uk school system questions.

[canmom]

Hello I am new to the forum and hopefully new to the uk soon. My hubby and I are considering a transfer to the UK (specifically Canterbury). When we arrive my kids would be 5 and 7. I have many questions and I thought maybe someone here could help me!

Here in Canada my youngest would start Kindergarten (year one) in September. Is this the same there? Does the school year also start in early September? Do "year one" children go for the same amount of hours as the bigger kids or do 1/2 days?

99% of kids in Canada go to government run, free schools, but it seems paid schools are more common over there, is that true? Is there a website for the city/ govt run schools? am I totally off base?
I am baffled by what I am finding online and need help (:

Hi canmom, we did the transfer the other way (UK to BC). So I think the main differences we noticed are that children in the UK start school earlier (generally in the year that they turn 5) and the school year is different. It still starts in September, but the children are grouped from September, not January. To show you what that means in the UK my dd whose birthday is right at the beginning of September started school the September she turned 5 and was the oldest in her class, which also included children who had only just turned 4 in August. In Canada she would have started school the year before and been among the youngest.

Children start with Reception, and although it is learning through play based they will do a full day the same as all the other children (some schools do staggered starts or half days for the settling in period but this varies from school to school).

Most schools in the UK are publicly run (called state schools in the UK) - only about 7% of children go to a fee paying school. For Canterbury you probably need the Kent LEA, try looking here: www.kent.gov.uk/education_and_learning/school_education/applying_for_a_school_place/primary_school_places.aspx

I lived in Canterbury for a couple of years when I was a teenager and thought it a very nice city.

93% of children in the UK go to free, state schools.
Do you know which council area you will be going to? The local council website should give information on the schools. There will also be idependent reports.

The quality of schools can vary, and in England where you live is very important, so depending on what things are like where you are going to you may wish to choose a school and then move to be as close to it as possible. (because distance from the school will determine whether or not you get in)
If you go to a private school where you live in relation to the school is not important.

If your children will be 5 and 7 on arrival they would both be going to school. The year will depend on when their birthdays are.

and what about the length of the day? do year ones go the same hours as the others?

and thank you for the info, It will be a big change! (we are in BC now, on the island)
Do state schools have uniforms?

It will be a big change! Hopefully one you will enjoy. We live in the interior (moved from London, so a very big change for us!). So for your other questions, yes both your children will have the same school day (which should be fairly similar to the BC school day I think). Uniforms are much much more common in the UK, but are usually for little ones along the lines of grey trousers/skirt with a school polo shirt and sweatshirt or cardigan. Ties and blazers aren't common in state schools until secondary school. Here is a webpage from one of the Canterbury schools with some children in a fairly typical looking uniform: www.adisham.kent.sch.uk/default.cfm?pid=gallery&viewg=1&gid=1153

The other difference that you should probably know about is that although children generally go to their catchment area school, each school has a set number of places and once they are full then children are allocated elsewhere. I note that applications for Kent are due by the 16th January for September next year, so it may be worth ringing Kent County Council (there is an advice line on the link I gave you before) and asking for advice on how to apply, as you won't be able to use the usual process as you don't live in Canterbury yet. I imagine you'll probably need to use the in year application process instead, and you may want to know which schools have places left before deciding where to live (in some areas the quality of schools is very variable). It looks like there are only about eight Canterbury primary schools if you are planning to live in the city.

Oh, and the other thing to know because it may come as a bit of a surprise is that UK state schools are not secular, they all have a Christian bent (this is a legal requirement, but it varies quite a lot from school to school) and a fairly large proportion of schools are aligned to either the Church of England (often referred to as CofE) or are Catholic. For Canterbury I see that five of the eight primary schools are CoE.

Finally expect your 7 year old to get homework.

