Advice Needed re Moving from school in South Africa

[KrisRed]

This is my first post. I need advice please Ladies.

We are considering moving to the U.K. from South Africa before the end of the year. DS is 17 years old and currently in Grade 11 in South Africa. What year would he join at school in the U.K. since he hasn't done GCSEs? At the moment he doesn't do any science subjects(except Maths) because he plans to do a business degree at Uni.
Is there any chance of him getting into 5th Form?
Also, if he starts in November 2019 would he be able to catch up? We are also concerned about getting a place at school.
As you can see, this is a very worrying time.

Thanks

If he’s 17 he could start the sixth form, ie after gcse’s. What formal qualifications will he have from SA?

I think if he were 17, I think he would join what perhaps were once called sixth form college, I think referred to as colleges. They have a huge range of courses and I suspect your ds would need to start with GCSEs which they do at most if not all sixth form colleges. From then he could choose what to do next, but I suspect it's all very possible as many children/ young people leave school at 16 without having passed the GCSEs they need so they often offer them at colleges. He wouldn't be on how own.

Where are you moving to?
In Scotland he could do 6th year and do some highers.

We moved from SA, so I understand the stress.
I would try and move as soon as possible, as the sooner he settles into the education system the better,

Or alternatively - let him matriculate over there and then move, possibly moving him into a school that offers a British system, I know that there are some in jhb.

Thanks Ladies.

We are planning to move to Shropshire. Hoping he can get into 5th Form. When he leaves South Africa he will just have completed Grade 11, not a specific qualification as such.

Fifth form is now called Year 11, in state schools at least. I don’t know about the private sector. If you look for Year 5 places, he’ll end up with 9/10 year olds!

Year 11 (what I think you mean by 5th form) would be 2 years behind his peers - starting at 15. It's also the year you sit GCSEs but the courses are 2 years (3 at some schools) so it would be very difficult to join and do well having missed the first year. Some schools might let him join the first year of sixth form, the year behind his current year, and start the 2 year A-level courses or he could do the International Baccalaureate as an alternative instead, if there is a school or college nearby that offers it. The other option for 6th form would be the 2 year BTEC (more vocational courses, accepted by most universities for most courses, you would need to check with UCAS though) at a college. It is a difficult age to transition to the UK system. Maybe you could consult an educational consultant for advice? Or could he board in SA to complete his education there?

There is essentially zero chance of him getting a place in Year 11 (at state school anyway) - that is the year they sit GCSEs, having studied for them through year 10 (and often year 9) so he would really struggle to cover the syllabus in the time. He is also at least one year too old for that year, possibly 2 depending on when his birthday is (Year 11 is the year children turn 16 here)

His best bet is probably to find a college that will allow him to take a limited amount of GCSEs in order to progress to his required A levels for university.

If he has no formal qualifications 17 will be very difficult.

He should have done gcse’s already, and without them it may be difficult to get on a sixth form/a level course.

I can’t imagine any schools will take a 17 year old into “5th form”- that is the year they sit their gcse’s and age wise the cohort is 15-16. Unlikely he will catch up in time to sit gcse’s too- it’s a two year syllabus, and many schools now start in year 9 aka “3rd form”.

If he wants to do business at uni I would maybe look at access courses and other routes into higher education. Also he could look at apprenticeships where a degree may be done part time. There’s always the OU as well.

I would start checking out uni’s and courses and see what admissions criteria are. At 17 most of his peers will be preparing for uni.

www.intostudy.com/en-gb/universities/the-university-of-manchester/courses/international-foundation-in-humanities-and-social-sciences Maybe helpful

This brochure from sixthform college in Shrewsbury talks about international admission requirements. Maybe contact them. www.scg.ac.uk/images/documents/guides/International_Prospectus_2018_v2.pdf

When will he get formal qualifications from SA? Moving him at this stage sounds like a disaster educationally speaking.

That is why I am so concerned.
If we stay in South Africa, he will complete school at the end of next year and will be able to start Uni then.

Honestly, if you can, keep him in the SA system til the end of 2020, and get him his leaving certificate, do it. Movi g at this age is really hard. Changing education system too will make it doubly hard. Then look at university - either in SA, or starting in the uk in September 2021.

If you have the means to look at private school that might be a smoother consideration. If so could he may be come over earlier and board for a couple of months as, if he is to start 6th form, it would be better to start in September at the beginning of the school year (but you don't have much time to arrange this) They may also be able to do a more 'bespoke' syllabus to allow him to catch up.

Unlikely he'd get into "5thform" which is an out if date term for year 11 as he is already older than that cohort and gcse courses are at least a two year syllabus. He could start in 6th form/year 12 , either at a school or college, and take A levels or level 3 qualification, perhaps with gcse maths and englush alongside.

Even if you move now he may not have long enough EU residence to qualify for UK/EU student uni fees.

For the sake of a year I’d keep him in SA if you can. Boarding school? Live with a friend? You stay?

The more I think about this, the more I wouldn’t move him.
For the sake of a year, I would stay.

Friends of mine are currently in the process of moving, he is here, she is still there with the kids until he is settled, lots of people do this. Is it an option?

Although SA matric might not get him into uni in the UK. My cousin found her matric wasn’t recognised at university in Holland and couldn’t take the course she wanted. So it may be more beneficial to move him over and get him to do GCSEs at an FE college before progressing on to A levels depending on what future he envisages and where.

I’d definitely keep him in SA to finish to school. Then he can come for uni in the U.K.

www.naric.org.uk/naric/

This website will tell you about the recognition of qualifications.

I suspect that if he came over now, he could end up repeating lots of stuff and would be very unlikely to be in a position to go to uni next year.

It is certainly possible to matriculate in SA and come here for university. However you will probably be classed as an overseas student with much higher fees. A friend of DDs went to KCL with matric from Sa. She did extra work for her subject though as matric wasn’t good enough on its own for her subject. Therefore do some research about foreign qualifications at uk universities. Ask specifically what extra studying he might need to do or apply for a foundation course. These get students up to speed who haven’t quite got the right exams and grades.

Alternatively it is possible to join a private 6th form or a state one but as the syllabus will be different here, that’s possibly not the best route. I did know a SA DC who did it but into an independent school. They used a consultant and it wasn’t easy!

Good luck with what you decide.

Based on the fact that he is 17 now, before the end of August, you son would be starting Y13 this September.

GCSE courses are traditionally 2 year taught courses, starting in Y10, when the children are 14. Some schools even start in Y9.

I do not think that doing GCSEs is an option for him, but doing A Levels should be. This would mean your son going into Y12 instead of Y13. Sixth form colleges have somewhat more flexibility over this than schools. By arriving at Christmas your son will have missed the first term of teaching and will have to make friends after everyone else has settled into their courses, but that is not insurmountable. Leave it much longer and you would be better off staying where you are until he has his school leaving certificate.

He can probably go straight into 6th form but it would be really beneficial if he could come on ahead in September, he would be a year older than most the students. He would need to pick 3 subjects to study (if a levels) or some places offer the international baccalaureate. If he cannot start then it's possible your only option is private school because state provision ends at 18 (though if they have started they can stay until 19), further Ed / 6th form colleges may allow paid entry at 18+ My DD's college charged £1000 per a level per year.