American mom moving to Derbyshire

[Scorpionflower1]

Hello All,

I'm an American Californian mom of 3 daughters ages 17, 15, and 8. We're planning a move to Derbyshire this summer and I'm looking to learn as much as I can. My DSO is from Derbyshire and is currently there there looking at places. I've only visited the area once before so feel I'm flying blind.

I'm hoping to connect with some mom's in the area who may be willing to provide some insights as to living there. What towns are most ideal for families? Which towns would be most embracing of my Californian daughters and myself? Which are the best schools? I'm a corporate accountant. What areas would have the best career opportunities for my profession?

Any feedback or insights would be greatly appreciated!

On the area point I would agree with others. Swandlincote is not the place to move to through choice (apologies to anyone from swadlincote).

However you also have a lowish budget for housing and so might find that in the nicer villages you end up with something fairly small..

I think that your biggest issue should be schooling. How can you move your children at those ages? They will be half way through sixth form and GCSE courses. You can't just slot in easily and that's particularly the case where they haven't even been studying a UK curriculum. My DN is in the US and is the same age as DS1. The curriculum is completely different. It is also very difficult to slot in out of year group. Its not like the US in that respect. You can't (ordinarily) stay back a year if you don't do well.

I really think you should reassess. As others have said you might be looking at a college for both teenagers but that is going to have a significant social impact on your middle child since whilst it might technically be possible to go to college at 14, she will be the youngest by far since its practically unheard of unless children have been excluded from school.

I think you need to find schools that will take your children and give them the support they will need (presumably you can't afford private at circa £15k a year but that would be your best option if you can) and then work from there in terms of looking for housing/villages. You can always move again in two years time once your eldest is done, your middle daughter has completed GCSEs and your youngest is about to move up to senior school anyway.

Lady Manners school in Bakewell is excellent. If you live in Hope Valley in Derbyshire which is beautiful but expensive, l think you are also in catchment for Tapton Schoolin Sheffield which is outstanding,
But l second wheat everyone else is saying. 15 and 17 are the worst ages for movin dc in U.K. Education system. It will ruin your dcs education. 16 and18would be much easier.

I'm wondering if the International Baculaureate might be easier to transfer into than GCSE/A Level route.

I know nothing about the Bac or US programmes, butthis thread has established that transferring into the GCSE/ A level system at 15 and 17 will be very tricky, so may be worth considering an alternative.

What do you want your children to do post school? Will they be UK citizens?

UK and US routes to university are very different.

Anything is possible... Eventually. You could for instance have a break and do home ed. However now would be the time that you would be thinking about university in both UK and US systems.

Yeah, the university fees are amazingly low! We don't really see my 17yo as actually going into university, but if she wants it she will. It's my job to support her in her life choices. We're really not the type that hyperfocuses on these things. If they decide to do university and have to do a year or two college prep then that's fine. If they decide to go straight into workforce that's fine too. It's not end of the world if they don't start higher education right away. More than anything we see this as a life expanding experince. Of course I want to bring them to a decent area with low crime, good schools, etc. I think every mom wants that, lol. So, that's what I'm trying to figure out.

DSO has things in his head about where to live. Being an Accountant, I'm trying to balance all things including finances. We'll have some major expenses in upcoming year as we'll have a proper wedding ceremony about a year after we legally marry AND we'll be planning to throw a sweet sixteen for my daughter in April 2018. I understand it's an American custom. To give perspective, some families spend as much on their daughter's sweet sixteen as is spent on a wedding. I sure hope we don't go that far! Point is, I've got a lot to try and figure out and need to balance it all. I appreciate the educational information. I definitely have more research to do. Again, once I'm over there next month I'll be getting a lot more direct information. The initial feedbacks have indicated things should be fine. Maybe some extra work would be involved but that's ok.

