Relocating to London from Aust - schooling

[Soph074]

Would love some advice. My family and I are planning to move to London from Aust in Jan 2018. Our girls are 8 and 12. Our biggest concern is transitioning between countries and year levels at school. 12 year old (June born) is currently in Year 6 but will go into Year 8 in Jan when we move. Sept 2018 she will be going into Year 9!
How big is the jump between year levels? Is Year 7 (Aust) same as Year 8 (UK)? Concerned the girls will be significantly behind, and worried about self esteem of 12 year old who is becoming a teen. Any tips?

My dc were miles behind when we came back. My oldest was 12 and went from year five into year seven. She'd never done any (relevant) history. She didn't know any uk geography. She'd been doing Indonesian and had to start French here.

She nailed sports day though!

How did she go catching up? Did you need a tutor?

Pleased she nailed sports day :-)

She did ok as she's a real brainbox and she was interested enough to do so. On her first day a girl came down to reception to get her and told dd her first lesson was RE and she didn't even know what it was...

Before she went to school I made sure I knew what she needed to be wearing etc. I think that's the norm when they start secondary anyway.

She has managed really well socially and she was really happy at school straight away. Her primary in Australia was the same size as her secondary here so that helped as she was used to not having the same teacher for every lesson and moving around the school which most do aren't when they start high school.

My youngest went into year four and she's two years behind I would say. She has a tutor for literacy. The foundations of her literary are terrible. She didn't learn any phonics so she can't decode unfamiliar words for example.

Thank you for sharing. So pleased your eldest settled in well.
I know what you mean re phonetics...we have the same issues at our school.
I hope your life in the UK continues to go well.

My only experience as a teacher of a child coming from Australia and joining her correct age Year group was that she was behind academically by at least a year. It wasn't that she wasn't capable she just hadn't been taught to the same standard as her UK peers.

Thank you trinity0097. Are there schools that provide additional assistance to help international students catch up or is it just up to parents to arrange tutoring? Thank you.

OP - if you go to a private/independent school they may consider taking your children at a year level below their ' proper' year group, especially as your 12 year old is Summer born. No doubt you're also aware that arriving in January means they will be starting school in Term 2 (out of three) as our school year runs from September to July.

In regards to getting a state school place, you cannot apply for school places until you are living in the UK (although some LEAs - Local Education Authorities - will accept applications around 6 weeks in advance of arrival, TBC as soon as you've moved in).

Not sure what it is like getting a place at a state school in your part of Oz, but there are some parts of the country here where certain school places are extremely valuable commodities and there is no end to the machinations some parents go to to try and land one! That said, people move and there are occasional places at random times throughout the year. It might be worth getting your children's names on a few school waiting lists when you arrive, if your allocated school/s are not entirely suitable for some reason.

Good luck :-)

We moved our 2 girls from AU a few years ago. Our eldest had just turned 12 (also a June birthday) and we moved her from Year 6 in AU to Year 7 in the UK. We went private and the school were very happy to have her ‘down’ a year. It worked really well and she never struggled academically (though she did have some maths tuition to catch up a bit). Our other DD was 10 and was one of the youngest in Year 5 in AU. We moved her to Year 6 in the UK (the correct year for her) and again, she was absolutely fine. In fact, she’s dyslexic and she’s been given so much support in the UK (whereas it was dismissed in AU) which has allowed her confidence to really grow.

Anyway, not sure if private schooling is an option for you but it really helped the transition for us with their ability to be flexible on which year they went into.

Where are you moving to, Soph? If London, a lot of schools are v.used to kids coming in from abroad and used to helping them catch up or fill in gaps. A friend's DD came into year 1 from Australia and was behind, but she's fine now (just finishing year 2). Their boy started in year 7 and now by end of year 8 he's fine and confident in all subjects too. Both are in state schools and had a lot of support and help there.

For your older daughter, it's worth asking potential schools when they choose GCSE options. My son's school let them choose in year 9, but some schools now chose options in year 8, so ask when all of that gets decided, as it would be sad if she started somewhere and really wanted to do a particular subject, but that option was already full, etc.

Also is she into sciences? There's the whole double or triple question to navigate. So though my son's school don't decide on GCSE options until year 9, in year 8 the school decide (it's ability based) who's going to do triple science and who's doing double. So he already knows that moving into year 9. I hope that makes sense!

Sorry, just saw you said London as I posted. Maybe tell us where and if private or state as there might be people more able to help you specifically on good options.

Thank you Farangatang and kiwimums. Appreciate your time in sharing your experiences.
Kiwimums, our second DD has learning challenges and would need additional support too. Would love the girls to attend a private school in the U.K. but cost would be an issue. U.K. private school fees seem to be double that of those in Melb. Would love to find a state school that would allow the girls to enter a year lower than their age and have that transitional support.
Lovely to hear your positive story, it's encouraging!

Thank you Traala, just saw your message. Wow, I didn't realise GCSE options are decided so early (ie Year 8) in some schools. I will definitely ask the question.
I did hope that state schools in London would have programs in place for international students - to integrate and get them up to standard. Exact area is yet to be decided but we've been recommended Kingston on Thames or Richmond. Planning a two week break in October to visit schools, look at locations and introduce the girls to London. Any suggestions would be helpful...

I can't help you on those areas, but I'd bet someone will be along who can. You might do well just posting a new thread asking for info on schools in those areas. I'd bet you'll get loads of replies. Good luck!

OP, both those boroughs are known for having excellent schools, but beware that the cost of housing (both rental and purchase) is also inflated in catchment areas of very desirable schools.

You might want to start with:
www.richmond.gov.uk/school_admissions

and www.kingston.gov.uk/info/200342/apply_for_a_school_place/791/school_admissions_arrangements

Look for their 'In Year Admissions' information as a starting point.

London is a great place to live - left Oz nearly 20 years ago and have never regretted it!

My Australian friend moved to London to Richmond with her two primary aged dds and they went to a state school and then the oldest has gone on to the high school there. I think the primary was called something to do with grapes or vineyards. It was definitely an unusual name. Anyway them last time we met up,we agreed that her dc had settled in quickly as in London people are coming and going and there are people there from all over the world where as where we are people have less experience of travel and my dc were quite a novelty.

OP the other thing that is different from Melbourne is that most independent schools (and also the grammars out Kingston way) run merit based admissions. I am Australian too, and was a bit when my three year old was tested within an inch of her life to get into a prep school. Less of a shock to me by the time she got to secondary entrance exams. I know parents in Melbourne with kids at Ivanhoe and a couple of other private schools, and they seem to base admissions there on whether you can pay, so the system is a bit different.

Thank you. You're right about private schools in Melb janinlondon . We have our DD enrolled in a private school and we just need to pay the fees (about half compared to London). There are scholarship exams whereby entry is based on merit and fees are halved.
Thank you farangatang and SavoyCabbage. I will do some research. Traala, I will post a new thread re schools. Thank you for sharing your stories.