New to uk

[Jill345]

Hello, we are new to the uk and our son's (15) in year application for one of the schools was accepted and we accepted the offer for the place at the school (it was 1st choice) (accepted 2 Sep). The letter said that they will reach out to finalize admissions, but as schools have started already, how long does it usually take before admission is finalized so that he can start class?

We got another email from another school wanting to meet (pre admission) today but haven't answered as yet because we are waiting on the first school. Thoughts?

Can you ring the first school and ask?

I agree, call the school. I know you didn’t ask this @Jill345 but is your son going into year 11? If he is 16 before August 31 2026 he would usually be in year 11 now and taking GCSEs (important public graded exams in case you don’t know) in May-June 2026.

If you have been able to negotiate for him to start in year 10 now and run a year behind his usual cohort then that’s much better (even if he turns 16 soon) as he will have more time to get ahead of the content.

If he is going into year 11 (unusual but by no means unheard of) then is he doing just a few GCSEs? In any case it’s super important for him to hit the ground running in all his subjects as he won’t have long to get on top of any catching up (this will depend where and under what system he has been educated thus far.
Apologies if you know all this OP, but if there is any support you need, please ask on this board as there are a lot of very knowledgeable posters (parents and teachers and ex-teachers) with a whole range of specialist subject info at their fingertips who are always happy to help.

Thank you both so much! Apparently they had said he needed to move to year 11 as normal. As i come from a back ground of teachers (on my moms side) this was worrisome for me as i know this is exam year and very important. But i plan to get all of his teachers contact information to speak with them essentially saying help me help you help him. I have told him everything is new but if he can focus and hit the ground running and do what he can. And of course if he needs the extra help where he can staya after school i am all for it! I will also use this board as well to help where needed. Hopefully we can get him finalized by tomorrow so he can start fresh on monday

Moving a kid in Yr 11 is not a good idea.

Hes missed ar least a year of GCSE

Hi @ArseInTheCoOpWindow he actually did his mocks in his old school before moving and we have his transcript to show his grades so not too worried. Jusr want a smooth transition for him.

I would be worried coming in from abroad into year 11. By now most subjects will have covered the bulk of content (two thirds) and coursework may be done.
Unless he’s coming from a British school abroad he’s unlikely to have studied the same content. It’s hard enough swapping in year 11 from a British to British school, let alone from different system.
I would be pushing for going into year 10.

You need to ring the school as there's various forms to be completed before he can attend. The phone number should be on the letter confirming the place, if not Google the school name and get the telephone number. He won't have 2 places at different schools so no idea why a different school is asking for a pre admissions meeting (it's not possible to hold 2 school places unless one is at an independent school)
Ring them urgently in the morning because if term started today they will have been expecting him to arrive.
Edited to add that schools typically have 5 days to admit the child from acceptance of the place and schools won't routinely 'backclass' a child into a lower year group (in fact a lot of schools, particularly academies, have a policy not to do so)

Hi all have an update. The 1st choice school asked for my son to come in this week to do an assessment, assuming to see where he is at. The offer letter didn't state anything about an assessment or acceptance to the school being conditional on how he does on the assessment. Am i looking too much into it? I plan on calling the school for more information

It might just be so they can put him into the right classes.

HI @Jill345 maybe call the school to find out if he needs to do anything in advance – but I imagine they just want to see which maths set to put him in.
Can you go to the assessment too? If so I would, and I would ask what the plan is wrt to him sitting GCSEs next summer.

Assuming you are in England and will be staying here for the next few years, ideally he will sit the core subjects: maths, Eng lit, Eng lang, science (sometimes three GCSEs but for him more likely two, called “double science” or (confusingly) “trilogy” where a student studies bio, chem and physics and takes exams in all three but gains two GCSEs graded from an average – so (for example) 6-6 or 5-5).

