helena39

I am also confused
We hope to go late 2008/early 2009. My daughter will be half way thru 3rd class (8) and my son will be half way thru junior infants (5). They were born in April and May. What would the situation be for them starting school....
I can't for the life of me follow what is being said

tawkins1

I've PM'd you. Hope you don't mind?

teza

Would be easier to answer if you'd tell us where in Oz you plan to move to? Different situations in different states....
In WA if your daughter was born April 99, she would go to year 5 next year (starting Feb 2009), if your son was born May 2002, he would go to year 2 next year.... again, this is in WA.

teza

Which state do you plan to move to? This would make it easier to answer...

helena39

Hi,

We plan to move to Sunshine Coast or Gold Coast. Lauren was born on April 2000 and Daniel May 2003. Thanks for your help

lossiepickle

hopfully brisbane /gold coast

thanx

quoll

Queensland's cut off date is 30 June.

So a child born April 2000 is turning 8 this April and would be in year 3 this year 2008 so year 4 in 2009.

May 2003 turning 5 this year would be in Prep which is the first year of full time school in 2008 so year 1 in 2009

Lossie, a child born in August 1999 will be turning 9 in August this year - if you arrived tomorrow he would be in year 3 so beginning of the school year in January 2009 he will be in year 4.

September 2005 means that the child will be turning 3 this year, he will turn 4 after the cut off date for preschool in 2009 so he will be in preschool (part time school) from January 2010 and full time school in 2011.

Remember that the school year runs from late January (usually a few days after Australia day) through to December in all states.

helena39

Thanks for making sense of that for me, much appreciated

sinderelle

Howabout NSW?

daughter is 8 on June 15th - she's currently in Year 3 here in the UAE.

Will she just continue to do Year 3 in Oz until December instead of June (we also finish in June here, as in the UK)

TY in advance

Sarah n Andy

Hi, Just wandering if anyone can answer a question for me re: my daughter who will be 4 in May (D.O.B-19/5/2004)
She will be starting school in the U.K in Sept (08) and we are hoping to emigrate to Melbourne in December.
Will she be able to continue schooling in Oz or will we have to take her out of school again til the following year (as in Oz terms she should not be starting until Jan 2010) so in effect, they would be starting her 1 complete year early as we wish her to start in Jan 2009).
Hope this makes sense....
My concern is that I do not want her to start school and then have to take her out once we arrive. Is there anyone out there in the same boat or has been through a similar situation?
I have contacted a couple of schools in the area that we are hoping to settle in and the Principal mentioned something about having to apply to the Vic education authority for "exemption" to their very strict rules of starting children the term after their 5th birthday".
Can anyone help please ?????? :curse:

quoll

Yes, that is correct. She will be one of the youngest kids in the class.

quoll

They do have exemptions for gifted and talented though you may have to get an assessment done yourself. It looks as though they would consider IQ 130+ along with well developed literacy and numeracy skills (ie already reading and calculating).

You may have grounds for an exemption if she has already begun full time school elsewhere - I think that all states have an agreement that if a child has begun school in one state and then moves to another state where the cut off date is earlier then they will still enrol that child. We get it a lot here because NSW (which surrounds us) has a July cut off and we have an April cut off so parents often start their children in NSW schools then move them to ACT so they dont have to wait an extra year. They may consider that as being reasonable grounds, who knows! You could also try making a point that were you to return to UK (and they dont know if you will or not) she will be out of synch with her age peers and this would significantly disadvantage her.

It would be worth you contacting the Victorian department and not just the individual schools to check how strict they are. In ACT we are certainly quite strict about early entry as a general rule. I do know that non govt schools have a tendency to be a little more flexible about age at enrolment.

sinderelle

Yep like she is now - as long as she's not going back a year I'm fine with that. She's not a happy chicken, however, that we're hoping to stay here in the UAE and finish Year 3, then to go to Oz and have to do half the year again - bless.

Thank you so much for the confirmation quoll

Do I give you karma for such a prompt and appreciative answer?

Sarah n Andy

Many thanks for all the info quoll.
Very much appreciated.I'll contact the Victorian education dept and see what they have to say.
Thanks once again- it's always good to get a reply from someone who really knows their stuff !!!

Sarah x

CarlaA

Hi. Just be aware before you commit to a year group that, because of parental choice within the NSW system, depending on your area, your daughter may turn out to be, relative to others, younger than you expect and are used to (i.e. more than 12 months younger).

It's quite common for parents in your shoes to avoid their children being the youngest by starting them in Kindy a year later than they could. The teachers I've talked to see this as quite normal, even desirable, rather than an exceptional thing. (But interestingly they also talk about children having 'grown out of primary school' by the time they hit year 6.)

These children go through the whole system a year older than the official cut off dates might lead you to expect. And actual age doesn't seem to be taken into account when taking their various tests (including selective high school and HSC).

I would say (if you plan to stay in Australia) try not to focus too much on the year number. It's a different system here. Talk to the particular school about where, with your daughter's current age and existing school experience, she would fit in best. (Which may very likely be year 3.)
HTH