KA2002

Hi Everyone

I have not made any inroads as yet with the emigration process to Australia, however I would like to emigrate in the near future, my dilemma though is whether I begin the process sooner rather than later as my son is in high school in year 7 and is above average in all subjects, I am unsure whether he should complete his studies in the UK or emigrate and finish school in Australia. Having read numerous posts I am unsure which education system is better. I would really appreciate your thoughts on this thanks in advance

Molly Coddle

My husband and I first decided we were going to give Australia a go when our lads were toddlers. 12 years later we are finally making the move, ( we kept changing our minds and then putting it off, then the recession hit and I lost my business et cetera.)

So now in the most crucial part of their school life we are dragging them away from a damn good school and taking the risk on an Australian school. It's a big risk but one we are willing to take. We haven't decided which school yet as I'm not sure exactly where we will reside but I'm doing a lot of research on the ones in the areas we may end up.


The Australian state education system doesn't look great as a whole but I personally think the same about the British state education system , obviously they will be and there is the odd good state school out there in both countries.


If I was in your shoes and I know what I know now, I'd make the move ASAP and hunt for a good school here that will meet your child's needs. It's not easy but I think it's doable.


Good luck with it all.

quoll

It all depends on whether you like the place enough to stay or not. If you don't like it (and many don't) you're effectively stuck as you can't really be chopping and changing their schooling and it's harder to move back to UK once you've left. If you can, wait until they've finished A levels - they travel well to Aus and keep all options open. Bear in mind that 30-50% of parents (depends on state) choose private HS in Aus and that's probably what you would be considering with an above average kid.

I'd say if you're happy with the school they're at then don't move. A bird in the hand and all that!

Molly Coddle

I've always read your posts quoll over the years and I think you speak with wise words but for our personal situation right now we don't really have the choice of not moving, well we have I suppose if we want to lose our visa.

If we wait until both of our boys finish their school and A levels then our PR visa will have run out and as far as I am aware you can't renew it can you?

Bermudashorts

I don't have a view on the merits of both systems. But just applying some logic, Australians go through their school system, I work with many of them now and cannot detect any difference, or more or the point, apparent deficiencies in their education versus any Brit I have ever worked with.

Both countries provide an education. I don't think you need to over think this. I think as Quoll states, chopping and changing or moving in critical years, is what people need to avoid. Not the benefits of UK versus Australia.

TimbersBack

My advice is , if you migrate to australia, do so at a time if you can that your kids get to do their entire secondary schooling in oz.

neil248

As someone else has said if your child is above average ability or in qld you just want them to read and write you will certainly be considering private education which knocks quite a hole in your budget. You may be surprised at how many state school teachers send their own children to private schools just like the politicians.

Molly Coddle

Just double checking here but would my 16 year old who was 16 this Feb go into year 10 in Australia? And my 14 year old who was 14 on the 1st of Jan go into year 8 in Australia?

TimbersBack

Not 100% on this but, if your son was in his second year high school in uk, he will be in first year highschool in australia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Australia

Molly Coddle

Cheers Timber

Yeah it's as I thought then, they do go back a year, which isn't a bad thing I don't think.

jad n rich

Study in Australia if that is where he will want to work.

But how is anyone going to know that if he is 12 years old, the teen years have yet to hit you.

If he studies in australia and wants uni education in the UK he will be up for overseas student fees in UK ( been gone 3+ years) and will face very little chance of a UK uni accepting him without a VERY HIGH Australian education result.

Keep in mind doing well at school in grade 7 is easy, keeping it up once the teen years kick in is a different matter.

Put your son in the year he fits into socially, taking into account his maturity as well as education ( coming from UK it will probably be well advanced) . I say this with experience, my youngest is currently delaying UNI as he finished in QLD going to UNI in Victoria and would be 18 months to 2 years younger than most victorian school leavers.

carolinephillips

DD came out having just finished Y7 in the UK- at a good grammar school. She went back into Y7 to do the last term again. Jan 12th birthday. We found she was ahead by 2 years in languages. However, there were other things she was only on a par with (geography and history), or behind in (socially). The education here is broader up to the end of Y10. She had the opportunity to do things like surfing, self defence, dance, footie, touch rugby, and so on in the PDHPE curriculum which she thoroughly enjoyed as well as the usual stuff.

If we had gone back to the UK after 2 years, she would have struggled to catch up with the pressure cooker forced pace of the UK curriculum. However we were lucky in that we knew that we were staying, and she was in a good private school. We did get her to do the IB though, as that can translate better if we were to move internationally, than the HSC does. She is now off to University starting next week, reading Psychology.

I think it evens itself out in the end.

KA2002

Thank you for all your advice its very much appreciated. Lots to think about, and decision to make. My job is on the CSOL list so i think if I've read the information properly i will have to get state sponsorship so will have to keep my eye on the lists.
Thanks again

quoll

No, the 16 yr old would normally be in yr 11 - one of the younger ones but quite within any state's cut off date. If he hasn't started now then he will be too late - he really needs to do the full 2 yr 11/12 course so if you don't arrive until part way through this year then put him into yr 10 with kids up to a year younger than him.

14 yr old into yr 9

quoll

They don't go back - it's a foreign country with several totally different education systems. The year names are irrelevant, you just put the kids with their age peers