Moving from South Africa to UK - advice on moving teenagers in middle of the year

[MickeyMeaker]

Hi
I am moving to the UK in next few months. I am really concerned about taking my boys out of school mid year (Grade 8 and Grade 10, on CAPS system) and putting them into a new curriculum.
My grade 8 only turns 14 on 7 Sep thus would start GCSE.
My Grade 10 , would he need to write GCSE before he can start sixth form?
I am a single mom so I would need to settle myself and them and work!
My options:

1. I relocate in August, setup everything and apply for good schools. I leave them in RSA with their father until an opening comes up in UK at preferred school (it may be only in Jan ) then they move to UK or if it was only Jan 2020 then they have passed their current RSA grade then move them. Questions: would this be more difficult for them?
2. I move them with me in August and they start In Sept on UK syllabus . Questions: do they need to write entry exams? How difficult is UK syllabus if they haven’t yet passed current RSA grades?
3. I move to UK , they stay in Cape Town and go to a Cambridge school in Cape Town that starts new year in sept (not sure which school does this as most follow January as start of academic year) but assuming I find a school or do online then I move them in Jan 2020.

Any advise or your experience around moving teenagers in middle of the year would be a great help
Or if anyone has transitioned similar to my first option
And any single parents out there that can advise or give me suggestions
Thanks
Karen Mickey

How old will your grade 10 be on 31August?
The younger would start UK year 9. This should be ok - a school year (UK school years start in Sept) before GCSE syllabus start - unless you get a school who does gCSE spread over 3 year, at which point he would start straight away.

You oldest could prove more tricky... if they will be 15 before Sept, they would join mid GCSE course, which I would think could be very difficult. If they were already 16, it would be starting the next stage. I dong know how easy this would be to access without GCSEs - would you have taken any formal e ams in RSA by that point?

Entry to government funded schools (ie free) requires no testing. They will be accepted where there are spaces. Entry to private (ie the parent pays) schools will be via assessment.

Are you hoping for private or state schools? State schools will have limited openings between year 7 and 11 so it depends where there is a space in the correct year group. There may not be a soace for both in the sane one. Private tends to be more flexible on numbers and some offer one year gcse courses, entry in a different year group or entry in sixth form without gcse. However they are often academically selective. Where do you intend to live? What are your ds strengths?

Hi SunshineSpring,
Thank you for replying
My youngest turns 14 on 7 Sep thus assume he will start GCSE. Would it be a big issue if he started GCSE in a state school in jan 2020 (3 month catch up to other UK kids, is this difficult). He is not academic, more average .

My oldest will be 16 in may 2019 thus at the right age to start sixth form

They will only have passed the previous year in RSA as they would miss final exams in December 2019 if they moved now.
Is that an issue?
Thx

Hi Lizs
Thank you for your reply
I am looking at State but if necessary will find the money to go independent if necessary.

I am looking in following boroughs in london: Richmond; Hampstead; Islington; Wimberley.
Wherever is central and most convenience as I am a contractor and London centre is my likely work area. But open for suggestions.
By The Way: it seems that until I have a postal code I can’t apply. Even with my unique circumstances it seems I can’t get any further with state schools. Very difficult as I haven’t relocated yet! Gasp! Anyone had similar issues?

Hi,

We relocated to UK from NZ late August last year.

We were able to apply to local councils for places without a postcode, from memory, with proof of right to residency. (I could be wrong on that one, it's all a bit of a blur! I'll check with the other half). We were offered places at a number of schools - some only had room for one of our daughters. We have two, they were aged 13 and 15, and went into year 8 and year 10. The UK school year starts in September.

If your son is going straight into GCSE's, into the exam year, the stress on him is going to be enormous. He is going to be adjusting to a new country, new culture, new school, having lost his mates, having to try and make new mates, dealing with what (we found anyway) to be a very different curriculum. Some stuff our girls were ahead on, but some stuff hadn't yet been covered in NZ, and then there's subjects which they had no background in at all - Religious Ethics, and History for example. My daughter, going into year 10, is doing her mocks this year, and we're thanking the stars that she has this year to adjust, and deal with all this, rather than be staring down the barrel of her GCSE's. We have engaged tutors for them, for maths, and for my eldest for all the sciences as well. Not cheap. Cheaper than private though!

My husband is in IT - his job is why we were relocated. We are living in the Reading area. It is increasingly perceived as a reasonable commute by train to London (45ish minutes), has some good schools, and is cheaper than London. . .

Some areas will allow you to apply while still overseas if the children can start soon after arriving (Surrey is one iirc) . If a state school has a vacancy and no waiting list they usually have to offer the place, regardless of postcode.

Checked with the other half, "we were able to submit applications to the council to get into schools, but nothing happened with them until we had a council tax record'. . . it all comes back to me now. I think I'm going to need a stiff sav blanc for the traumatic memories of that time coming flooding back. . .

I know a family that relocated from RSA and son wanted to enter a private school. As the curriculum is very different (my DDs spent s term at school in RSA) most schools wanted him to go a year down. As private schools they can do this. I am also aware of the cost differences between RSA and UK regarding school fees! I would probably go down this route if you can get a place. The DS of the people we know went boarding. He was a day pupil at a boarding school in RSA. The DS in question didn’t go a year down in the end but the boarding school wasn’t near London!

I would look at independent schools and talk to them about what is best because going into exam years with a background in a different curriculum will be difficult. Be flexible and realistic. Or go boarding in RSA? That’s way cheaper than private here!

I think your youngest will be fine. He will be joining in Y9 and would be one of the oldest in the year. The GCSE years are mostly focused on years 10 and 11, picking your courses in Y9, but some schools do three years of GCSE and more are doing this now the syllabus has got more in-depth and linear (rather than course work).

Y9 is a natural entry point in some independent schools but applications will have closed in the most part now.

Good state secondaries will be hard to find a space but you might be lucky. There is movement even in the most popular schools. Every school has different oversubscription admission criteria, most often it is distance so the closer you are the higher up the waitlist you go. For example we are 0.2 miles from the local primary and when our neighbours moved in with young children they applied for places and got allocated a school about a mile and a half away for a term and then got places at the nearby school after a term as they were above others who’d been longer on the list but lived further away.

For sixth form admission is often on results in GCSEs but hopefully they will recognise other qualifications - it depends on the subjects I expect.

Good luck with the move.

I’d do whatever you could to get the younger son a September start as catching up gcse level work will be hard. For your older son, I’d contact colleges and unis for advice. He might be better staying in SA to finish his qualifications then starting A Levels a year late as otherwise he might struggle to get into uni without ‘GCSE equivalent’.