Which school year will my daughter go into??

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Jan 14th 2006, 7:48 pm

liverpool girl

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Which school year will my daughter go into??

Hi everyone,
This has probably been asked before but I can't find it so I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask again!...
There is a very real possibility that we could be moving to Sydney as hubbie has possibility of job offer out there. Anyway, we are going through all the normal pros and cons etc and are now looking at what would happen re our daughter's schooling. We would be in Sydney and at the moment she is in year 1 (she was 5 last August so that makes her the youngest in her year) in the UK. Her birthday is in August so from what I can gather had she been in Oz she would not have even started school until this January and she would be the oldest in her class (since the cut off date is the end of July). Please correct me if I am wrong on this. We would be going to Sydney by June/July and the thought that she would be going back into reception/kindy concerns me and may stop us going altogether. Does anyone know how flexible the schools are on the year that a child may go into ie would they let her go into the year matching her ability (by the time she goes to an Oz school it will be Sept and she would have been going into Year 2 in the UK)? Does the ruling vary a lot by school or are all schools flexible on this. Maybe private schools are more flexible?
If anyone has any advice to offer or has been through a similar situation I would be grateful to hear from you.

Thanks

Jan 14th 2006, 9:33 pm

Rachel1978

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Quote:

Originally Posted by liverpool girl

Hi, I'm currently living in Victoria and my sons birthday is on 9th August. He will be five this year so will start school in february 2007. Different states vary but I think Sydney is the same as here. If she was five last august then she would be due to start school here next month.

Not sure how they stand on changing years, I wanted my son to start as he would have been starting in the UK now but he has to go to kindy instead which is a shame.

If you have any concerns, maybe e-mail a school in Sydney to put your mind at ease.

Jan 14th 2006, 9:43 pm

Wendy

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Quote:

Originally Posted by liverpool girl

In realistic terms she'll only be 5 months behind. Which is not necesserily a bad thing as Oz schools teach a whole different range of subject to the UK. I know it doesn't make much difference at the age of 5, but you've also got to consider that if you put her in a year above all her classmates will be a year older than her.

Not trying to contridict or anything, just trying to give you a new perspective.

Jan 14th 2006, 10:23 pm

selina

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Quote:

Originally Posted by liverpool girl

Hi everyone,
This has probably been asked before but I can't find it so I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask again!...
There is a very real possibility that we could be <a href="http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=moving&v=55">moving</a> to Sydney as hubbie has possibility of <a href="http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=job&v=55">job</a> offer out there. Anyway, we are going through all the normal pros and cons etc and are now looking at what would happen re our daughter's schooling. We would be in Sydney and at the moment she is in year 1 (she was 5 last August so that makes her the youngest in her year) in the UK. Her birthday is in August so from what I can gather had she been in Oz she would not have even started <a href="http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=school&v=55">school</a> until this January and she would be the oldest in her class (since the cut off date is the end of July). Please correct me if I am wrong on this. We would be going to Sydney by June/July and the thought that she would be going back into reception/kindy concerns me and may stop us going altogether. Does anyone know how flexible the <a href="http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=schools&v=55">schools</a> are on the year that a child may go into ie would they let her go into the year matching her ability (by the <a href="http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=time&v=55">time</a> she goes to an Oz <a href="http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=school&v=55">school</a> it will be Sept and she would have been going into Year 2 in the UK)? Does the ruling vary a lot by <a href="http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=school&v=55">school</a> or are all <a href="http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=schools&v=55">schools</a> flexible on this. Maybe private <a href="http://www.ntsearch.com/search.php?q=schools&v=55">schools</a> are more flexible?
If anyone has any advice to offer or has been through a similar situation I would be grateful to hear from you.

Thanks

hi, to be honest, given the age of your daughter i would not worry if they have to go up or down a year. if they were doing GSCE's than it would be a different matter. just email they education department in Sydney and they will clarify everything for you. the main thing here is do you want to go or not. if you do, given your child's age, her education is least of your worries. she will adjust much quicker the younger she is. but will you? that is the question. you can phone a friend or ask the audience!!!

Jan 14th 2006, 10:28 pm

Lindsay Clan

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

I would say don't worry too much about it. She's still very young and will adapt no matter what Grade they put her in. The only thing I would say through experience is let the school decide which grade to put her in so that she's with other kids her own age and development stage. Honestly she will be fine, out two daughters (10 and 6) settled really quickly and the oldest one had to go back a grade because she missed the cut off point in April with her birthday being in July!

