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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

moving from ireland, start in yr 6 or wait unti yr 7

28 replies

Acorncat1 · 06/09/2019 13:41

Hi Guys
I'm hoping I can get some advice here. We currently are living in Ireland and may have to reclocate to Leeds in the near future. My son is in the irish equivalent to Year 6 right now so would be starting Year 7 in Sept 2020.
I'm wondering if it would be better to move now as soon as we can so he can make friends with people in year 6 who he would potentially move up with. Other option is to wait until next Sept and move nearer so he starts then. I'm a bit worried if we move now that he'll have to start a new school now and then again in Sept.
Also wondering how much transition stuff do they do in Year 6 - what would we miss out on if we waited to send him straight into Yr 7.
I hope this makes sense and isn't too confusing!
Thanks in advance!

OP posts:
sitlux · 06/09/2019 14:16

I'd start straight in year 7... depending on school location, he might not be going to school with many of his yr 6 buddies (my daughter has exactly 2 girls from her old class, although it's our local comp she went to).

Also, if you do it now, that means he needs to adapt to 2 different schools... while also taking SATS in year 6.

Good luck.

Original poster
Acorncat1 · 06/09/2019 14:21

Thanks for that. Do they do alot in Year 6 to help them transition? I've seen some stuff on schools websites, and then some stuff about days out during the summer hols to help them make friends...does this happen?

OP posts:
anyoldvic · 06/09/2019 14:22

Assuming you're talking state schools...
Applications for year 7 must be made in the autumn, and you can't apply for a place until you have an address. So if you wait until the end of year 6 to move you won't necessarily get the school of your choice

TeenPlusTwenties · 06/09/2019 14:23

If you can move prior to Oct 31st then you would be in situ to apply for secondary. If you move in July you will get whatever school has places.

Round here transition is mainly 1 going up day in early July.

TeenPlusTwenties · 06/09/2019 14:25

Oh yes, I forgot. our school does an optional 'summer school' for a few days late August which helped DD with transition. It isn't standard across all schools though, especially as budgets are tightening.

sitlux · 06/09/2019 14:25

Not really, year 6 is mostly about SATS tests. Some schools would have an induction day in July, but that's pretty much it.

And yes, @anyoldvic is right, from the perspective of choosing schools - if you are keen on a particular school - you are better off moving him now. Application deadline is 31 October, for admission to year 7 in Sep 2020.

How old is he, exactly? Are you sure he would go in year 7 next year? The educational systems are quite different.

JoJoSM2 · 06/09/2019 14:29

Like pp said, you’d need to move now to apply for a school of your choice. If you aren’t too fussed about any particular schools, then waiting won’t be much of a problem.

In terms of transitioning, pupils at the end of Y6 will go into the new school to have a look around and do some fun activities. Other than that nothing much happens till they actually start.

Micah · 06/09/2019 14:29

If you wait til year 7 your issue is going to be getting a place if you miss the normal round of applications in yr.6

Leeds has some very good schools, and some very not good ones.

Where are you moving to? It will make a big difference north/south, city, surrounding villages? State or private? Some areas have grammars which are impossible to het into outside of the normal intake.

We did the same-to leeds area. We moved at the end of yr 6, and weren’t allocated a place until october half term. Fortunately at the school of our choice.

Whathappenedtothelego · 06/09/2019 14:30

I would move early to apply for a Y7 place in the normal admission round.
I'd rather have the certainty of knowing which secondary school he'd be going to by March. Lots of Leeds schools are oversubscribed, so if you wait until all the places are already gone, there's much more chance of being allocated a school that's unpopular or inconveniently far away, or both.

PullingMySocksUp · 06/09/2019 14:31

Leeds deadline for applications is 31st October if that helps at all.

Original poster
Acorncat1 · 06/09/2019 14:52

Thanks guys
@sitlux - yes I'm sure he'll be going into yr 7, he's 11 in June. Education systems are different, in Ireland he wouldn't go into secondary until he's 13, which I find terrifying that he'll go when he's 11 if we move!!
It'll be a state school and we're looking around Horsforth (yeah, I know, everyone want to go there), pudsey, guisley. If anyone has anymore ideas on schools and areas let me know!
Also, I've spoken to Leeds city council and have sent an email into them to as requested to explain my situation regarding year 7. Hopefully I'll hear back soon as I know the deadline is the 31st October. I think I'll be able to apply for the schools but will just be at bottom of waiting list until we actually move and have an address.
Whats the difference between a grammer and a state school?

