (It may not be accepted for some top unis and courses though). See link www.google.co.uk/search?q=UFP+programme&oq=UFP+programme&aqs=chrome..69i57.9074j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Need to add that the UFP programme does have a January intake to cater for international students, if this is applicable for South Africa. You will need to pay fees for this course.

I don't know where in the Uk you plan to end up or what your finances Andre like, but another option is a private tutorial College as they often offer Alevels in one year. Examples are MPW, Cambridge centre for sixth form studies, Rochester international college. Brampton College.
There are also a few state sixthform colleges that also offer this but they would take some searching out. One is Westminster Kingsway. No idea if it is any good.
Another option would be to bite the bullet and start a 2 year Alevel course at sixth form college. Assuming she will be under 19 at the start on her second year start least this would be free

Out of interest this what Manchester uni say for international students from South Africa www.manchester.ac.uk/study/international/country-specific-information/south-africa/entry-requirements/#country-profile

I have South African friends who moved to the UK with similar problems. Their middle DD went straight from SA qualifications (Matric) to university at Kings College London to study English. The DS did A levels here. However, this is not easy because prep for the A levels here is very different to SA and you need to look at the A level sylabus of the subjects to see if it is remotely possible with what has been taught/learnt in SA. If you need to come, try and do the two year A level course. One year (17-18) is just not possible.

There are loads of South Africans in London (Wimbledon) who have done exactly this.

Search on Facebook for SAFFA Moms in Great Britain (ORIGINAL). Quite a few of the moms on there has been in similar situations.

I agree with the advice above. Also my sons had one child (not from SA) from abroad in their course and he is a year older than the rest (as he needed to do the 2 year English courses and that has worked out fine - it hasn't mattered that he is a year older than everyone else).

Hi There Guys - Thank You for such valuable advise. We will be in newbury but happy for her to travel to close the gap. At catslife you mentioned private tutorial colleges - Do you know if any you mentioned are recognised at the Top Uni? Which Uni are considered Scottish ones? English is her first language & she is a A+ student , so I am praying she does not need to redo & go back a year - but do a programme & bridge the gap.

Thank you to everyone for the advice - Its hard doing everything from here with so little knowledge

You can do an English A level in a year rather than 2 years. She could probably do it at a tutorial college. The school or college makes no difference at all as to whether or not she gets into a university. It is only high grades that make that difference. In London tutorial colleges like MPW and many others prepare students for A levels.

The problem is even if she is very clever it is unlikely she will get high marks for good universities diong three A levels in one year rather than over two years and there is not much point in getting into a poorly regarded university. Could she start the 2 year A level courts now in SA by correspondence doing it along side her existing work or even fly over a year earlier than the family now to go to an English school for the full 2 years?

Hi sagreem if you are living in Newbury, I would recommend looking at private tutorial colleges in the Oxford area.
The link below is for a college based in Oxford offering the courses I mentioned.
www.abacuscollege.co.uk/academic/university-foundation/
The tutorial colleges should be able to provide you with university destinations (along with courses taken) for recent students. You may want to approach several different ones.
Scottish universities are based in Scotland. They include Edinburgh, Glasgow and many others.

Hello Sagreem

We are in the exact same position that you were in in 2017 with your DD. My son is 17 and in Grade 11 and we are planning to move before the end of the year. What year did she get into at school and what happened next? Thanks

Hi KrisRed,

We are in the aame position that you were in 2019.what school did your child get into?

Hi there! I know it's 6 years later but do you mind sharing what your daughter ended up doing in terms of finishing her secondary school studies? I'm 17 and I move to the UK in a month. I finished Grade 11 but I definitely won't finish Grade 12. The uncertainty of whether I will have to go back a grade is really unsettling and there is not much relevent info for kids in SA relocating to the UK. I'd appreciate an answer from you so very much ma'am.

Thank You

Hi Nicole, We moved to UK end of 2022. My son completed gr11 in south africa. We have enrolled him in A levels here. Its for two years. You have to start from year 12. If you are below 18 on the day of joining A levels you don't pay any fees in state schools until you finish year13. Only 3 subjects are required. 4th is optional and many don't do it. Without A levels you can't get into university. You will pay international student fee which is atleast 3 times more than the locals pay if you don't have ILR, with ILR you need to have lived in the UK for 3 years prior to 1st day of uni. Hope this helps. Pls Feel free to post any queries you may have.

Hello and thank you very much for getting back to me. I found this very helpful indeed and I now have a solid idea of where I'll be placed when enroll. I had no idea that you have to start paying fees for state schools once you are 18. Do they make exceptions or is it a constant rule? I unfortunately will already be 18 by the time I enroll in September because I turn 18 in August. I'll relay your information to my mum and we'll plan and research more from there. Hopefully my future application for ILR is accepted. May I ask whether I will find it harder to get ILR once I'm over 18? I wish your son the best in his future academic endeavours and thank you again for the info.😊

Hi, Please write to a state school stating that you'll be relocating to UK soon and ask how the admissions work. Most schools esp outstanding/ good schools close their A level admissions a year in advance. We live in Leeds and we were lucky to find admission ( only one school offered). Start applying soon if you know where you will be living in the UK. State schools must be free even at 18 but I'm not sure. Sixth form admins will help you better in this regard.

@nicolemswti , I would search Facebook for a group that covers SA moving to U.K. for sixth form education. You are in a tricky situation and will need lots of advice esp being 18 when you enroll.

Hello, I knew it was going to be kind difficult for me after reading an article about the most tricky ages to start enrolling a child into a school in the UK but I hope all goes well with me. Thank you very much for the information

Hello, thank you I'll do that . I'll need all the help and advice I can get so I don't run into surprises along the way

hi

Just as a thought - was your daughter planning to go to university in the U.K.? If so how were you thinking about financing this? Would she be able to get local fees after 3 years residency?

Sorry whom were you addressing ?

@nicolemswti Is your school year in SA aligned with the calendar year? If you could stay in SA till Oct/Nov would you be able to finish yr 12? If so then I think that would be by far your best bet. Good luck finding a reasonable route forward one way or another!

Hello, thanks for your feedback. It is indeed alogned with the calender but unfortunately I leave in like two weeks and the dates are final. It isn't a possibility anymore. I just have to hope for the best in terms of continuing my education.