Here's what I think you and he should target:

• Maths – he must have studied maths for years so should slot in somewhere; get the spec/past papers for the board the school does and find out where any gaps are. A grade 4/5 in maths (GCSE ‘pass’) is needed for sixth form and many jobs.
• Eng lang – again he must have worked on many of the needed skills such as creative and persuasive writing and knowledge of linguistic terms (metaphor, simile etc). Again get some past papers and see what he is missing and work with the school. Again a grade 4/5 is really needed in this.
• Eng lit – he will study three books and a set of poems on a theme. School will have completed at least two books, possibly three. Find out what the books are, read them, get CGP guides. A grade 4/5 in this is useful tho not essential.
• Science – useful for possible A levels and also some careers. Likely he will have a lot of catching up to do here.
• Other subjects – is there anything he is specifically keen on and might want to take in sixth form? History, geography, music, drama, MFL? If he has done some learning on the subject (esp MFL actually) then he could maybe pick this one up as well.

I would imagine school will put him on a very reduced timetable with spare periods giving time to catch up on the core subjects. Push for this in any case. School may offer 8-9-10 GCSEs as a rule but if he can get 5-6 that’s fine for him to progress onwards.
Apols for essay! hope it is helpful – if you have already investigated this then feel free to ignore.

@clary this is helpful. I am planning on going with him as i have loads of questions! Back home when he was in yr 10 he chose his options for exams. So they had the core subjects math, english lit and language, integrated science, and humanities, then he chose IT, creative media and electrical as his options. I have copies of his report cards from year 10 that i plan to bring to the meeting as well. It would be good if after the assessment a plan can be made so that when next summer comes for exams he will be in the best place possiblel to take and pass. I come from a line of teachers (mom side) so he knows there is a lot of work to be done, but thankfully he has shown that he is up for it with proper support.

OK so he should have a lot of the necessary skills in place at least. Did he follow an English-style curriculum then? (asking bc you talk about year 10)

There is no IT qualification in England at GCSE level (well not really, certainyl not one schools routinely offer) and electrical I suppose might be DT but I think that would be a touch catch-up. If the school offers creative media tho (some do, many don't) that might be good. Humanities is vague – which subject was it as they are split up in England to GCSEs in geog, history and RE.

Which books did he study in year 10 for eng lit?

I would go onto the school's website now. It should list the exam boards they use for each subject in KS4. (In England there are several different exam boards and schools choose which ones to use for each subject taught.)

Then google: 'maths gcse +specific exam board past papers' for example. (Maths, Science and Modern Foreign Languages are a bit complicated in England as they have different levels: either Foundation for those students working at a grade 5 or lower or Higher for those students looking at a 5-9 grade.) Take a look at the past papers of various subjects with your DS so you can see what's going to be expected of him in eight months time.
The past papers will also have the mark schemes.

I don't mean to scare you but GCSE mock exams are often in Nov/Dec so that's really soon. I guess it will give everyone an opportunity to see where he's sitting academically.

Does your DS have a heritage language? If so, it may be worth speaking to the school to see if he could sit a GCSE in that.

The school website should list the English literature GCSE set texts that they're studying. You will need to get him to read those asap. My DS is in Yr11 now and they've covered all of the set texts now apart from one. At my DS's school, a large part of Yr11 is revision in English lit and language though so providing he's read the texts there will be recapping/practise time which will help.

Maths he may also be in with a fighting chance as I'm assuming many mathematical concepts are universal. Maybe Science too?

There are also lots of good revision guides: My DS's school uses CGP revision books. You can buy them online.

My DS's school runs before and after school interventions in Yr11 both for pupils hoping for a 5 (which is a strong pass) and those aiming for 7-9 grade so hopefully your school will do too.

What is your DS's academic profile like? What sort of grades was he achieving? That will make a big difference in terms of what's going to be possible in eight months.
Does he have an idea of what he wants to do post-16? Again this will determine the best course of action in terms of GCSE advice.

Is the school in question private or state?

Finally, all this probably seems really overwhelming to your DS and you. The GCSE system is pretty brutal. Whatever happens, there will be post-16 options open to him if he doesn't get 'great' GCSE results. (He will have to re-take maths and english language if he doesn't get a 4 anyway.)

As @clary says, there are really knowledgeable, experienced, helpful people on this board (they are one of them!) who can help if you have specific questions about particular subjects once you know a bit more in the coming weeks.

This will be so they have some idea of his ability. Unfortunately since he is coming in half way through the examination cohort it is likely that deciding which subject/ ability groups he goes into will possibly be decided on where there are spaces rather than on the best fit, especially if you are applying for state school places.