[brits1]

Originally Posted by stm1971 Hi Brits, It's so hard to know what to do for the best eh! We have made the decision now that myself and the kids will stay in the UK when we go back on the 31st March while OH comes back to tie up work (We were originally just going for a reccie to check out the areas and making the final move at the end of May). That means I’ve only got 7 weeks left in Oz!!! Lot’s to organise! As hard as this will for us as a family it will give me the chance to get the kids into school for the last term of the UK school year and which will hopefully help prepare the eldest a bit more for the start of GCSE’s in September. Have had a positive response from a good grammar school in the area with her results and report but they cannot officially offer us a place until we are in the country and have a permanent address. Unfortunately we don’t have any family in the area whose address we can use either. Hope your move is coming along well. T.

Hi T.

Move......lol....just thinking about it brings another frown line...and I DON'T need another of those..lol....my Oh is staying in Aus while we return home...he has to complete his contract here which we did not know about but it will be okay.... it will give me time to look around for a rental etc...I am not sure even if we will stay at my Dad's when we arrive....that's a bit of a grey area at the moment...anyway my SIL has replied to my e-mail and said not to worry about the schooling etc....she is very confident that all help is given to new/foreign students....a teacher she knows has just returned from teaching in Queensland and she said the classrooms were very relaxing and the students mostly seemed to go to school because it was a social "thing" rather than a learning "thing" and that there seemed to be on structure to the Education and very limited to Australian outlook rather than a world outlook.....and was glad to be back home teaching again...which is always good to know...lol....I could send you my SIL's e-mail address, she lives in Westerham, Kent and know the areas very well her son went to an excellent school....also she owns beauticians etc in the areas oh and some hairdressers (I could return your favour and recommend a hairdresser to you...lol)
Yes very stressful with the boys I do wish we had gone when they were your childrens ages...ideal age really but alas our home did not sell so you just have to work with what you have....when I say to them it could be a lot "harder" work wise on you two they are not bothered they say they are looking forward to the challenge...oh youth!! and to getting on with living...as you know how old our oldest is...he says Perth at his age and older is not great at all and very limited in the long term...most of his friends have either gone to Uni over East...some have gone overseas....two to the U.K (they want to be vets)and a couple here in Perth..one who has already left his Uni of last year to start a new course at a different Uni..he found the course boring!!!!! as a friend I know who went home a couple of years ago and did not know about Expats said...it's even more stressful than coming to Aus to live but once back home the jigsaw puzzle fell into place quickly and her 3 children (all teens) settled well and still loving life there which is all you want...just want to be putting that jigsaw together quicker and a lot easier....mine feels like one of those 5000 pieces and I want one with about 10 pieces max...lol...

[stm1971]

Originally Posted by brits1 Hi T. Move......lol....just thinking about it brings another frown line...and I DON'T need another of those..lol....my Oh is staying in Aus while we return home...he has to complete his contract here which we did not know about but it will be okay.... it will give me time to look around for a rental etc...I am not sure even if we will stay at my Dad's when we arrive....that's a bit of a grey area at the moment...anyway my SIL has replied to my e-mail and said not to worry about the schooling etc....she is very confident that all help is given to new/foreign students....a teacher she knows has just returned from teaching in Queensland and she said the classrooms were very relaxing and the students mostly seemed to go to school because it was a social "thing" rather than a learning "thing" and that there seemed to be on structure to the Education and very limited to Australian outlook rather than a world outlook.....and was glad to be back home teaching again...which is always good to know...lol....I could send you my SIL's e-mail address, she lives in Westerham, Kent and know the areas very well her son went to an excellent school....also she owns beauticians etc in the areas oh and some hairdressers (I could return your favour and recommend a hairdresser to you...lol) Yes very stressful with the boys I do wish we had gone when they were your childrens ages...ideal age really but alas our home did not sell so you just have to work with what you have....when I say to them it could be a lot "harder" work wise on you two they are not bothered they say they are looking forward to the challenge...oh youth!! and to getting on with living...as you know how old our oldest is...he says Perth at his age and older is not great at all and very limited in the long term...most of his friends have either gone to Uni over East...some have gone overseas....two to the U.K (they want to be vets)and a couple here in Perth..one who has already left his Uni of last year to start a new course at a different Uni..he found the course boring!!!!! as a friend I know who went home a couple of years ago and did not know about Expats said...it's even more stressful than coming to Aus to live but once back home the jigsaw puzzle fell into place quickly and her 3 children (all teens) settled well and still loving life there which is all you want...just want to be putting that jigsaw together quicker and a lot easier....mine feels like one of those 5000 pieces and I want one with about 10 pieces max...lol...

So you'll be on your own too!!.......I bet after all your stops and starts over the last few years you just want to be home now though.

Hopefully OH should only have to be here for about 6 weeks although that is still a long time for us. I will have support from family and a few close friends, although they all either live in Essex or South London so won't be on my doorstep. If your SIL wouldn't mind you passing her email onto me I'd love to pick her brains about some schools and the area.

It's good to hear from your friend and CEM's experience that the kids will settle and may even enjoy and prefer the UK.

