miranpr

For your sixteen and seventeen year old, you can send them to local 6th forms or FE colleges in your area. They will have different entry requirements and different courses on offer. The FE colleges are more likely to have something in the field of engineering.
Pupils can begin an A level course at 16. It is likely that the school or FE college will take into consideration alternative qualifications.
For your twelve year old, it will depend whether the local schools have places. It is therefore best to contact a number of schools, and get your twelve year old on waiting lists. If you are not sure which school is the best, the site http://www.how-to-choose-a-school.org gives you good advice on how to do research on line.

ohwottodo

I just wanted to follow up and see how things are going for your children?
Have they made friends easily over there, how is the schooling going?

toko

Hi all, so informative to read this thread. I hope you have all settled in well by now. We are in a similar situation. We currently live in the US and it looks like my husband may be transferred back to the Uk this spring for work. We have been in the Us for 8 years now and our kids (almost 17, 14 and 9) have settled well into the Us school system. It is our oldest son I am concerned about. He is currently a junior in high school and if I'm correct his peers in the UK are now doing their first year of A levels.
I am so terrified of messing his education up but it looks like we have no choice but to move back. I have been reading this whole thread to get some more info of the best way forward. I've also emailed possible six form colleges, and the local education authority to ask for advice. I'm concerned how universities will look at his application when he comes to apply after he has done A levels in the UK but has no GCSEs. Please let us know how your kids have settled in or if anyone else has any advice for us. Here's hoping........
Katie

ajdjad

Hello everybody
just want to bring you up to date after 2 years.
All children settled in the first year, Our eldest went back a year and repeated year 11, with good results unfortunately during the first year here we lost both our father's and ended up back in the USA for a month. When we came back our eldest was begging to go back to the USA, and with bad judgment we allowed her to go back to complete high school. With the understanding that we would follow as our house was not being rented and not selling and we were paying for two houses

18 mths later we have now been offered an transfer, and you would think that would be a happy ending. We now have a 16 year old, nearly 17 year who won't leave the Uk now. Torn isn't the word!
Think twice and always sell your house before you come!

Gozit

Shoddy situation to be in mate...

I think that when you are thinking of moving back to the UK with high school aged children, it becomes about the children, not about you. I know that sounds harsh, but ask yourself this:

Would your child like to spend a year longer in school/be held back a year?
Will it hurt your child academically/hurt their future to be adjusted into the UK system?

I know if my parents said we were moving country and i'd have to be held back a year in school i'd hate them for it. I already detest school and am counting till its done; doing my time, trying to get decent marks so I can go on through uni, but I still hate the place, and the idea of spending another year is maddening.

I know that i'm relatively shy and antisocial, so losing my [small] circle of friends here would be a bit problematic.

Just some thoughts. But besides the school thing, i'd love it if my parents said we were moving to England. That's the other thing. Does your child want to leave whatever country you're living in? Forcefully moving a teenager could burn bridges on future relationships with you, and their siblings

A bit of background

When my mum was 19, her younger brother, who she was very close with and loved dearly, was 12. My grandparents decided that they were retired so they wanted to move back home [to Malta]. (They retired very early)

They had my mum, who was in first year uni, her older sister who was married already so she wasn't an issue, and her brother who was 12. They gave my mum the option to go back to Malta with them, but she didn't as she feels strongly Canadian (she was born here) and loves it here, and had no desire to move to Malta, which isn't very well off economically.

So, my grandparents, being entirely selfish, broke up my family and took my uncle (mums brother) back home with them. Leaving my mum here in
uni with no home to go to. My uncle flunked the Maltese school system. He didn't speak the language at the time they went back, so didn't understand the lessons. He didn't graduate Maltese high school. Thankfully he's now in the hospitality industry and works in Qatar, but his life could've gone down a very different path.

Now, we are fairly close with this uncle (and his wife and kids) , but my mum lost forever that closer bond she had with her brother, which she deeply regrets to this day.



Well that got off on a bit of a tangent, but there it is.

ajdjad

Thanks for that. I agree with you. As we have a daughter in the USA without a home to go to in-between University there, I see your point. Thats one of the reasons for going to get all the family together. As it stands or daughter that wants to stay and finish sixth form has no where to stay to do that, even though we did give permission for her to stay, but what people promise and what actually happens are two different things , so we will all be leaving together. She is a smart girl and was in the top 2% back in Tx, so we think she will do well again. Its a tough tough thing.

Gozit

Well hope you get it sorted anyways
Cheers and good luck

Spacecake799

Hi,
Sorry but I just wanted to add, I think at 17 your daughter is old enough to know what she wants. It is very hard but its not her fault you came back to England, she fitted in and wants to stay.
We had to let our 18 yr old leave New Zealand and come back by himself because that's what he wanted. We then waited because our 16 yr old daughter had got her first bf and wanted to see how that would work out. We waited 3 years until she finished school at 19, set her up for uni and left her there taking our youngest back to the UK with us.
It was a heartbreaking decision but we had to leave for financial reasons. It has been difficult but she is happy at the moment there and working very hard. Obviously we hope one day they will join us here.
Good Luck