OP posts:
anyoldvic · 06/09/2019 14:56

grammar schools are state schools but they are selective, and you need to pass the 11+ exam to get in

Original poster
Acorncat1 · 06/09/2019 14:59

Ah ok, thanks. Is the 11 plus the same as SATs, the one they do in year 6? Argh! Who'd have known it was all so complicated!

OP posts:
anyoldvic · 06/09/2019 15:02

no, it's another exam specifically for grammar school entrance, it's not compulsory, you only enter them if you want them to go to a grammar

Original poster
Acorncat1 · 06/09/2019 15:07

ah right, I didn't know about that. No, I'm not sure a highly academic school would suit. State is probably best for him.
Also, I forgot to ask the lady on the school from city council, if we want our daughter to start year 3 in sept too, how to go about that. She told me about the during term time transfer form but don't know about at the start of year transfer!

OP posts:
RainOrSun · 06/09/2019 15:12

We made the decision to move for Y6. The kids started last week.
Pros: we will be able to apply for a secondary with everyone else. There is no way we would have got a place at either of our local schools if we arrived next summer (we had an address to return to).

Cons: SATs. Fecking SATs. We are on week one. He has sat a full set of SATs papers and will be put into sets dependant on the results - I'm hoping for top set maths, and expecting bottom set English. Let's hope that decrepancy is possible. We would have escaped all this if we had stayed in our British school overseas. (And no choice on primarys - we took the available spaces)

For us, one bad year to get decent secondary was the lesser of two evils.

RainOrSun · 06/09/2019 15:13

The Y3 should be the same process for September or mid year - it's not a normal entry point, so is a transfer in our council's terminology.

TeenPlusTwenties · 06/09/2019 15:15

Broadly speaking you have to have a UK address to apply for a school.
Once you have a UK address you can apply.

So for your y3, again you apply once in the country.

If you are turned down for your preferred school, you can appeal once for each academic year. For y3+ you have to show disadvantage to your child is greater than disadvantage to school going over numbers.

However up to and including y2 there are class size limits of 30, so if you move while she is still in y2 appeals are less likely to succeed.

sitlux · 06/09/2019 15:17

My daughter has just turned 11 in August 2019, she's summer born and the youngest in her class. She's just started secondary school and seems to be fine :) apart from the normal worries e.g. will I make any friends, will I have too much homework and so on.

Today she came home (4th day of secondary) and declared she loved her French and Maths class today, but is very disappointed re: double DT, she said it was boring. I count that as a success :)

In-year admission for year 3 might be easier, although you are at the mercy of whatever school places are available when your kids move here...

Original poster
Acorncat1 · 06/09/2019 15:19

I'm sure the lady in Leeds council said that I could apply to the schools from here and once we have an address we can let them know and we'll be in with more of a chance of getting in wherever??

OP posts:
sitlux · 06/09/2019 15:19

PS. State schools in England are way too focused on SATS tests preparation in year 6 in my opinion. I felt like this is all they did in year 6 until mid-May, and after that they completely relaxed and didn't learn too much. That's just my view :)

Original poster
Acorncat1 · 06/09/2019 15:20

We have to sell our house here so no way will we be moving before Christmas. Also I'd like to avoid the SATs...

OP posts:
JoJoSM2 · 06/09/2019 15:21

Applying at the start of the year is 'in year transfer' too. The only normal application time is for primary when you apply for Reception and then applying for secondary by 31/10 of Year 6.
Every other time, you move over and it's 'in year'. You get offered a place at a school that has a place. The school could be next door or miles away. It could be excellent or rubbish.

JoJoSM2 · 06/09/2019 15:23

Why would SATs be a problem? It's just for school statistics and doesn't matter for the child.

sitlux · 06/09/2019 15:33

I think SATs are helpful for the children too, it focuses them a bit and prepares them for the 'big school' and for the exam format. The whole experience made my DD more responsible and she was very proud that she worked hard and got good results.

Having said that, I still think the schools themselves focus a bit too much on SATs results and preparation...

Some secondary schools also teach in ability sets which are initially based on KS2 results... and also put children on a "flight path" - with the baseline being SATs results and the goal being GCSE grades. Sorry OP I hope I'm not confusing you even more.