Merrymouse- I cannot work under fiancé visa. We plan to legally marry not long after I come over then apply for the shift to spousal visa. I can then work. In my corporate experience I've worked with international accounting practices. I expect to take a slight step backwards in this transition as I need to become acclimated to the U.K. way of doing things. Ironically I worked with my previous company's European Controllet who is in Newcastle. I had some discussions with him about my career transition since he's there and is familiar with my experience, abilities, and expertise. I'm in contact with some international recruiters out of Leicester and....oh another city around there. I can't recall the name at the moment. Ugh, 2am almost so my brain must be turining off.

Merrymouse- It's not really for me to decide what my children will do post school. We anticipate my 17yo would live with us. It could go either way with her. In some Regards she's more than capable of leaving the nest. In some ways it's near impossible to see her doing so. So, DSO and I are prepared for the long haul of her living with us. My 14-almost-15 yo wants to be a computer programmer/coder.

You might be better earmarking that sweet sixteen money for tutoring to get your daughters up to speed. What subjects are they studying?

Personally I think you are risking creating significant problems for your eldest daughters. They may well under achieve unless you give them significant support and that could impact on the rest of their lives. The brightest of children could struggle coming in half way through an exam curriculum.

I agree scorpion - I should have said what do 'they' want to do.

Given that your daughter will be an adult in a year, will she have any right to work in the UK?

Accountingweb.co.uk has a pretty active forum - they might have some ideas about transferring US experience to the UK.

If they decide to do university and have to do a year or two college prep then that's fine. If they decide to go straight into workforce that's fine too.

I know it sounds like we are fixated on the education thing but you don't seem to understand.

Neither will get into uni without qualifications, and nor will they be able to work without them.

If your eldest enrolls in college with no qualifications then she will have to do a level one course, lasting a year, then a level 2 course lasting 1 or 2 years then a two year level 3 course.

If she gets her high school diploma she can at least go on to a level 3 course and have a stab at a descent uni.

As for fees being cheep - that's the cost for someone permanently resident in the UK who has been here 3 years, you might be charged international fees that are much higher and dd might not get any help with living costs.

Link to Leicester uni for computer science for younger child. How much coding has she already done?

le.ac.uk/courses/computer-science-bsc

They want GCSE maths grade B - if your youngest can get that then great, but the chances are she will not, not because of lack of ability just because she will be starting so far behind in content.

The 'US requirement' mean little to me but this is a direct quote.

For entry to the first year of a Bachelors degree you will need a High School Diploma with at least a grade C average together with SATR (Math, Critical Reading and Writing) with a minimum score of 550 in each and three Advanced Placement exams. The AP grades needed will vary depending on the degree that you wish to study but grades 4 or 5 would be a typical requirement. You may also require specific subjects for some degrees.
If you are studying A-levels or the International Baccalaureate (IB) then you can begin from the first year of a Bachelors degree. Please see our individual course pages for entry requirements
If you have already completed the first year of an undergraduate degree at a university in the USA , you may be considered for entry to the first year of a Bachelors degree. Law students only: Please note that you can only start from the first year of a Law degree. No credit transfer or exemptions are given.

I think you need to speak to an immigration lawyer with respect to your eldest. She would not necessarily be able to remain once she hits 18 (depending on your individual circumstances including things like whether she is in full time education).

As others have said, transferring a 9th grader and an 11th grader into the British education system will not be straightforward. A student can't just join part of the way through a two- or three- year course.

My eldest is about to turn 17. He has already done a significant proportion (about a third) of his A-level courses. If you can find a school that is willing to accept your 17 year old into the beginning of Year 12 in September (with the 16 year olds) she could start A-levels or a BTEC (vocational equivalent) from the beginning.

My next child is 14, about to turn 15. He is at a school that does three-year GCSE courses, so he is already half-way through these courses. If you can find a school that does two-year GCSE courses, then they might be able to offer the 15 year old a Year 10 place in September, so they can start the courses from the beginning.

Moving the 8 year old should be fine.

