Can we miss out Y6 / SATS? Or is that crazy talk?

[ohgodmumyouresoembarrassing]

I have a million big questions but will split them up into smaller chunks on separate threads... Just arrived (July) back into the UK with a ten year old DD that has been educated in South Africa at an international school (IB programme). So I am very unfamiliar with the 'new' state system (ie.since I was at school here some thirty years ago!). 10yr DD classed as gifted in SA and accelerated - missed Y3, going from Y2 to Y4. Youngest in class, which caused a few probs socially, but academically fine.
Now in UK. Put her into rural state primary into Y5 - ie. back half a year (academic years are different and run Jan - Dec in SA) . She is top of her class in Y5 and according to her teacher has no competition in the small Y6 (8 pupils). However, her teacher also says DD has knowledge gaps which will need filling over a two year (Y5/6) period in order for her to confidently move into senior school. Now, potentially we are being offered a weekly boarding place at Hockerill which we are (for obvious reasons) keen to take up. But it's starting in Sept 2013. This means she will miss out Y6 and SATS. Her teacher says he can't 'spare the time' to extend her individually as he has 28 children to teach although he does say if she stays for Y6 she likely to acheive high 5s or 6s in the SATs. So, my question(s) are: if you were me, would you risk losing the place offered at Hockerill and keep your child in school through Y6 and SATS stress, or would you put her let her miss (yet another) year (she would go back to being the youngest in Y7). We are of course happy to look at tutoring to fill gaps, and do extra maths for fun anyway. But currently I don't see her engaging at school without any peer competition or extension. She's just coasting and while she can get away with it she won't put in extra effort to show what she's capable of (Catch 22)... All thoughts welcomed...
Incidentally, I've asked her what she wants and she says 'I don't mind, I know you'll make the right choice for me..." So, no pressure then.

Will they accept her without the LEA Secondary Transfer Form?

No - but Suffolk County Council (where we are currently) have accepted her CAF1 transfer form. The simple fact seems to be that if one authority is cool with it, then the other one is... and if the school is cool with it, then the LEA is cool with it. It's just one big circle of 'well if they're happy to do this then....'

If Hockerill is an international school I would say there are probably other kids there in the same boat and it sounds like the ideal place for her.

As it's a case of less than a week adrift in terms of the normal age cut off, I really can't see this would cause DD any problems (bigger gaps easily could socially). It's just a case of whether the willingness shown so far to consider her out of her usual cohort does turn into an actual offer.

It'll all come down to number of applicants for boarding places and where you fit the criteria (Forces and OGD families would have priority, after that it's a bit less clear as it comes down to expected mobility and subjective issues).

I know one girl accelerated in a private school who is doing fine, and like your DD she is accelerated only a matter of days. I am usually staunchly against acceleration or holding back, but when it is a few days to a couple of weeks it seems artificial.

I assure you not all "normal" state schools are like the Village one she is at at present. It doesn't sound great, I hate it when teacher's use having to teach 30 or more children as an excuse, not to meet the needs of one.

If you get a place I would probably grab it.

EdithWeston and Mummytime; Agreed that technically a few days adrift is neither here nor there - however it will mean that she completely misses out Y6. Will that have a significant bearing on her performance in later years? Is Y6 a really important year, or is it just revising all the things learned to that point and rehashing them in the form of SATs?

I think you need to go with what ever will make her happy - socially and academically.

Missing year six and SATS won't make a blind bit of difference. I wouldn't worry about it. Being the youngest in the year is not a brilliant plan but it is only by a few days.

Thank you cahoots - I've heard others say that kids go on to be judged by how well they do in SATs and that without the preparation and the work of Y6 DD won't be properly prepped with info to do exams later on. I was rather taking that as gospel. So it's refreshing to hear that's not necessarily the case. Midseasonsale - I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm not sure either I or she would know what will make her happy. She's 10, and would say 'being popular'. That's not necessarily going to happen whatever year she's in! I would say 'having the best possible opportunity to do whatever it is she wants to do later in life, which means giving her the best possible opportunity to fulfil her natural potential'. And that's not necessarily going to happen. All I can do is take the horse to water...

Kids come into secondary school (years 8 or 9) all the time from other education systems, and do fine. The English curriculum is even built with lots of repetition (boringly so in the case of Global warming).
The idea is that every year or two years you go over a topic within a subject, and then take it a bit further. If you are bright you can quickly pick up something you have missed before, talk to Hockerill and also your daughter, so they both will be prepared incase she comes across something she has never seen before. If she can ask questions, most teachers I know will willingly go back a bit to help make explanations clearer.
However such "little gaps" can happen even if you've been through the UK education system from 4/5.

