Relocating during Year 11

[Izzy36]

Hello All. We have just learnt that we have to relocate from abroad back to the UK urgently in December due to early work transfer - it is not an option to stay - we have already asked! My child is in Year 11 studying IGCSEs. My question is if we repeat Year 10 (this will be fine as she is taking all IGCSE early at age 14/15) at an independent school - will she be able to catch up with work and assessments/course work that she would have missed during the first term (she would start in January). The school offers the same options but some exam boards are different. This is disastrous I know but unfortunately, we simply have no option but to move at this time. ANY advice or experience with your own kids doing this would be so much appreciated. Thanks.

Yes, I think one term would be possible. My DS1 is in Y10 and will only have covered one or two topics in each subject. I suggest you email the school for the scheme of work so she can start reading up on some of it at home. The only problem might be MFL, as there might be a controlled assessment which would make up a certain percentage of the GCSE mark, but under the circumstances, I think they might accommodate your daughter and do her assessment in the Spring.

Some schools start the GCSE courses a bit early, in Y9, but I still think that joining in the January would be doable.

DS1 started some of his GCSE courses part of the way through Y9. By January of Y10, he will have covered 25% of the content in some subjects, 20% in others.

If you are coming back to London(or perhaps Oxford or Cambridge) you might consider a private tutorial college (Ashbourne is one but there are lots) which offers GCSEs in a year. The boy we knew who did this got great grades and went on to sixth form in a well regarded indi.

I was chatting to the bursar of the independent school ds is going to next year about the possibility that dd might transfer back for a levels & in passing mentioned anotherchild who transferred back from ballet school in year 10.

She told me they take new year 10s up to January but not after as they can't catch up after that.

Many thanks everyone for your input. Makes me feel a little better. We are going to now travel back a little earlier arriving in mid November, so hopefully she'll be able to get cracking on the GCSE coursework. The school has reassured me that some students do start in January but as others have said, cannot take students later than this because it's too difficult to catch up. A busy year ahead .........!

My son didn't go to school at all in the first term of year 10, and he got 10 A*s. If your child is already so far along, the problem will probably be extreme boredom.

For an academically clever child, (as yours probably is if she is doing everything so early) I don't think GCSEs are very difficult, really.

Thanks so much claraschu- this really does make me feel better. Nice to hear from someone who is in my position and their child still did really well. Would much rather have a bored daughter than a daughter who can't catch up!! Great news - can I ask - did your son sit assessments later and manage to get all coursework he had missed or was he working from home because of illness or something.

He was at home because he was unhappy at school (problems with bullying mainly), so we decided to take time off before going back to a new school in order to clear the air and give him some perspective. HE had always been something we were open to, but our son didn't really do much school work during that time, more things like volunteering, reading a lot, traveling, etc.

After his term off, my son had no problem catching up with coursework and assessments. When he returned to school, he went to a small private school so I guess they probably were able to help, but nothing was ever even mentioned as being a worry or a challenge, as far as fitting in coursework, etc.

I think that taking a few months off school was one of the best things we ever did for our son. He went back with a much more positive attitude.