On village life:
I'm in Derbyshire. The local secondary school has a catchment of over 20 square miles. Teens can go crazy unless parents chauffeur them around before they can drive themselves. Our nearest 'town' is 8 miles away. It's a 20 minute drive. 45 minutes to a city. You can spend two hours in an evening just getting one kid from A to B and back again.
Roads are twisty and narrow. We don't have traffic jams but delays are caused by cyclists, tractors, sheep, cows...... Parking is diabolical.
The local broadband and phone reception is dire.
Children in villages can play out relatively safely but there is often nowhere for them to play. They can't just run wild in the fields because landowners object to this. There are more places to play in towns where there are parks.

Derbyshire is absolutely delightful if you accept these quirks but it's a long way from California.

Another vote foe Ashby de Zouch very traditional. Surrounded by lovely countryside good road links and excellent independent and state school.

I've just checked with my immigration specialist because this was bugging me (I run a law firm). In the normal course of things (and clearly there is a list to the extent to which you can get accurate legal advice on a forum such as this) your DD would have to live with you permanently and be dependent on you for financial support in order to be continued as a dependant under your visa. Otherwise she would need to qualify in her own right (which involves sponsorship, minimum salary requirements etc). So simply going straight into the workforce is unlikely to be an option. Does she want to live with you indefinitely?

I'm not trying to put a dampener on this but you really need specialist legal advice given her age and her lack of qualifications.

Reading back I can see that you have spoken to a solicitor in the UK but do double check that their advice has covered what happens in less than a year's time when your DD hits 18.

Newtssuitcase- my 17yo DD is my special needs child. Even staying in the US we expect her to live at home with us indefinitely. She's able to be attached under my visa until 21yo. We haven't decided if this will be a permenant move. We have to for about a year for DSO and I to live as husband/wife to show US government we really do have a relationship. It's all absurd but it is what has to happen at this point. We may decide to stay. As I'm not there yet it's too early for that lol. Yes we have attorney/solicitor involved. My US attorney is working on the move away order for the children which won't be an issue. Dad is not in the picture. He pays his child support and that's it. Once move away order is in hand the solicitor will put in for the fiancé visa. We could technically move then but I do want the children to finish the year at school here.

Will your fiancee earn enough [in UK] to support all 5 of you indefinitely? And run at least one car unless you decide to live in a city with good transport?

My cousin just got married to an English guy she met in CA. My other cousin is an immigration lawyer & has helped them with procedures.

ps: when will the 17yo turn 18 (month-yr).

Yes, my fiancé makes more than enough to support us. I also receive $1,200 child support a month. Once we marry I'll be allowed to work. I'm a degreed accountant with 15 years experience. I expect to have to take a step back from senior/supervisor level but shouldn't have too much trouble finding work.

She turns 18 Nov 2017.

A village or small town in dreary Derbyshire would probably be hell on earth for your teens. I strongly suggest you go for Nottingham, Derby or Loughborough. For that matter, Newcastle upon Tyne is great. Why NOT go there?

Will your eldest DD graduate from high school in June 2017?
Your eldest DD will be above the compulsory education age (when free education is easier to get).

Your 2nd DD will have to scramble in order to get some GCSEs done (which is doable, but she could have a huge backlog of stuff to catch up). Good news is that homework isn't graded at all, but she will have lots of reading. GCSEs are sort of equivalent to high school diploma, and difficult to get after the school year when they turn 16.

Have you budgeted for the Health surcharge (£200 for each of you, afaik).

I'm puzzled why my cousin got her English husband permission to stay in USA so easily when you can't do same for your fiancee. Is it TrumpNuttery? Cousin got married in CA in October 2016.

AnnaBegins- John Taylor is the school DSO was looking to get my teens into, and putting my little one in a primary that rolls into John Taylor. He thought the place he liked in Linton may roll into John Taylor. See, he is partial to the area as his family is there and he did grow up in a coal mining town. He moved away and joined Royal Marines and just moved back to the area less than a year ago, so he's reacclemating to the area himself. He lived all these years either in London or most recently near Newcastle. His daughter is Geordie.

Out of curiosity...I noticed many people saying coal mining towns aren't good...why? Is it an environmental issue? A class/stigma thing? Economic?