Moving from the US to the UK

[MJIG]

We will be moving to the London from the US with our daughter who will be starting year 11 in September. Can anyone offer advice on state schools? I understand that she would be entering a school in the middle of the GCSE years so I am looking for information on what type of school would help her assimilate best into the UK system. We would like her to move on to the IB diploma.

IMHO home educating herself whilst adjusting to a new country and finding friends would be a lot to put on a 16 year olds plate, especially of they are gregarious and like to get involved in lots of activities. I have known a few expat kids who had to wait a few weeks for school places to come up and they were climbing up the walls and made their mothers' lives a misery. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be around my gorgeous DDs if I had put them through that. One thing is for sure you need to make sure your DC is fully signed up to whatever option you pursue.......

I teach in a secondary school. I think she should go into the start of Year10 rather then transferring into y11. All gcse's are designed to be taken over 2 years really. Some of them involve coursework, particularly subjects like music, drama, dt art etc. This starts is the biggest component of the exam and usually starts in year 10.
Other subjects have controlled assessment which is a bit like an exam, and also can take place in year10.

All students have to take Maths, English and Science. The introduction of the wonderful ebac means that most will be expected to take a humanity and language too. However, very able students may take as many as 10-12 gcse's. This means students will can choose a wide variety of subjects to take. When we have had similar situations in my school, students have started in year 10. I think putting her straight into y11 at the moment will not be very good for her. Most of my y11's are finishing coursework at the moment, and then revising. Most subjects will be starting revision of the course they have studied very very soon (March). She wouldn't have the knowledge to complete the exams properly which would let her down.

If she wishes to integrate and make friends, I"m not sure home educating her is the answer either. My suggestion would be to start her in year 10. You will find schools will be helpful though.

Copthallresident -- I hate to keep hijacking the thread but I am doing the very thing you advocate against and to keep reading this is getting me so worked up (in a sort of friendly, argh! way if you know what I mean). If there isn't a suitable school with a place then there isn't a suitable school with a place. I can't make one appear. Trust me, I would love to make one appear. I cannot pay for a school. Period. It just can't be done. Right now I'm seriously considering getting out of the UK and depriving dds of their papa for a few years. If you have any advice, PM me. 'Cause I'm just not getting it apparently.

Spalva I appreciate you are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea and you have to make the best choice available to you for your family, that suits your DCs. Sadly I cannot change the UK state system to accommodate those of us with third culture kids, however much I think it should because as my DD's private school appreciated they have so much to offer .

OP was asking for advice and I can only offer my knowledge and experience to put into the pot with all the other advice on here, and their knowledge of their own DCs. I don't doubt there are some DCs and families for whom home schooling works, even as they adjust to a new country. However my experience is that moving teenagers to another country is difficult enough even with a school available for them to create a life for themselves in, and adjust to the different peer norms etc. I have had to home school my children when they were younger with the material provided by their school when it was closed by SARs and so I am quite sure it would not work for my family even without the added stress of a country move.

My point is that if OP can afford by whatever means to fork out for that one year then that is what I would do. In the same position if I could not afford a private school for a year I would stay put in the US and split the family rather than home school. I know quite a few expat families who have done just that.

I wouldn't split the family. .

If I was the OP I would carry on phoning any IB school that her DD could potentially go to.

. If the OP's DD is bright then it may be a possibility to start the IB Diploma Programme a year early. She would then have to take a gap year prior to starting Uni in order to avoid being an overseas fee payer.

There were a couple of DC's on my DC's course who did this successfully.

Orangeandlemons Y10 entry is good - state schools do do this in exceptional circumstances and yours are exceptional. I will pm you a suggested school.

One complicating factor is that many North Essex schools start GCSE courses at the start of yr9, with top sets sitting the final exams at the end of yr10. This means that the option of starting in yr10 may not be a great one in those schools.

Those schools do tend to have a 1 year enrichment/extension curriculum for those yr11 top students who have completed most courses. But I don't know if they'd be happy to accept an international student onto that sort of course, because the fact that she doesn't have GCSE passes would affect their school league table results.

Maybe we can all just write advertisements for our dc and put them in the newspapers!

Having lived in Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, France, the United States and Lithuania and having spoken, been instructed in or studied Kyrgyz, Russian, Ukrainian, French, English and Lithuanian, 12 year-old bilingual, straight A student, gifted and talented, winner at her previous international school of the 2012 Math Day, 2012 Robotics Tournament in Budapest and 2012 Middle School Science Fair is seeking situation in a decent, friendly secondary school with science/tech extracurricular activities in an affordable neighbourhood/town/village somewhere within an hour's commute to Moorgate. And please don't allow her to be bullied by raccoon-faced, orange-skinned girls with their skirts hiked up.

just found this thread (thanks Spalva)

I am in a similar situation - contemplating moving this year but my DD would also be entering year 11 in Sept.

The difference being that mine is not top of the class and would definitely struggle to cram GCSEs into one year, but would rather die than be put down a year (she's an autumn birthday). An added problem is that she has been studying Italian as her MFL for 3 years, and it's pretty hard to find a school that offers it.

Do both Hockerill and the Anglo-European take pupils in year 11? Did any schools offer a viable solution to the problem?

Spalva with qualities such as you indicate I would definitely be approaching independent schools with a view to getting a bursary .Even if you have missed the normal round many schools will have discretionary funds for such circumstances .

