Joining Year 11

[justme36]

My daughter will be 15 in June and we are relocating back to UK in September this year after living in Brazil for 2 years.

She will join Year 11 and I am not sure what is the best way to prepare for her GCSE exams at the end of Year 11 and also would the new school in UK require any documents from her last school in Brazil?

Also now with this lockdown what is the situation with schools in UK?

I would appreciate any advice that can help her make that transition.

GCSE is usually a two year course; given that she is fairly young in the school year anyway, it may be worth exploring with schools whether she might go into year 10 instead of year 11.

Unless the school in Brazil is following the UK curriculum (whichever part of the UK you're going to), documentation from them isn't likely to be particularly useful.

Schools are currently on lockdown, and have been since a couple of weeks before the Easter holidays. No date currently for re-opening - rumours of 1st June, but it might well be only some pupils or part-time. My guess is that year 10 will be prioritised if secondaries have a phased return.

I suppose one plus point is that once you know where she's going to be going, it may be fairly easy for the school to give you the work that has been set during lockdown, so she can make a start over the summer. However if you don't know until September, term will have started and there will be less time for catch-up.

I'd echo the PP - if there's any way you can, it's likely to be much better for your DD to go into Y10 in September and start the GCSE course with everyone else. A small number of schools do a three year GCSE programme (ie starting in Y9) but not that many and far easier to catch up from there than to start in Y10 with an unfamiliar system and having missed half the course. It's also going to be a very odd Y10 as there's a chance I guess that schools may have to shut a bit and they will also have to work out who has done work during lockdown and what they have to repeat.

yep GCSE is 2 year course. Try to get her into year 11. Or if not go for international school maybe?

Meant year 10.

If she is very bright, then you could get the revision guides for all subjects and she could work her way through things, at least see what she already knows. You could try subscribing to online Seneca learning too.
However so many things depend on the exam board and the school's own choice eg books for English lit or modules for History.

Otherwise I agree with everyone else, try to get into y10 not y11.

Thank you all. Not sure how happy she will be to join year 10 because she is at the right age to join Year 11

I work in a school and have seen several children attempt this. Unless she is both bright and self motivated she is very unlikely to achieve what she is capable of at GCSE with what really only equates to one term of teaching and one term of revision. Year 10 would be much better for her.

Has she been studying GCSEs? If not then she can't join in year 11 and hope to do well. She simply won't have covered the content. By Christmas of Year 11 they've basically finished the content and everything after that is revision so she'll have missed the whole course.

I'd home school her and stick with her current exams or find an international school.

are you going to put her in private school or state?

There are some private colleges offering one year gcses, but they do cost a lot and tend to be in London and large cities, so availability may depend where you are based. Y11 is a really awkward time to move.

I will send her to a free school. Maybe I should contact the schools in advance and ask for their advice?

If you mean a state school then it's probably better to say that as you've come from abroad, you would like your DD to start in Y10 given that she hasn't done any GCSE work, is young in the year etc. If you ask for advice, you're very likely to be told she has to go into her correct year.

Definitely start making contact with possible schools as soon as you know where you'll be located. Sound them out about whether they have spaces, whether she could go into year 10 rather than year 11, and how they would handle things if she goes into year 11 (for example, one student I taught came in from abroad at year 11: she slotted in fine to some subjects, but she did one fewer option subject which gave her more time for catching up on year 10 work in others).

Every overseas entrant of year 11 age that I have come across in my LA has been placed in year 10, regardless of English speaking ability, academic ability and previous schooling. They would not let them join year 11, as they just would not be ready for GCSE at the end of the year. Content taught around the world varies so much. Lockdown, and home schooling places a whole new set of issues on this. Are you sure you will be able to come back to the UK in September, due to travel restrictions? And you cannot apply for a state school place until you have proof of residence in the UK. So likelihood that she would not start on the first day of term. This move will severely impact her chances of a place in a good school to get good results

I doubt a school would even let you start a child in Year 11, if they hadn't done any GCSE work at all. It's hard enough to even move between schools in the UK at that point.

If your daughter is 15 in June she is at the younger end of her year group anyway, so it shouldn't be a big deal for her to slot into the year below.

Ok I think Year 10 will be best and I will explain that to them once I get in touch. I am not sure how International schools work. I plan to live in London or Kingston Upon Thames.

We will return to UK in August and once I get a permanent address I can apply. In the meantime I will email the schools. Thank you all

I will send you a PM.

Sorry - can you message me as it doesn't seem to be working for me. I can recommend a school that may be able to help.

Celeriacacaca I have just pm you