Help please - Moving with 14yr from SA to London

[safricanmom]

Please help - moving from South Africa to Kent London in 2020.
So many questions regarding Schools, subject choices and education gap and bridging the gap. My daughter is turning 16 next year - how can the gap be bridged? I am very concerned. Thank you

Hi, you might want to move this over to the Secondary Education board as your daughter would be starting in secondary school if she is 14 now

Which month is her birthday? That will determine which year she enters school. When will you move in 2020? It is a difficult age to transfer as the GCSE courses for the exams they take at 16 are 2/3 year syllabuses. If she will be 16 when you arrive, it might be easier to join for the sixth form or college. Is she hoping to go to university? Or is she more interested in a vocational pathway?

Thank you very much! She will turn 16 in June the year 2020:). Apologies - what does "sixth form" mean? She wants to become an Optometrist and attend University. Appreciate the information thus far! Also - if I register her for "sixth form" or college - are there any good ones in Kent?

Sixth form is the last 2 years of school - years 12 and 13. Most students study for 3 A levels for 2 years but some schools also offer the 2 year International Baccalaureate pathway (6 subjects). Both are equally acceptable for university. There are other pathways for 16+ education like BTEC but not all universities/courses will accept them.

The school year starts in September so your DD would start sixth form in September 2020. If you are moving here before that, it will be quite difficult for her to transfer as the 2 year GCSE teaching finishes at Easter with exams the next term, unless she starts preparing for the exams before you relocate.

I suggest you do the following:

Contact the SA Embassy here for advice on transferring between the school systems.

Work backwards and find out about Optometry degrees in the UK and find out what their entry requirements are. They will specify both the required subjects and grades for A-level/IB/BTEC exams at 18 but they will also have minimum GCSE exam (the exams taken at 16) subject and grade requirements. You will need to contact them to ask how they deal with students who have entered the UK education system post 16 and have not taken GCSEs.

Once you have an idea what your DD needs to study in the sixth form, you would need identify which schools and colleges are near to where you will be living (the local education authority can tell you). If you are considering private education, you can use an advisory service. You can look at league tables and OFSTED (school inspection) reports to get an idea of how good the school is. You would need to contact the schools and colleges to see what their sixth form entry requirements are for non UK students (normally it would be based on GCSE results) and if they offer the subjects/courses your DD wants to study.

I would also recommend that you get the GCSE syllabus for maths and the subjects your DD wants to study for A level/IB and make sure with her current school that she has covered the syllabus before she starts.

I don't know much about specific schools in Kent but if you head over to the secondary education board, someone will. It has a grammar school (selective admission) system.

What system is she currently studying - local or international syllabus? Is she taking IGCSEs? If not speak to someone with knowledge of both school systems to get advice over whether a levels or ib are most appropriate - not all further ed/6th form colleges offer it buts is more in line with international school systems. Applications for college start in October 2019 so it would be helpful to know roughly where you want to move to then.

anniehm I'm guessing local as safricanmom headed to the Further Education board, which is what they call the last 3 years of school in SA.

@safricanmom, just to clarify, further education is a bit of an obsolete term in the UK, which is why this board is a bit of a mishmash. Technically, it means education that is post 16 that is not a degree nor secondary education (like A levels). Although you can study for A-levels or GCSEs at a further education college.

Your DD can take A-levels in a secondary school with a sixth form or a sixth form college (16-19 year olds) or at a further education college. Further education colleges will also offer other courses like vocational qualifications, sometimes even degrees, courses in English for non native speakers, as well as A levels, and are open to any one from 16 to 100. It's the same for the IB, but not all schools and colleges offer it.

Thank you very much for the information; it sure helped.
Kind Regards