helen/andy

Hello hope someone can help my 16 yr old daughter is about to sit her GCSES in May,then after her last exam we are off to the Sunshine Coast!
Someone has told me that she will have difficulty getting into college in Oz as the Aussies dont recognize these qualifications,she is wanting to do equivalent of Alevel English and History in Oz.
Can anyone shed some light.
I havent been able to E mail any colleges as we are not sure where we are heading yet for definate.Cheers.

upthehammers

Iam in same situation as you with my son.I think they can go into year 11 where they will be doing chosen subjects and at the end of year 12 they will sit exams equiv to a levels.Gcse are not noticed over there.You can i think start her in year 10 so it gives her a few months to settle in before starting important year which we will consider just means them going back a year.As my son is one of the youngest in year 11 uk i dont think this will be a problem.We are heading also to sunshine coast to a place called chancellor park.Where are you heading?

helen/andy

Thanks for that,we are hopefully going around Tewantin or up around hervey bay area still not sure.We went out last year for a rekkie,havent got jobs yet tho just a positive attitude! Helen.

bezzanbob

Put simply .... the only formal academic assessment takes place at the end of Yr 12/13.

There is no direct Oz equivalent to GCSE unless the school teaches IB (International Baccaluareate) and delivers the Middle Years Program.

You can of course sit the exams in Oz once you find an accredited examinations centre - and there should be a few - but finding places delivering the courses could be more challenging.

Hope this helps

Bezza

Scotty123

Im going into my AS Level year when i get over there, year 12 as I have completed my GCSEs

mand8002

As someone else said the school exams here are taken at the end of year 12 (equivalent of A levels). This gives an OP score which determines what degree etc you can do. Each degree course has an OP score that has to be reached to be able to do it.

As far as I understand it the last 2 years have to be studied to be able to gain the OP score. If you end up going back a year that wouldn't be a problem as it is quite normal to be held back a year for whatever reason.

bezzanbob

And in case you didn't know she will study more subject than the traditional 3 we have in the UK.

The overall OP score will be determined by her cumulative performance in the subjects over the course of the last two years of education pluas her performance in the skills test which is very important.

If I remember correctly - the OP will not just eb an attainment score but a ranking within a school (of sorts)

Hope this helps

Bezza

ABCDiamond

Does this help:

Equivalent Qualifications

A Statement of Equivalent Qualification can be issued to people who have educational qualifications from overseas that are judged by the Authority to be equivalent to Year 11 or Year 12 level.

QLD - http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/yrs11_12/assessment/os/
Costs (as at June 2005) QLD $36.00 (5 working days)


NSW - http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au...uivalence.html


Education

debbiemc

thanks abc helpful as ever

helen/andy

Thanks for all info much appreciated Helenx

manxfamily

[QUOTE=upthehammersIam in same situation as you with my son.I think they can go into year 11 where they will be doing chosen subjects and at the end of year 12 they will sit exams equiv to a levels.Gcse are not noticed over there.You can i think start her in year 10 so it gives her a few months to settle in before starting important year which we will consider just means them going back a year.As my son is one of the youngest in year 11 uk i dont think this will be a problem.We are heading also to sunshine coast to a place called chancellor park.Where are you heading?[/QUOTE]
Hi we also have a daughter sitting exams in May then heading out to brisbane 21 June, we have spoke to her at length about this and it has been her decision to go back a year. At least she will have both exams done and its also a great way to make friends. We were also given a contact for advise of moving from UK (we are in the Isle of Man) to Australia. My daughters career officer spoke with this chap briefly on her behalf and has said that she can contact him direct. email is [email protected].

Let us know how you get on!

upthehammers

thanks for the advice i will let you know how we get on

bezzanbob

I can recommend Study Options www.studyoptions.com to help you - the founder is a former pupil!

He (Stefan) went on a gap year to Oz after his first 2 years at Uni and never went back!

They produce a good guide brochure but I think it costs £2:50 - covers NZ as well - and is thought to be good value by the careers teacher in my current school!

He certainly can offer some specific advice.

Bezza

joeyballantyne

probably best to question some schools direct to get an idea of how they interpret gcse's in their schools:
for noosa area try -
noosa district state high school

http://www.noosadistrictshs.eq.edu.au/

or good shepherd lutheran college (noosaville) (private)

http://www.gslc.qld.edu.au/

or for chancellor park and area contact

sunshine coast grammar (private)

http://www.scgs.qld.edu.au/

or chancellor park state

http://www.chancellorpark.com.au/index.asp

good luck!

sasbear

Hi,

Fron a parent/teacher point of view

Jade was 14 when she arrived and she had finished Y9 in Uk and was due to begin Y10 in September - we moved down under in September but the age difference of grades here was big.

She couldn't really go into year 10 - as this was the last semester before college which would leave her with an unfair advantage - school runs from February to December here.

So she started in Year 9 and did the 10 weeks and then made a few freinds ready to start y10 in high school.

She has just started Y11 at college and is loving it - however her freinds are back in the UK in the same position as your daughter, just about to take GCSEs

As a teacher I think the best thing would be (depending when you arrive) start in Y10 to give her a bit of groundwork - and then begin college next February .

Sarah