Choosing the right School

[Corinthia]

Hi all, We are immigrating to UK from South Africa shortly this year and have not been able to pinpoint an area to settle down in. We are hoping to find some great schools first as we have always put our children's education first. Please if you could give us some ideas? Our daughter is turning 8 in November and our son is turning 17 in April next year. Ideally we would love them to be in the same school ???? Epsom has come to mind...xxx

What kind of work can you do?

unfortunately, the school system in the UK is massively oversubscribed in some areas, so you cannot be guaranteed a school place even if you live in the same road as the school.
Unless of course you are talking about private/independent, where the problem might be waiting lists

lljkk??

the best way is to look at the councils websites, they all have lists of the schools.

Schools aren't over-subscribed in the outer Hebrides (and indeed in most of the UK).
However types of jobs are rather limited in many of same places.

I am in payroll/hr and hubby is in health and safety....

The education system isn't the same across the UK as Scotland has a completely different system and different exams to the rest of the UK but as far as I know the only way you'd get an 8 year old and a 17 year old in the same school is if you pay for private education, and even then only at some private schools.

If I've done my maths right and your son was born April 1998 he'd be getting ready to leave school this month anyway (or would have just left school in Scotland) so would then be choosing between school sixth form, college, apprenticeship or part time education (which as of this year is compulsory in England but still optional in Scotland, Wales or NI). Not all schools have a sixth form, so you need to check that while looking at schools and depending on where you move to education might not even be compulsory for him, also courses/sixth forms all have their own entry requirements so you'd need to think about where he might get into.

What makes a great primary school really depends on what you want from a school, are you looking at state or private education? if private do you want a selective private school? do you just want the best academically or are you worried about things like the social side or sport and music too? are you religious/do you have strong feelings about religion in schools? What sort of secondary school would you want your daughter going to? does primary need to prepare her for selective secondary schools?

You will almost certainly have to pay if you want them in the same school. Did you mean Eosom College? Friends of mine who have come from SA found it difficult to find a school for their 16 year old dye to your qualifications and syllabus being different from ours and our A levels are different to your matriculation exams. You will need to investigate where your 16/17 year old will fit in. Regarding your 8 year old, it is possible to find very good schools, but many will not have places available. Popular schools are full. If you favour Epsom, read the Ofsted reports and see what schools have vacancies. You can email them.

Epsom College is for ages 13-18, so wouldn't work. City of London Freemen's School isnt far from Epsom and is 7-18 so may be worth a look - but also quite likely to be full I'm afraid as it is very popular. Both are private schools.

You could also look at Caterham (in Caterham) or Royal Russell (South Croydon) - they both have a co-ed prep school and a senior school.

I wonder if you meant turning 7, not 17?

At 16/17, your son could get himself to school on a bus so less need to be in the same place.

Do you have any idea where you will be working?

If you want a school that will take both an eight year old and a seventeen year old, then it's likely to be an independent school. Fees are in the region of £15K per year.

If you don't mind them being in different schools, then there are plenty of good state schools in the UK (my children attend two of them).

The education system in England is different to that in Scotland, and slightly different to that in Wales.

I can't comment on the education system in NI as I know nothing about it, but imagine it may be different again.

If you are moving to England, your daughter will start Year 3 in September.

Depending on what he has studied in SA, your son could go into Year 12 in September and start A-level or BTEC courses, either joining a school that offers these, or attending a college of Further Education.

If you are looking at state schools, then I think need to move here before you can apply. You are then allocated a school, which may not be your nearest one.