Year 11 is possibly the most difficult year for moving to a new school and few places will come up for entry into that year as it is the second year of the GCSE course.Very few students will be moving school at that time and it would be difficult for a new student from abroad to cover a two year syllabus in one year without some personal tuition (it isn't that the educational level would necessarily be different but the syllabi would be) . You should contact the schools you are interested in and discuss possiblities with the school and also contact the local education authority for the area you would like to move to.

outtolunchagain -- (great name!) I have been rudely; prissily informed by many independent schools that bursaries are already allocated for the year.

Oh dear , I work in an independent school and whilst we would respond that bursaries have been allocated for a routine enquiry ( although I hope not rudely) your special circumstances would be taken into account and discretionary funds are sometimes available for outstanding candidates . We are not in your preferred area though so that doesn't help you .

I would also add that sometimes it is well worth politely but firmly persisting , as schools do get a lot of enquiries and you may just need to get through to the next level of management IYSWIM .Make sure they know your particular circumstances etc

I only referred to the schools as crammers because 2 previous posters called them that and I thought that was just a slang term for schools that "cram" 2 years in to 1. My only concern was when someone mentioned that it used to be looked at a place or idle boys to sit. I can only look at school guides from here and I am relying on all of you for the local opinion so that I can get a more rounded opinion. There are many schools here in the US that would look good on reports but by living here I am aware of certain issues that an outsider wouldn't be. So if I ask things that make you want to give me the side eye please know that I mean no harm.

Sorry, not read the whole thread. There is an American/International school in Cobham. ACS Cobham. I think she may be able to continue the US education system there.

Possible until she can move to the UK system? Just a thought.

Well, outtolunchagain, you gave me a bit of courage to grovel to a few schools today. :-) It will be your good deed of the day if any works out!

I do hop things work out Spalva , your dd sounds lovely and this must be do hard for you all . Fingers crossed

MJIG. That was me. However my point is that there is now a very different market.

If you are an overseas candidate getting into a good British University is often easier than into an Ivy League and there is a historic tradition of students from many countries coming to the UK. In addition the University systems in many European countries can be less attractive than those in the UK. (Very simply put some systems take in lots of students many of whom fail the first year. It may be harder to get into a UK University but you are expected to stay the course.)

Doing some of your schooling in the UK and in English will increase your chances of getting a place at the UK University. The University understands your qualification, knows you are familiar with living in England and can study in English. Hence two of DCs cousins ended up studying at London colleges, one for GCSE and the other for A level. They both ended up with very good, indeed excellent, GCSE and AS results. There is something to be said for small groups of motivated students all in the same boat.

There are still one or two colleges that seem to pick up the failing public school boys who need to resit, but you ought to be able to weed those out simply by looking at results or by talking to them and asking where their students come from.

Whether private or state my guess is that teachers in mainstream schools will struggle to find the extra support a new entrant at Yr 11 will need. At the very least you should offer to "home ed" through the summer so your child is at least familiar with the work covered by the others. With the exam rush in full swing a new child might struggle to break into existing social groups and into school teams and activities. Better to find an international school working to the same syllabus, start in year 10, or use a specialist college (or perhaps home ed if feasible) to get through to the next natural entry point which is sixth form.

Needmoresleep- Thank you for the info. Now it makes a lot more sense to me why these secondary schools are so competitive. It must be very hard to be born and raised in England and then have international students coming in to compete with you at the secondary schools level. We don't have that type of competition until University.

I am looking in to the 1 year programs like so many suggested and see if there is any way that we will be able to do this financially for one year and then apply for 6th form. I now understand that there must be a huge pool of international candidates who are willing to pay these astronomical fees if it will help them secure a place at Uni.

I think I know the answer to this question but....will I be facing a horrible time of trying to get her into a 6th form as well?

It will be nowhere near as problematic getting her into a 6th form as this is a time for movement in the system and lots of DC change schools then.

Tonbridge Grammar School is a state IB (in the sixth form) school. Try - they might be a lot more interested in a later incomer from abroad than you would think.

6th form shouldn't be difficult ,the problem with year11 is that no one moves school then as year 10 and 11 are really a two year course .

I don't think there are lots of international students trying to get into UK secondary schools , it's more that schools here don't have to take you just because you live near them so there is a bit of a lottery getting in and then people tend to stay once they are in .Hence no spaces, plus as I said before moving in year 11 is just not done.

Bonsoir- I will check out Tonbridge. Thanks!

I dont know but assume international students are not eligible for British state schools.

There is a noticeable contingent from overseas looking for private boarding school places at 16. Look at the Student Room website thread on getting into Westminster School for sixth form. (Be scared, be very scared.) The same students will be trying Dulwich, SPS, Sevenoaks, Harrow and others. Lesser known boarding schools pick up even more, with some laying on, say, special English classes for Chinese students. This market has also encouraged the proliferation of private colleges. The fees are not insignificant so their families will expect students to work hard. Some of the results are impressive. However it will help if the year is seen as a way of getting to the next stage. Work hard, get the results and you are on your way.

I think for DC's cousin, the year was pretty much spent in limbo. He did not know many people other than his classmates and had stacks of homework which dominated each weekend. But he is now in the school he wanted to go to, over the transition, enjoying himself and with 10 A*s at GCSE well placed to apply for a good University.

In terms of the state sector if your daughter did go to a private college, she would presumably apply in the normal way for either a place at a school sixth form or at a sixth form college. Lots of kids move at this point. She will need predicted results. If these are good there is nothing to stop her getting a place at a selective school, perhaps a grammar. Catchments don't apply in the same way as they did at 11.

British Universities have always taken a lot of overseas students. However they have a set number of places for British students.