manxfamily

Greetings all and a happy new year

Just wondering if anyone could help with some opinions and advice on this one.

Our daughter is 14 and in September started her final two years GCSE course at high school.

We have decided that we should let her finish her exams, which should happen in the summer of 2006. This was fine when the visa application was at around 12 months +, perfect timing infact. However now the visa time is around 3 months we could realistically be in australia this summer. (yippee!!).

If we chose to move sooner rather than later we would see our daughter start her final 2 years all over again (although she would miss the first 3 months or so). She is an academic A grade student and I dont think she would have trouble catching up (and she is prepared to work harder in return for a new life in Oz).

So that gives you the background and the problem. I would love to hear comments from anyone in the same boat or people who have done the same. Please give any opinions and thoughts on the Australian Education system pros and cons.

Looking forward to your posts

ManxFamily

sj oldfield

Just my opinion, but the older the kids get the harder it is for them. My eldest son completed his GCSE's in the UK, and due to the time it took for our visa to be issued, also had done a year at college. He then found it harder to mix here. Too old for school, and TAFE wouldnt take him as it was half way through the academic yera. My younger son however, went straight into high school and has loads of mates.

sue_parker

I would move. I waited for my two daughters to finish their schooling and now they won't come with me. I am leaving them behind aged 18 & 19 and I am taking my twelve year old with me.

I wish I had just gone when they were younger. I feel they are going to miss out on a fantastic opportunity but they won't budge on the issue.

Good luck. Sue

The Druid

We are in the same boat, when we started this in January we had hoped to move out in summer 2006 when the daughter finished school, we were gutted in April when the points went up, we can't make any more points because of our age even after we lodged bond etc. I desperately started looking for alternatives, I found out that Victoria would sponsor me STNI with a job offer, then I got a job offer with a RSMS visa attached to it, all great you think, wrong, the timing is all wrong.

I have taken up the offer or the RSMS visa and job, problem is I have to take up the position within six months of the visa being issued and then stick it out for two years, we have thought long and hard on this one and this is the final outcome.

My daughter is a straight A student at the moment, I have travelled around a lot and it seems not to have bothered me in my younger days but my brother and sister who are older did not manage very well, they both flunked out of school. I believe there is no better start in life than a good education, my daughter is settled and plans to go to Uni after school, I dont want to upset the apple cart and move her to Aus until she has finished high school here in the UK, she can do her HSE in Australia then go to Uni. I will be leaving for Aus at Easter with the wife and kids to validate our visa, the wife plans to return to let my daughter finish school, I will be staying, my son who is four years younger than my daughter will be joining me in July when he has finished his final year of primary school.

Its a big sacrifice but its an opportunity we cant pass up, the only other alternative is a SIR visa, but we feel the security of the RSMS Visa and Job is a better alternative and it is a small price to pay.

Is it worth risking your daughter leaving school with no certificates ??

Paul2004

This is exactly what I feared happening.

I have a 14 & 12 yr old, and will be heading out to Oz at the end of 2005 if all goes well. Myself & partner both know this really isn't the best age for the kids to be doing this, but at the same time know if we stay put, allow them to do their GCSE's here, then we have to be prepaired for the possibility they might not want to come by then, and cannot take that risk.

My daughter (the 14yr old) has always been top of the class in every year, and we got her a place at a very good school. The school really does take the cream from the area (and beyond!!) and they tell us she is still up there in the top classes, and even top of the year in maths! The point I'm trying to make is, it's without doubt going to be better for the kids if we stayed put and let them continue as they are, BUT, and oh such a big but!! ....... what if like I say they choose not to come with us to Oz after ????

I/we cannot take that risk i'm afraid

manxfamily

all good responses so far, thanks, keep them coming.

I have sent an email to the Queensland Education Dept. about this issue, and without any disrespect for your opinions I think their comments will make the decision for us. Obviously they are on leave until end of Jan so I may not receive a response before then.

Better consider getting the house on the market after the New Year break.

Good luck to all of you and keep those posts coming.

escapade

My son is in year 11 in England and will be sitting GCSE's summer 2005. I would say that the state school that he attends has deteriorated in the last couple of years due to lack of funding. Qualified teachers who leave are being replaced with trainees from the Graduate Teachers programme. Two GCSE subjects were taught by trainees last year and unfortunately they did not teach to the syllabus. Consequently, my son and others in these classes are having to complete the GSCE's in question in a year rather than two, so grades will be affected. Fortunately, not many teachers leave this particular school, but other schools in the same town experience a higher turnover of staff. Apparantly 40% of the teaching staff left a school in this area and were replaced mostly with untrained teachers who couldn't cope.

