Hi all,
Can someone tell me what my daughter will have to do to get into Uni. We are coming over in Sept after she has completed GCSE'S in the uk. She is predicated to get A's. She wants to be an English teacher and would have done A levels had she stayed here.
Will she have to do some sort of bridging course before applying to Uni as she will be 16 1/2 when she arrives. We didn't want to wait till she did A levels as she would be over 18 and her visa would be void.
Can anyone advise.

Thanks

Which state are you headed for? I would suggest she goes back to school and does grade 11 & 12 to get as high a leaving certificate as possible (slightly different in each state). In Queensland she'd be the right age to to into grade 11 but may be slightly young for other states but still shouldn't have a problem as schools appear more flexible here with regard age of child to school year. She'd struggle to get into uni without 11 & 12, unless she does a two year course at Tafe first which really amounts to the same thing anyway.

Thanks moneypenny20, We are off to Perth WA. I thought she may have to do 1 year but I know she wasn't prepared to do possibly 2.

Years 11 & 12 are the equivalent to 'A' levels, though, which she would have to do in the UK to get into uni. She just has to do those 2 years here instead.

I'm sure some WA bods will put you straight if it's majorly different to here but it's much the same as having to do the two year A level course in the UK. Finishing Grade 10, or just having 'o' levels wouldn't get her into Uni for four year degree course.

You could explore alternative pathways to entry, as it's sometimes referred to. At least one Perth uni offers this: http://www.ecu.edu.au/future-students/entry

What does she have against doing the WA equivalent of 'A' levels?

Another thing to consider is that there could be a stigma here if the uni thing didn't work out and she doesn't finish Year 12, in terms of getting a job.

Definitely do years 11 and 12 - far and away the easiest option for a 16 year old. She will be a little bit older than her peers but not so much that it would cause a problem. She really does need to do the full 2 year course so enrol her in year 10 when you arrive in September and she should be fine.

You come over in Sept bung her in year 10 as school finishes in December for summer. Start year 11 early Feb. Two years (11 & 12) of school as in UK to get 'A' levels equivalent.

Get her into year 10 here asap for two reasons: (1) get the social life going - very important at that age, (2) choose your subjects for 11 & 12. In VIC we do six subjects so more flexibility than 3 'A' levels. Other thing is that kids in VIC, anyway, do a subject in Year 10 that counts towards their year 12 uni entry. There could be a chance that a GCSE subject will have a covered a fair bit of the WA syllabus so if she concentrated on that subject she could sit the exam early December. WA bods can tell you what the system is there.

She will need to go back to school and do her High school certificate, the equivalent of A levels here, GCSE's as such don't exsist here. The certificate is called different things in different states, HCE, VCE etc. The course is 2 years as British A levels and starts from the end of January each year when the new school year begins. So the best thing to do is to reseach carefully where you are going to be living as state schools can vary tremendously in quality. Get some recommendations if you can from people on this site. If you can afford private school fees it is worth remembering that well over 40% of high school kids in Oz are in private education, But you may need to get your daughters name on a school list for one or two of these before you leave the UK as places in these can be really hard to get in years 11 and 12. There is a lot of info on this site about schooling so do a search, what you choose will be largely a personal choice depending on your daughters needs and probably your financial situation. We've been through this with our kids, it's a tough decision but if you do your reseach well she should be fine. Good luck with the move.

Some of the above advice might not be the best for your circumstances.

WA senior years education has two key components: 1. Graduation (known as WACE (WA Certificate of Education)) and 2., for high achievers, entry into university.

For entry into university only Year 12 counts. What you do in Year 11 is largely irrelevant.

For graduation both Year 11 and Year 12 are important.

The Curriculum Council (the state's examination body) (www.curriculum.wa.edu.au) will regnosie prior achievement from overseas countries. Given your daughter's GCSE success she will be probably be given credit for the whole of Year 11. This credit will be recognised as 'units' at C grade or above. This is important because for graduation she will need the equivalent of 16 Grade C's or above studied over Year 11 and 12.

This credit means that she does not have to study for Year 11 and she can begin Year 12 in the first January after she arrives in WA.

I've posted on another thread in recent days about university entry in WA that you can look at if you choose but basically entry to university will take 50% school work in Year 12 and 50% final examination.

Given the above, my two pieces of advice would be as follows:

1. If she arrives in September, telephone the Currioculum Council in the next few weeks and ask how much credit she will receive for her GCSEs and if this will allow her to miss Year 11 and still achieve graduation. (She may be given 8 Grade Cs meaning that she will need just 8 from Year 12). I'm sure this will all be OK. Then enrol her into Year 11 for the final 3 months of the year and select the subjects that she intends following in Year 12. She should spend this time reading up on what has been covered in Year 11 so that there are no gaps when she starts Year 12. Ask the school to help with photcopying notes of good students, buy the textbooks, read the syllabus etc. She then starts Year 12 the following January.

2. Given the complexity you need to select a school that is on the ball, where she will be given extra help and where students are supportive. If I were you I would use some of the money set aside for your migration to either rent a house in an expensive area initially and attend the local state school - which, rightly or wrongly will have a higher proportion of like-minded students from supportive families (and families who will keep the school on its toes) - or use the funds to send her to a good independent school.

Good luck

Will she just get grade C? I ask because if she wants to get into a top uni her ATAR will need higher than Cs? Or, is it like VIC in that you get the results from the units 3&4 that you do in year 12 for your ATAR so it doesn't matter what you don in 11?

Personally, migrating is a big deal and I would still suggest she does 11 to settle-in.

Oops. Got this wrong. Should read "do a subject in Year 11 that counts towards their year 12 uni entry".

Grade C's in Y11 are irrelevant for university - see earlier paragraphs.

Grade C minimum are what is required for graduation - hence the reference to these grades.

I suspect that all that will be reported on her certificate will be her GCSE results with a line saying that it will be at least equivalent to Grade C.

Thanks all for your advice,
On that note can anyone recommend a good High school in Rockingham area probably private, from what I have read and any ideas to the yearly fees.
Has anyone heard of any reviews on Maranatha Christian College in Waikiki.

Cheers.

The subject of schools in the Rockingham area has come up a few times before. Search for Maranatha and also Living Waters Lutheran College (Warnbro), as a few BE families go there. You can also look them up on the MySchool website http://www.myschool.edu.au/SchoolSearch.aspx. On the right hand side are some figures on demographics; both of these schools are dominated by families at the lower end of the scale. Also look at total enrolments at the school, then at the numbers for Year 12 certificates - Living Waters has twice the number of Maranatha. Just for comparison, have a good look at a good state high school, such as Willetton and see their Year 12 certificate results. Bearing in mind your daughter expects to get As for her GCSEs, is the Rockingham area the right one to be heading to?