How to start at Y10 at 16 years old? (BNO from HK)

[HicksFok]

We're moving to Bristol from HK using the BNO route. My 16-year-old daughter, studying Secondary 4 in HK, would like to start at KS4 Y10 in the UK preparing for the GCSE exams. May I know how this can be achieved?

Have already tried emailing some schools but all of them do not agree with this approach, saying that she should be in Y12.

Any help would be much appreciated🙏

This doesn't really happen in the English system. You don't apply to the year group you want, its usually allocated on age. A college that offers GCSEs or equivalent are much more likely to take her.

There are lots of colleges that do post 16 education, but for 16-18 year olds, so compulsory school age.

Thanks! Will these colleges accept students without GCSE?

Try contacting St Brendans sixth form college, which is on the outskirts of Bristol and takes students from all across the city and surrounding areas.
They have a programme where students transferring from overseas can take a range of GCSEs or level 2 courses in one year before starting A levels.

Thanks a lot for your advice! Let me contact St Brendans to learn more.

You are more likely to get some joy if you look at private schools with a boarding element as they will be used to taking pupils from overseas and slotting them in different years if they feel their language isn't up to their actual age group. You could try Wells, Millfield or Bath High.

Got it. Many thanks!!😄
We'll definitely try this as I think it will be very difficult for my daughter if she has to jump directly to Y12 at this stage.

An independent or private school will ask her to sit an entrance exam and ask for references. I know someone who joined DS’s year in ur 10. She should have gone into the year above but would have missed most of the gcse curriculum. Because she her birthday is in July school we’re happy to let her go into yr10 since this would allow her to do full gcse course and socially would find it easier to slot in being closer in age to the year below.
If she is going to be boarding there are a number of international schools. Bromsgrove in Worcestershire is very popular internationally.

Thanks! Yes, being able to take the full GCSE curriculum is our wish! As we'll be moving to the UK the entire family, do you think those boarding schools will accept my daughter if she'll not be living in the school dom?

All three schools in my post above have day pupils as well as boarders Wells and Millfield are likely to be more accommodating than Bath High.

You’ll have a knock on effect with a levels and funding. A school cannot have a 20 year old in year 13. She should go into the correct year group and either straight to a levels or to a college to do a few GCSEs first. Why would you want her to have a full set of GCSEs? They’re not worth anything once you have a higher qualification

Right! Do u know if Wells and Millfield are having pre A-level?

Initially we thought there's no way to start A-level without GCSE and assumed 1 year would not be enough so I anticipated 2 year full GCSE curriculum would be the best choice for my daughter sine she's only like Y10 in HK but has to jump up to Y12 only because she is 16😅

You are making the assumption that Y10 in HK is the same as Y10 in the UK.
That isn't necessarily true.
I have taught sixth form A level students who have been educated outside the UK and haven't had much difficulty going straight to A level providing that they have suitable English language skills. The level of ability in English can be assessed before starting any A level or GCSE course.
You would definitely need GCSEs in Maths and English language, but they should be achievable in less than 2 years.
My suggestion would be to download some GCSE Maths papers and see if your daughter would be able to manage the questions.

If she's already 16, she'll be a lot older than the rest of the year group. Children starting Y10 in Sept will be born between 1 Sept 2007 and 31 August 2008. Even if your daughter has only just turned 16, she'll be really out of step with the others.

As some of the PPs have said, unless there is a very specific issue, she really should be aiming to start Y12.

Secondary 4 looks age-wise the equivalent of year 11. You will struggle to find schools willing to teach two years out of peer group. One year at most is more likely so you are looking for a school/college with intensive gcse courses, which may limit the number of subjects she could take. There are intensive tutorial colleges in some areas which specialise in this but are more often used for resits. This is one example in Bristol www.westerntutorialcollege.co.uk/gcse.html

Thanks everyone! We understand the situation and are now aiming at pre A-level or 1-year GCSE to proceed, together with giving my daughter some review of the entrance tests & sample exam papers etc ......

And yes, we'll also try to contact Western Tutorial College. Thanks LIZS!

And say if she completed a 1-year GCSE course and exam, do you think there's a good chance she can get into 6th form at state schools? Age constraint? Exam results?

Possibly as there is funding fir three years post 16, although there might be more flexibility at a college rather than school based sixth form.

Got it, thanks! Will share more info when I get the responses from the colleges😉

Unfortunately the Western Tutorial College will be relocated to Newport in South Wales the coming September... May I know if this will mean a minimum of 30mins traveling time by train from Bristol City Centre?

Minimum 31 minutes according to trainline. You need to check how far to/from station.

Hullo! We have a number of students in my ordinary state school who have recently arrived from Hong Kong. They have all gone straight into their appropriate year, with very few problems. I don't know what ability level your daughter has, but is there any reason she couldn't just start in Year 12?

@LIZS Thanks! Will get more info on this.