Moving to UK from international school abroad

[hummingbirdvn]

We're living abroad and children are doing bilingual program at an international school. Their school doesn't do iGCSE and there is limited choice for British education here. American program seems to be much more popular choice.
We don't know if we will move back to UK but we'd like to keep the option open.

So if, say our children continue doing a bilingual / international program following US curriculum, could they move back and join UK schools at Year 9 and Year 12? Will sixth form in UK accept my oldest (year 12) to join A-level without the iGCSE results (she will just have the transcript from their international school - with core subjects like English, Maths, Science, etc.)

Or she will need to self-study iGCSE and sit in iGCSE exams before we're able to move to UK? (I don't know how feasible it would be for her to obtain iGCSE without the school's help as it seems to me UK schools spend the whole 2 years prepping for GCSE)

Another option is that they finish the high school here, obtaining the US equivalent qualification then apply for UK university - how easy it is for them to get accepted to UK university without A-level results?

Any advice would be great.

In terms of your Y12 child starting sixth form, there are 3 years of funding available. So either the sixth form will accept transcript from international school and your Y12 will be able to move straight to A levels or they do an extra year at sixth form to gain some GCSEs before starting A levels the following September. It is more likely that a sixth form college will offer this option than a school sixth form.
There will be no issues with your Y9 child.
The problem with delaying until university entrance are firstly that you may be liable for overseas student fee rates and secondly that without A levels your young adult may have to take an additional foundation year at university.

There are many issues here but the easiest to answer is of course you can go to a UK uni without A levels as you can take the international student route but you will be charged international tuition fees. You dc needs to be resident in the uk for 3 years to qualify for home fees.

It is very easy to get accepted to a U.K. university without a level results. You will need to pay international student fees though.

In terms of transfer, year 9 will not be a problem.

Sixth form may be more tricky - private would be ok (though they may want a year pre sixth form to make sure they are up to speed with for example U.K. history). State would be trickier.

British Unis are very use to overseas qualifications so that shouldn't be an issue, all be it overseas fees could be. You need 3 years ordinarily resident in UK for home fees (some Unis are more flexible than others on what this means) so even coming to Uk for A levels won't be sufficient.

Joining sixth forms , again depending on the school some will be familiar with non gsce options especially in big cities, some may not. You'll likely find your DC is more advanced in some areas and behind in others so pick A levels that align to their existing levels. Or pick an IB or American based school in UK, again easier in some cities than others.

@BambooScaffolding @Octavia64 thanks for your comments. Do you know if a student can switch from international to home fee status half way through university?
Say if she does 2 years A level and goes to uni, will she be qualified at 2nd year of Uni as she would then be 3 years resident at that point?

No your fees status remains the same during the course. The entry requirements for international students is different (often easier) than home students as international students provide income for universities whilst the tuition fees for home students do not cover the cost of running the course.

@tennissquare Thanks, so then I guess the most economic option is to take a gap year then start university? (if she's willing to do so)

there is not a link between qualifications and international/national status for uiniversity fees.

the requirement is number of years that you have been resident in UK.

The foreign office has a list of comparable qualifications (so THIS score from US High school is equivalent to THESE A levels)

You need to look at the US school that you are attending. International schools need to be affiliated to a registered body and have acreditation. Otherwise your High school certificate is not worth the paper it is written on.

You will have the same problem moving to year 12 I think, (proving the level she is working at) but you should be able to negotiate this with the school/sixth form college.
You may not be able to begin sixth form without GCSE maths and English, and so may need to take a foundation year to do those. (which would mean they did 3 years to do A level and so would solve your uni fees issue)

For arriving into year 9. At one level this should be fine, GCSE curricula don't begin until year 10. But some schools do begin their GCSE curriculum in year 9.
There are big differences in curriculum between US and UK, and so they may find that they are playing catch up in some areas, especially essay writing, and are ahead in some areas.

Another thing to think about is where you are returning to, and if your local schools in that area are likely to have spaces.

I recommend contacting the sixth form in the place that you want to go, and asking them about their entry requirements.

Y9 is feasible - although sone subjects will have big gaps. Things like history focus on very different things in England than the US, for example. We've also struggled a little with Geography - simple things like knowing somewhere in on the south coast etc that is expected knowledge, but not always if you've not been brought up in a country.

For the y12. You may find a college that offers the IB a more straightforward transition. A GCSE in English and maths (and possibly 3 more) would make life more straightforward if they were to stay. It's not impossible without tho.

Are you sure these are the years they will be entering. Leaving grade 11 in the US doesn't translate to starting year 12 the following school year. Year 12 is the same as grade 11.

Fee status is fixed at point if entry. Independent schools are more used to overseas educated students but Us system is quite different and there will be gaps, so they may be able to go back a year if needs be.