State schools often have uniforms, but they are usually quite inexpensive at primary age (and I believe can't be enforced). You can usually buy most of the Uniform from the big supermarkets and other High Street shops (M and S). For secondary school it can get more expensive.
When are your children's birthdays? Eg. When was your 5 year old 5? If they are 6 before September they will be going into year 1 not reception, it could be even more crucial for your 7 year old, as it is slightly easier to get a place in year 3 than year 2.
You can apply to any local state school, and if you are applying outside the normal admissions round, where you live is not necessarily quite so crucial. Each school has their own admissions criteria which it might be worth looking at. You also need to be aware that a lot of UK schools are faith schools, this can vary from prioritising members of a particular faith/church group to a rather nominal link to a local church.
The length of day tends to be pretty similar for all state schools, eg. my DCs Infants and Juniors (apart from the first few weeks of reception) are 8:40 to 3:15, and Seniors 8:30 to 3:15. Quite often schools have before and after school clubs, but it does vary a lot from area to area, and you have to pay for these.

Because you are not applying when they are 4 for a place in September, there is no admissions deadline.

When you get to Canterbury you ring up admissions, and they'll tell you what schools have places in their year group, and you can then decide which of those schools to go to - regardless of where you live.

If your child is 5 on 1st Sep she'll go into year 1, and your 7 year old will go into year 3. They may both go to the same primary school, or your youngest to an infant school and your oldest to a junior school.

School days for both are approx 9 - 3:30.

Most schools have school uniforms. Which are mostly cheap and practical.

here's a link to all the schools in canterbury.

And the other thing to remember is that Canterbury is a grammar school area, so when they're 11 they'll sit an exam to see which secondary school they can go to. Kids who pass the exam go to grammar schools, kids who fail don't.

I live in the area- if there's anything specific I can help you with please ask.

Canterbury is lovely, though rather full of students and tourists, and the seaside at tenterden is nice for dog walking. Just so you know, at secondary age (11-18), Kent has a grammar school system. This is now quite unusual in the uk, and means that in the last year of primary they sit an 11+ test and approx 25% go to grammar schools which are more academic. Usually the children have a bit of tutoring, but this can be done at home, to familiarise with the papers - it won't be done at school. Worth bearing in mind, especially if new to you- there are pros and cons of course.

Tankerton, not tenter den, sorry.

X post with indigo, sorry!

Just to confirm a few details:

In the UK, children generally start school in Reception in the September following their fourth birthday. They must start school no later than the start of term following their fifth birthday. Your youngest child will therefore start school immediately in either Reception or Year 1 depending on date of birth. Your older child will be in Y2 or Y3 depending on date of birth.

Both children will attend school full time.

As others have pointed out, terminology differences can be confusing. In the UK we refer to independent, fee paying schools as "public schools". Most children go to state schools which provide free education.

You apply to Kent County Council for school places. You won't be able to apply until you have exchanged contracts to buy a house or signed a letting agreement. You will be able to name your preferred schools but that doesn't necessarily mean you will get a place at one of them. That depends on how full they are. You obviously have a better chance if you check with Kent which schools have places available and apply for them but things do change and it is always possible someone will get in before you. You will be offered places somewhere but you may find that your children end up at different schools which may be some distance from your home. You can appeal if you are unhappy with the schools allocated. You are likely to have a better chance with an appeal for your older child.

I hope your move goes smoothly and you are happy with the schools your children end up attending.

I think what IndigoBell says further up the thread is wrong-if your child was 5 between 01.01.2011 and 31.08.2011 they will go into year 1;if they are 5 from 01.09.2011 to 31.12.2011 they would be in reception

forget that I'm being thick!! Indigo was right!

Depending on where you live(which might initially be influenced by who you will be working for...) there aren't that many choices.

The lea will allocate schools based on catchment areas. Based on last year's results many of the popular schools were v oversubscribed therefore the catchment is quite small (0.4-1.3 miles are typical).

When you shop for your house you can ask what the catchment schools are. Or you can look on www.rightmove.co.uk. There's usually a link to everyhouse what the nearest schools are.

Having said that as your children won't be going through the selection process as per normal then you need to look at schools that may have spaces for your 2 and then get the house.