[stm1971]

Originally Posted by CEM We moved to Sydney this time last year when my girls were 14,12 and 10. They had been at quite an academic school in the Uk and found the work at their new school very easy and the teaching dull. My eldest hated the school and, although the younger two didn't mind it too much, the middle one was very bored (in retrospect we should have 'put her up' a year, perhaps, but then she would leave school when still very young). The eldest's grades were dropping and she lost interest in learning. We started talking about returning to the uk for them to finish their education and knew that we had to do it sooner rather than later because the eldest had already missed the first term of her GCSE courses. So, I came back to the UK with them at Christmas and my oh is still working in Aus. He will be there for the next year, at least and we will have to travel out to see him in the holidays. It's a sacrifice, but one which, so far has been well worth it. The girls are all back in their old school and thriving. The older two do have some catching up to do, but, because they are so happy they are not finding it a chore. The teachers have all said how impressed they are with the girls' attitudes and say they can't believe they've ever been away, they have slotted straight back in. The teachers have also been great at adapting some of the work they'd done in Aus to here (My eldest had studied Romeo and Juliet over there, so they have said she can do her major work on that rather than Hamlet, which is what the others studied last term). Even my youngest, who had just finished year 5 in Sydney and had to go into year 7 here, seems to be coping ok and has a sixth form helper to give her a hand catching up with maths. It's going to be an expensive year, travelling backwards and forwards and it's hard dealing with two teens and one who thinks she is (!), but we really feel that it's worth it. And at least the exchange rate is working in our favour! Good luck with your decision; it's a tough one, but I would say that, from an academic point of view, it's probably better to move sooner rather than later, but life's always more complicated than that!!

Wow, a whole year apart. We'll only be around 6 weeks and I'm dreading that. It's good to hear that the schools in the UK will be able to support the kids if they need to catch up at all. It's great that your daughters school is flexible enough to allow her to use the book she studied in Oz.
Good luck with the coming year, as you say it will be hard work but worth it in the long run.

[brits1]

Originally Posted by stm1971 So you'll be on your own too!!.......I bet after all your stops and starts over the last few years you just want to be home now though. Hopefully OH should only have to be here for about 6 weeks although that is still a long time for us. I will have support from family and a few close friends, although they all either live in Essex or South London so won't be on my doorstep. If your SIL wouldn't mind you passing her email onto me I'd love to pick her brains about some schools and the area. It's good to hear from your friend and CEM's experience that the kids will settle and may even enjoy and prefer the UK.

Yep on my own...again...lol....you'll be fine....you'll be busy shopping...sorting the children out....etc...it will fly by.....I will e-mail my SIL and asked if it is okay to send you her e-mail...she's great...and has lived in Kent now for about 10 years....she has also lived in Cambridge and Eltham...(that's where she first openend her shop...now she owns the row..lol...)and before that lived in chelsea......even though is originally from the "North" (thats why she's so friendly..lol..only joking)she knows the south east very well...and has a son who is 17 and a younger son who 12.....and has only ever sent them to "good" schools.....yes looking forward to restarting my/our life although some days it feels like we are going backwards...lol....My OH might be here until August but even this year has flown by so a few more months apart will not be so bad...most of the people I know who have gone back have said their children are very happy to be back in the U.K which is always good to hear, I met a family who went back last year for the 2nd time took their oldest son 21,daughter 13 but their middle child a son 19 stayed he had just met his girlfriend...anyway after a holiday home a few months later he came back to sell his car etc and is loving being back in the U.K (he's a friend of my son...from North London originally but all settled in Cornwall)..have you started to get quotes for shipping?....okay will email my sil now and get back to you asap.

[CEM]

Maybe there should be a meet up for all us temporary 'single' parents!! I'm glad we're not the only ones who've made this decision.

Good luck everyone!

[brits1]

Originally Posted by CEM Maybe there should be a meet up for all us temporary 'single' parents!! I'm glad we're not the only ones who've made this decision. Good luck everyone!

Good idea....lol....I am now wondering "do we do a stop over or just head straight home".....also I will have to do a stop over in London at the airport hotel as I will have to drive "up North" with a small dog.....and just don't fancy doing that the same day I arrive I just cannot sleep on airplanes and now I will not have anyone to share the drive...our oldest is on P plates and is a great driver...just don't want his first experience of driving in the U.K on a Motorway after a long flight....so yep...these OH do come in handy...

[stm1971]

Originally Posted by CEM Maybe there should be a meet up for all us temporary 'single' parents!! I'm glad we're not the only ones who've made this decision. Good luck everyone!

Sounds like a good idea. Not sure where you're moving back to CEM but I know Brits and I will be at opposite ends of the country. Good luck to you too!

Brits, thanks for asking you SIL, I'll wait to hear from you.