My ds applied to UK universities with the IB diploma which was readily accepted. He also had home fees status as my dh was on a secondment overseas and his contract clearly stated he was still a uk employee. The university did ask for copies of all dh’s contracts.
dd moved back to the uk for year 10 after being in an international school studying the MYP curriculum. She was a bit behind as her school started gcse prep in year 9, but the school organised extra lessons at lunchtime for her to catch up.

Thanks every, very helpful comments.
So here's another question:

My daughter was born on 1 September 2013.
So if she were in UK she should currently be in Year 6 (oldest in the class)?

However in our current country, the cut off is calendar year so she is in Grade 6 US system, which is equivalent to Year 7 UK.

If we were to move to UK this coming summer, will she continue to progress to Year 8, or she has to be in the right age group, means going back to Year 7?

She would go onto year 7.
It is NOT going backwards. It is entering at the right point. The designation of the very early years (pre K, K verses reception) leads to the difference in numbering. Not the academic achievement of each "number"

Thanks! So even if she has already completed Grade 10 US or Year 11 UK here, and has obtained her IGCSE abroad as an independent student, would she still be placed in Year 11 again when she returns to the UK due to her birthday (September 1)?

@hummingbirdvn , it depends because there is a bit of movement around a birth date during last week of August / first week of Sept but if you need her to be resident in the U.K. for 3 years before uni then she could spend year 11 in a state school and sit a handful of new GCSE's. The difficulty is that all schools dislike taking a new pupil into year 11.
Otherwise she could go straight to A levels but she would be very young for the cohort. She could then spend a year after A levels working in a low level job before going to uni. (She can't spend that year abroad travelling).

Thanks so much, some people mentioned about foundation year at Sixth form to catch up on GCSE. That sounds like the best option as it would give that extra year to qualify for 3 year residency, also allows her to get familiar with UK education system. A foundation year in Sixth form before A-level might be a better environment rather than getting into Y11 in middle of GCSE preps while navigating new socials, culture, etc. But then again I don't know how flexible are Sixth form college in offering that option - given that she should be in Y11 according to her birthdate.
(I'm not familiar with UK school system myself)

If you set up an account with ENIC (or the equivalent at the time), you can obtain a statement of comparability with UK qualifications for relatively low cost - this is how schools, colleges, universities and employers can see easily how those overseas qualifications transfer over - and demonstrates eligibility for 6th form funding because they've met/not met the GCSE 4 in Maths and English condition.

IB is an alternative 6th form qualification that you do not needed GCSE. My daugher did it she transitioned from an foreign school to an IB program . She did this at a 6th form college - I provided her school reports translated and she had an online interview. She is now in year 1 of University ( no GCSEs or ALevels done )

Some colleges offer a 14-16 programme so can a cater for year 11 although these are normally core and vocational subjects and aimed at those with lower academic aspirations. Alternative might be a private "crammar" or school offering one year gcses.

That sounds great. Is it a state school or private school that offers IB programme?

State - But there are private options I believe. DD is a dual citizen hence it was free . Also she gets Uk Uni fees ( I believe this is up to 2027 for those resident in the European Union before Brexit) - But don[t quote me on this . She really enjoyed IB

Most will only offer IB diploma in sixth form, and still do gcses in year 11. You can check out which do IB myp www.ibyb.org/search/UK+MYP/ but think they are private.

Was it difficult for you to find a school that offers IB? My DC are dual citizens as well. But we're living in a non-EU country.

Many 6th form colleges in the UK have international students from China, Italy etc doing A levels. I'm pretty sure these students don't have GCSE English and maths. I imagine they'll have evidence from their own school system of their maths, and a qualification to prove their level of English as a foreign language. So on that basis, I don't think you'll need to do a foundation year at 6th form. I would only suggest that if your DC hasn't got to a level broadly comparable to GCSE at the time you move (it would be better than throwing her into year 11 for the tail end of a GCSE program she won't have time to do well in), or if they really struggle academically.

In my experience, there is also some flexibility about date of birth and school year in the state system here when people have come from other countries - both going up or down a year from what British kids would typically be in with that date of birth.

Do considered state colleges (or private schools) that offer IB instead of A levels. Might suit someone better if they're transitioning from the US system at an international school, because I believe it may be more similar in terms of students, breadth of subjects, and type of assessment. UK universities tend to really like IB - although it occasionally causes problems if weaker compulsory subjects that you wouldn't have chosen if you'd done A levels, e.g. maths or foreign language, drag down your overall score. IB is brilliant if you're pretty organised and motivated and an all-rounder academically.

When my DD started IB at a state school in about 2018, there was meant to be at least one state school offering IB in each county - not sure if that's still the case. Some do it better than others, though, as the support students need is quite different from A levels. You'd need to find somewhere with a strong track record.