Furthermore, GCSE's can now be taken at different levels. My son is doing higher tier and in the mocks he's just taken, some of the papers combined lower,intermediate and higher on the same paper. My son said he looked at one of the lower papers out of interest (Biology) and one of the questions asked "how does a rabbit see" - multiple choice answer option "eyes". The highest mark achievable would be a C in the lower papers and therefore a pass, not taking account of coursework. In at least one subject, research material for coursework has been provided by teachers and all my son had to do was re-write in his own words in class.

I would therefore investigate what is going on in (state) education here UK aswell as sometimes the wool can be pulled over the eyes of parents and the world.

Gaz&Rach

Hi

I'm so glad you started this thread. We're hoping to have our visa by end of Feb but still have a house to sell so are thinking June/July may be a realistic geuss at when we can go to oz. Our son is also 14 and in his first of two years of GCSEs (year 10) and have the same dilema. We decided that the sooner we get over, the easier it will be for him to settle. I've read other posts from people with teenagers of 16+ who say they found it hard to settle whereas younger kids at school settled easier as they made friends at school. I feel our decision is right for our son but may not be right for everyone. Jordan is doing 2 GNVQs along-side his GCSEs and may be able to get a pass after 1 year which would be great then at least he'd have a recognised UK qualification. This also ties in with us waiting until June/July to go so he can complete UK year 10. He'll then get the last 4/5 months of Oz year 10 followed by (starting jan 2006) years 11 and 12 then hopefully he will qualify for a good enough OP and go on to Uni.

It seems like I've got it all worked out but I am constantly having doubts and wondering if we are doing the right thing so it is great get other peoples opinions on this. Also, it'd be great to hear what Education Queensland will have to say about it. Please will you let me know when you get a response? When do you expect to get your visa granted?

All in all though, I think this is a very individual sort of thing. It depends on your child, what they want and what you feel is best for them.

Cheers
Rachel

manxfamily

great posts.

Im also glad I started this. I will of course give the official response when I get it. I suppose I better get our application posted in the next couple of weeks. We have got our TRA approval, so its just application, police and medicals - from what I see on Austimeline we looking at 3/4 months. However, we have to sell our house to raise the money for the bond, we got caught out by the 5 point increase last year.

I have to say our daughter is very pleased with your responses, she was convinced we were waiting until 06 or even that it was forgotten about altogether!! she just wants to get there sooner rather than later.

sue_parker

Good luck with everything. I hope it all works out for you.

Best wishes. Sue

The Druid

My daughter on the other hand is keen to go but she wants to finish school here first, she has always wanted to be a marine biologist and what better country in the world than Australia to be a marine biologist.

And another thing we are going to a remote part of Australia, the type of place that you actually have to send your kids to boarding school as there are no schools !! Its not that bad there is a primary school and a high school but they dont cater for the HSE, thats another dilemma, In 2006 my daughter is going to need to do her HSE to qualify for Uni..........................
Why is life sooooooooooo complicated.

Gaz&Rach

Our son is the same, he can't wait to go. D'you know where you are going to be living yet? We're going to start off in Redcliffe then have a look round at other coastal suburbs within 30-60 mins of Brisbane. There's still a lot of uncertainty with us though as Gaz had an accident on the day we posted our application. He had a fracture dislocation to his ankle which will never be the same again so we still don't know if it will effect the medicals. Fingers crossed!!!

Rachel

Hilton`s

We too are hoping to emigrate to Brisbane 2005, we applied in April 04 but
have heard nothing yet!

We have 2 sons aged 14 (year 10) and almost 17 (first year in sixth form
college.) Our worry is the 17 year old, will he be able to slot straight in to
college out there or will he have to wait to start in the new educational year?
We really worry that if he cannot go to college pretty much immediately he
will not make friends and so will not settle

I f anybody has and answers to these questions or any Queensland education
email addresses these would be very much appreciated.

Bye for now

Tracey.

Gaz&Rach

Hi Tracy

I don't really know the answer to that. It's a difficult one. My son (14) has just recently said that he will want to learn to surf so I suppose they'll be clubs he can join and will meet people that way. Maybe your 17 year old could do something similar. As for education, it's possible that he may have to wait til end of Jan 2006 to go to college. I'm not sure of email addresses but the website for education queensland is http://education.qld.gov.au/

Maybe you could find others on British Expats of a similar age who are going or have already gone to Brissie. Maybe exchange emaill addresses or msn messenger addresses and get him making friends before he get's there. Why don't you start a thread with an appropriate title and put it in the immigration forum and the lifestyle forum?

If you want to put your 14 year old in touch with mine (Jordan) then pm me and I'll get him to send an email.

Cheers
Rachel

mand8002

hi
we go this january with my 10 and 17yr olds. The 17 yr old has decided that she would like to go back to school(she is in college here). She knows that she will need to drop down a year so that she can do the last 2 years but she says it will be worth it to be able to make friendships.........i thought that was quite mature of her.........not like her really!!!!!!!!!!!!
maybe he could consider this.
amanda