[karin_and_boys]

I notice a lot of replies here are comparing the oz education system. We took our 2 back last summer from U.S and quite frankly they are streets ahead of their peers in school here. We were fortunate though to be in a really good school district in U.S which had a gifted program, which both my boys were part of. So my big problem this year is boredom, most of the material they are covering they have already done! The teachers here have done their best and tried to give extra work etc, but obviously they have 20 or so other kids to be educated so cannot spend a hge amount of time with mine. What I have done (as my 2 love math) is to order the math books from the U.S and have done some with them at home. I think once they go to secondary (next year for oldest boy) there will be a catchup, but this year my kids are really on 'easy street'

My advice to original poster, sooner rather than later, if possible. But certainly I would advise before the eldest goes to middle school. My oldest boy had done a year of middle school before we came back and hated having to go back to the primary system, and as he was a young 11 tghat was the class really that suited him.

The issue with your husband working away though is hard. Not sure what to do in those circumstances. Since we came back my husband has been away (in Europe) almost every week, all week. He is back at weekends though, so to be honest we are so busy during the week with soccer etc the week flies in.

Best of luck with whatever you decide to do. Are the kids excited to be going back?

[CEM]

Originally Posted by brits1 Good idea....lol....I am now wondering "do we do a stop over or just head straight home".....also I will have to do a stop over in London at the airport hotel as I will have to drive "up North" with a small dog.....and just don't fancy doing that the same day I arrive I just cannot sleep on airplanes and now I will not have anyone to share the drive...our oldest is on P plates and is a great driver...just don't want his first experience of driving in the U.K on a Motorway after a long flight....so yep...these OH do come in handy...

A night in an hotel's a good idea. Driving on a uk motorway is not for the faint hearted, especially when you haven't done it for a while and you need to be AWAKE!
We arrived into Manchester airport just before Christmas and I had to drive down the M6 to my parents. I was tootling along at about 60 mph (it was frosty/snowy) and everyone was passing me driving very fast..... and the huge lorries!! I'm used to it now, but it was a bit scary at first. It still makes me happy when people wave and smile when I give way to them!




stm1971

I'm in Norfolk. With yet more snow!

[The Undecided Scot]

Originally Posted by tallperson I had exactly this dilemma last year. My kids were aged 7 and 11 and would have changed schools at that age in the UK whereas here my eldest was going to start high school. Our options boiled down to me and the kids moving back while husband stayed working in Canada until a suitable job came up in the UK. I was really tempted esp. with regards to their education but decided it was MUCH more important to stay together as a family. We decided that to have the family separated would be much more stressful for them than starting school at a later age. I would be very interested to hear what you decide and how it works out. Good luck!

Hi Tallperson

I have to wait for a bit before taking the girls home. I feel the same as you. I want to keep the family together for a little longer. I am hoping to return in the next two years as this would mean the girls would be 11 and 13.
I just hope hope they will be able to settle and do well at this age and that I have not left it too late. I am not ready yet to split the family but hope my decision to wait is the right one .

Thanks

[The Undecided Scot]

Originally Posted by karin_and_boys I notice a lot of replies here are comparing the oz education system. We took our 2 back last summer from U.S and quite frankly they are streets ahead of their peers in school here. We were fortunate though to be in a really good school district in U.S which had a gifted program, which both my boys were part of. So my big problem this year is boredom, most of the material they are covering they have already done! The teachers here have done their best and tried to give extra work etc, but obviously they have 20 or so other kids to be educated so cannot spend a hge amount of time with mine. What I have done (as my 2 love math) is to order the math books from the U.S and have done some with them at home. I think once they go to secondary (next year for oldest boy) there will be a catchup, but this year my kids are really on 'easy street' My advice to original poster, sooner rather than later, if possible. But certainly I would advise before the eldest goes to middle school. My oldest boy had done a year of middle school before we came back and hated having to go back to the primary system, and as he was a young 11 tghat was the class really that suited him. The issue with your husband working away though is hard. Not sure what to do in those circumstances. Since we came back my husband has been away (in Europe) almost every week, all week. He is back at weekends though, so to be honest we are so busy during the week with soccer etc the week flies in. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do. Are the kids excited to be going back?

Hi Karin
I have decided to wait and take the kids back in the next two years. The girls would be 11 and 13. They where looking forward to going back but now I have changed my mind, due to the fact my OH would still be in the US. Just hope I have made the right decision. I'm hoping a job might come up in the next two years for him.

[manamama]

Originally Posted by The Undecided Scot Hi Karin I have decided to wait and take the kids back in the next two years. The girls would be 11 and 13. They where looking forward to going back but now I have changed my mind, due to the fact my OH would still be in the US. Just hope I have made the right decision. I'm hoping a job might come up in the next two years for him.

With this option, both your children will go into secondary school. So they will at least be together.

If the eldest starts at the beginning of the GCSEs that would be good (Years 10 and 11). No later

Good luck and wish you a patient wait...

[CEM]

[quote=The Undecided Scot;8333050]Hi Karin
I have decided to wait and take the kids back in the next two years. The girls would be 11 and 13. They where looking forward to going back but now I have changed my mind, due to the fact my OH would still be in the US. Just hope I have made the right decision. I'm hoping a job might come up in the next two years for him.[/QUOTE

I'm sure they'll be fine at those ages, before the gcse's start. If mine were all a couple of years younger I'd have stayed a bit longer until my oh found a job here - It's better to stay together if possible, but time wasn't on our side.

Good luck - I hope the perfect job comes up for him here.