Within the central bit of Canterbury, the popular areas to live in are St stephens/St dunstans/Canterbury west station area where not only the fast trains depart to get to London under 1 hr but the nearest schools are St Peters Methodist (1 form intake = 30 kids per year), St stephens (3 form = 90 kids). The latter is not religious.

This is also near to the university of Kent so if those are your employers it's easy to walk or bus to work.

Blean and rough common are also v popular areas and they are within walkable distance to Blean primary (non religious). V good school. That's near to the university too.

This is typically referred to as north Canterbury. Private fee paying schools in this area include St edmunds, Kent college and kings (in the town centre; the junior school is in Sturry which is 3 miles outside Canterbury - about 10/15 min drive)

Then there's south canterbury. Typically referred to as the desired side (not sure why it's seen to be better? It's nice too but not sure why better). This is close to the hospital. People tend to try and get their children into bridge primary (3 form) or barham (1 form). Both are c of e. there's also the wincheap school and others like pilgrims way (which is in special measures). There is a fee paying school called St christophers. They pride themselves on having 100% pass rates in the Kent test (the grammar school test that people were talking about earlier).
This area is also near Christchurch university.

Lots of surrounding villages like littlebourne, bridge, wingham, Blean as mentioned earlier which have v good schools.

Because pfizer has just made about 3000 people redundant there is more movement than usual and attrition so you may have a better chance or choice of schools. Pfizer was in sandwich. So you may find lots of houses in that area for sale!

Good luck. Pm me if you want to discuss more.

I think we would be near Christ Church University. Is there any good non fee schools around there? We would not be buying a home as it may be only a few years that we are there. What are the rental prices on average in the area?
Thanks again!

I have learned much, I did not know that uniforms were the norm in every school, here only the paid schools have them (with very few exceptions). I love the idea of uniforms. I think this is why I thought most children went to 'private' schools lol

Will you be driving? Bridge and barham schools are good and if you locate yourself along new/old Dover roads and that subsequent area you will probably get in but you will need to drive.

St peters is v well regarded too but v small so it will be difficult to get in. You will need to be located v near (catchment area is 0.3 miles!). However as you aren't going through the normal applications (applications close next week) then you may stand a chance. You probably need to speak to the local authority. If you google Kent county council there's a link to the education people.

St stephens is also well regarded and it's got 3 form (90 kids). That might give you a higher chance although it's a v popular school. We know people who work in Christchurch who live around there. They bike to work.

Let me know if you need more info.

Rental prices vary. I think your best bet is to go on rightmove (can't link as am on phone but i did mention it on my super long reply a few days ago!) and check rental prices. You should select for rental, and then area you can put south Canterbury and see what comes up.

Typically if it's near or in the city centre expect to pay 900 pounds/calendar month for a 2-3 bedroom house. If it's got 'luxury' finishings it'll be more. The further out of town you go the cheaper it'll be. Then you'll need to pay council tax. This is a tax for things like bin collection, police, etc. This depends on how big your house is. Then you have the utility bills.

I am not sure if we will be driving. We both have cars here but It would be interesting to not drive and to be within walking/ bus distance of everything.

We are looking at the move in about 18 months and (the september she enters school) so we have a bit of time to gather info and this has been a great resource!

Hi everyone
We are relocating back to the UK and have decided on Canterbury. Realistically we won't be in a position to buy a house until around May, so applying for schools is going to be "interesting". I have four (bilingual) children (12,10,7 and 4) who will all need placing in schools. I am a little worried that primary schools seem to be a bit hit and miss in Canterbury. The admissions people at KCC are lovely and are as helpful as possible, but too nice I think to give me the full reality check. Does anyone know the full scoop? If I move to Canterbury in May and look for school places - even with a house right next to a good school, am I going to end up in a duff school because it's all that will be available?

Canmom if you will be living near CCCU I can 100% recommend Wickhambreaux School whic is where my DD's went, it is an oustanding small faith school based in a village 4 miles out of Canterbury on the CCCU side. Also Bridge School is excellent too.

Littlebourne is a good area to rent in as it's outside of Canterbury by less than three miles and still handy to CCCU and on the bus route too.