Lorraine

Jan 15th 2006, 2:25 am

NickyC

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Quote:

Originally Posted by liverpool girl

You're quite correct - your daughter (if she was 5 in August) would normally be starting school in a couple of weeks in Sydney. In theory, she should be one of the oldest in the class but in practice it's unlikely as parents tend to hold their kids back a year if they're borderline (birthday-wise). You'll find that there will be kids just starting school who had their 5th birthdays going back as far as March, last year. People will do anything here to avoid their kids being the youngest in the class.

Some private schools have different cutoffs for birthdays - the one my kids went to had April as their cutoff month.

Most schools will avoid putting children in years that differ from their age-group - mainly because of possible social problems, but another thing to consider is physical size. Smaller, younger kids can never compete sports-wise with their larger classmates and always come off worst.

As others have said - this issue should be the least of your worries. As long as your child is with other kids of similar age she'll be fine. Any minor differences in educational levels will have disappeared within a year.

Jan 15th 2006, 5:19 am

fraser

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickyc

Yparents tend to hold their kids back a year if they're borderline (birthday-wise).

Really, beggars belief.

I'd send Henry to school now if I could he's not five until August.

He's ready and would take it in his stride even though he'd be younger and he's small for his age.

In fact he's gagging to go to school.

Jan 15th 2006, 5:59 am

NickyC

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraser

I'm not saying it's necessarily a good thing, but it is the norm. If your child is going to be the youngest in the year according to the 'official' cut-off dates, you will have to consider that there will be other children in their year who will be up to 18 months older (because of the 'holding-back' parents). So the younger ones have to compete with other kids who are much more advanced socially and bigger in size.

If you don't want to put your 'young' child through that, you really have to join in with the rest and hold them back. You also find that if any kid needs to repeat a year, then it's always the youngest ones. Parents hold back to avoid having to do that, later on (when it's much more traumatic).

It's really a case of, if you can't beat them, join them.

Jan 15th 2006, 6:44 am

ABCDiamond

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraser

Mine started when she was 4yrs 8 months, and she is now about in the middle of the age groups.

Jan 15th 2006, 6:49 am

#10

Rachel1978

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABCDiamond

Mine started when she was 4yrs 8 months, and she is now about in the middle of the age groups.

How did you get her started so early, they wont even consider Henry until he turns five, is it a private school?

Jan 15th 2006, 7:08 am

#11

ABCDiamond

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rachel1978

How did you get her started so early, they wont even consider Henry until he turns five, is it a private school?

Different States have different rules, she started in NSW, but stayed in the same year stream when we moved to QLD.

In Victoria it states "Children must be 5 by April 30 to enrol in Prep", so in theory a child with a April 30th Birthday, could start, in January, at age 4yrs 9 months ?

It deponds a lot on the actual birthdate.

Jan 15th 2006, 7:12 am

#12

Rachel1978

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABCDiamond

It does depend on the states, I had forgotten about that, he wont be five until August, he's desperate to get to school. At least he starts kindy next month.

Jan 15th 2006, 7:14 am

#13

fraser

Joined: Nov 2004

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickyc

He'll be fine, he's no shrinking Violet

Jan 15th 2006, 7:23 am

#14

binbird

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

We are in Sydney and my youngest daughter will be starting school on 1st February. She will be just over 4 and a half. We did look at settling at Terrigal on the Central Coast (an hour or so north of Sydney) but the school there said that they wouldn't take her until January 2007. (That's not why we chose Sydney though!)

I guess it depends on the school and the individual child to some degree as my little one had to be assessed before they agreed to take her. They did say that it is common for British children to start "early" as they tend to be more advanced and ready for it than their Australian peers. My daughter has two older siblings and is definitely ready for school but I will be sad to see the last one fly the nest!

Binbird

Jan 15th 2006, 7:43 am

#15

Gibbo

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Re: Which school year will my daughter go into??

Hi, the cut of date for starting school in NSW is 5 by 30 June. Your littlie would start school here at the beginning of February. She would go into Kindergarten if she arrived in September, then into year 1 in 2007. I wouldn't worry about her going "backwards" as I would imagine that Kindergarten here is virtually the same as year 1 in England. At the end of Kindy most children can read, write, count and write "stories" as well as being pretty computer literate. This would be true in most Eastern suburbs, Northshore, Northern Beaches, Hills District etc. etc. schools. Hpe this puts your mind at rest.

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