Year 6 normally involves a lot of revision and then the dreaded SATs, which a lot of secondary schools treat with a pinch of salt. In later life no one is interested in year 6 SAT scores, except secondary school administrators who have to show "value added". The only bit she will miss is the bit after SATs, which at a good school gives a chance for real off the syllabus teaching and learning, but at not such good schools can be a bit of a waste of time.

Oh just to add, HE kids I know have gone on to do brilliantly at GCSEs and A'levels; either via home study, entering school in year 9+ or college. However they didn't do SATs.

Thank you very much for the detail mummytime. Very much appreciated. You sound as if you are professionally involved in the education system? That was exactly what I needed to know. I happen to think she'll manage - I just don't want her to get damaged in the whole process by being inadequately equipped. But you're right. I've put in a call to Hockerill and I'm speaking to the registrar tomorrow to discuss the concerns. If you're interested, I'll update this thread as I go... BIG thanks.

Of course we would like an update In due course.....
Hope everything goes well.

I was training to be a teacher (loved the kids, learnt lots - couldn't do the paper work, stay sane and look after my family).

Please update. I hope she has a good time.

DD is in y6; the school basically makes a huge fuss of them for the 6 weeks after SATs. It's important to DD because she has been at same school since reception & this is a Farewell Party. Wouldn't matter if she was brand new to the school, though.

OK. For all of you kind enough to be interested...the registrar says the fact that she doesn't do Y6 is not an issue (as a number of you pointed out) as they have kids coming in from all over the world who have not been through the UK education system or taken SATs. Many of the children will have 'knowledge gaps' in all sorts of areas as a result of the coming together of many different global education systems. So she won't be the only one with gaps either. If she is bright, then she'll pick up the necessary info. And she may or may not be The Youngest, but if she is, it will be by a matter of days. So the conclusion is, we'll give it our best shot and in the meantime get a bit of practical support from her old IB teacher n SA over Skype. If she doesn't get into Hockerill for 2013, then at least we can have another shot in 2014. Best of all worlds really. Thanks to you all for seeing me through a very low, very confused patch... I'll let you know again by mid-end Nov if she's successful...

Hope it works out for you and your dd OP (don't know how best to shorten your name ohgodmummy ? :o We live abroad too, though we intend to stay here til all the kids are through school (so for another 18 years!!!) It still plays on my mind from time to time how my kids would fit back into the UK education system if we did go back, especially as kids start school at 6 or 7 (depending on various factors including but not limited to when their birthday is) here, so if we were to move back to the UK when my 2nd born is 6 and a half, say, he'd never have been to school and would have "missed" 2-3 years of school in comparison with his classmates... (after a few years in the system here they've caught up with their UK peers though as school is much more intense and fast paced, learning through play hasn't caught on, so it wouldn't matter after a bit... but then at the other end of the scale primary school is only 4 years, and dd who is the youngest in her school year will start secondary school a week before her 10th birthday, so it would be odd for her to go "back" to primary school if we moved then!).

Vast numbers of children in the private system do not sit SATs so I wouldn't get overly concerned about not doing them.

I had a year 5 boy last year who completely missed out year 6 and went into a selective grammar year 7.

If she has knowledge gaps can't you get a private tutor to help this academic year and then take the Hockerill place as offered next September. As others have said, Hockerill is a state school with boarding places so tuition is free and you pay only for the boarding part. You can only get in out of area if you apply for a boarding place, other than that the normal rules for state school admission apply.

OK - update time! We have an interview for 'suitability for boarding' on November 15th, so at first stage. And funnily enough bisjo, I actually contacted her last teacher from her school in SA and have asked him to tutor via Skype. DD loved him to bits and won't mind doing the extra if it's with him! So we're sort of on our way. Many a slip etc etc. But am encouraged hugely by all your comments. To theenglishwomanintheattic; depends what country you're in - I would not have been happy for my daughter to go through the SA system coming out at the end with Matric - I don't believe that it's a viable international qualification at the moment (it has been quite severely dumbed down) and students who go to an international tertiary education are generally less well equipped in comparison to secondary students from most first world countries. So for me, an International School was the only way to go.

How do they assess suitability for boarding by interview? Surely that would be done via a boarding trial? [hconfused]

I'll let you know bisjo when we've had our half an hour with the head of boarding!

OK - for those who are hanging on in there - we had our half hour interview. Well, DD was interviewed, while we sat outside. Apparently he gave her some scenarios and asked her how she would handle them and she seemed to have done well - he was very complimentary (but then he wouldn't really be otherwise I guess). And now? We wait. Yessir. We do indeed have to wait until 1st March. No better dibs on boarding places unless we live abroad in which case they would have let us know sooner. See you all again on 2nd March. Keep fingers crossed for us.