Returning to Year 10 after 18 months in US

[kikivoss]

Has anyone moved their kids back in to a UK school at Year 10 after a short stint in the US?

I have twins due to start Year 8 this September but hubby has been offered an 18 month contract in the US meaning, if we went, the kids would return to UK schooling in Year 10 at the start of their GCSE learning years. (Their schools have confirmed they will hold a space open for our return).

Has anyone done this? Has it been academically detrimental to the kids to have 18 months of US schooling then return to the UK school system? (My kids are of 'middle set' ability and would be returning to their well established friendship groups).

I want to view our move as a fantastic life opportunity, but there are so many scare stories of children dropping behind their peers after a short time away.

Has anyone tried to keep up with UK syllabus whilst abroad with guidance from the UK school?

Any advice gratefully taken on board!

Just spotted this on unanswered threads.

Presumably this is a private school, as a state one wouldn't be able to keep places open.

My y9 DD has already started GCSE syllabus for Science, RE, and to a lesser extent English Language. Obviously also maths too. With the move to greater content GCSEs I'd be concerned your school might move to a 3 year GCSE for at least some subjects.

I'd also be concerned that by being away for 18 months, friendships would 'move on' and slotting back in might not be as easy as you think.

But none of this answers your questions!

We have just moved our Year 10 from an international school in the USA ('following' UK curriculum) back to the UK, and even with that, he has said a few times that he missed a lot of content in Year 9 that others are relying on in Year 10. We are fortunate that he is relatively able, and his new school has been brilliant about filling in the gaps, but he still feels a little gipped that he is having to work harder than others who have done this content before. Moving back at Year 10 having studied an entirely different curriculum for 18 months would prove to be quite a challenge. It all depends on whether your kids are up for the challenge. At Year 8, they may be sensible enough for you to have a rational conversation about the pros and cons of a short term move - travel / cultural opportunities etc. but with an understanding that they may have to work v hard in Year 10 / 11. It might be worth thinking about staying home with kids while partner travels and visiting during holidays. They are only in school for 35 weeks a year so that leaves 17 weeks in the USA on vacation with your partner.

I don't know about long term consequences but with experience of both systems the curriculum is quite different. Also Year 9 in UK is 8th grade in USA--still junior high or middle school.

Sciences are typically taught quite differently in the USAthey are taught sequentially, not mixed. Depending on school it's possible that your DC could come back knowing all of the biology GCSE and none of the physics. Maths is variable (depending on ability level and area, algebra I can be anywhere from 6th grade onwards). Foreign language typically only starts in 7th or 8th gradeif your DC are studying German odds are it will not be available, the choices are most commonly Spanish then French. English and History focus on different areas--DC may come back having spent all their time studying US history and know nothing in the GCSE syllabus.

Thanks so much to everyone on sharing their thoughts, it's really helped. You've raised some issues we'd never have considered. All in all, we're probably not going to take up the US opportunity as it would be too disruptive to the children. Pulling them out of good private school education, sticking them in the US state system for 18 months, then bringing them back to the UK at the start of Year 10, just doesn't seem to make sense! Shame this opportunity didn't present itself a few years earlier, our bags would be packed! #youneverknowwhatsroundthecorner !

I wouldn't do it TBH, and I have a 9th grader and 11th grader in the US system.

Could you not do a British school whilst you are over there that way they could keep up with the uk system? My friend teaches in a British school in New York, no idea how fees compare to the UK though.

Is private school an option? If you can find one that uses IB or British curriculum - easier to find in big cities - then that might be an easier transition. Private schools are used to international transfers and can give guidance on whether they have had students from the UK return at that point and how they fared.