Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

Sorry to go off topic but can i just ask how the cut off works in England (just curious). I live in Northern Irleand and the cut off here is 1st July (I think). Cildren start school in the September following their 4th birthday - providing they are born before 1st July - any born after that date will be 5 before starting. My daughter starts P1 in September and will be 5 in November, there may be others that are already 5 and some that wont be 5 until the following June. Hope this makes sense - just wondering how it works over there.

Lynn xx

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

I think I'm going to have th eopposite problem with my daughter. She is about to leave secondary here and will be 17 in December.

The schools I've contacted over there have said she will be going into year 11??? but she will be in a class with 15/16 year olds as opposed to 16/17 year olds over here.

I'm sure she will be well impressed with that as she is already going to have to wear a uniform , which she wouldnt be doing at college here :lol:

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

In England children have to be 4 by 31st august. If they are 4 by the end of august they start reception class that september. If they are 4 after 31st august they have to wait until the following september.

ie: my son is 3 now and will be 4 in a couple of months august before the cut off and he was due to start school in september.

Hope I interpreted your thread properly and this is the info you needed?

Carmel

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

She could go to TAFE to get her year 12 qualifications. Might make her feel better :)

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

Duplilcated post for some reason???

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

Wouldn't she then be missing a year? Also, I thpought that TAFEs were more practical based courses as opposed to academic?

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

There's one here: http://www.msit.tafe.qld.gov.au/cour...r_studies.html :)

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

Thanks for that Wendy, I didnt know you could do these courses at TAFE. Will look into it and see what its like and then show my daughter. Do they usually have a good reputation and considered as good as regular schools?

Or, is it generally kids who have dropped out of mainstream schooling and continue on their studies here. Thats not meant to sound snobby or patronising, I genuinely don't know.

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

I think it's a mixture of kids that have left school early, or ones that have come from abroad and also more mature students too. So the class may have an age range of something like 16 to 50 (or older, you never know).

I only know about it because I want to maybe go to Uni in a few years, and would need to do the year 12 course (or something equivalent) to be able to enrol.

It's certainly something to look into, then at least she has an option, which at her age is a good thing to have. :)

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

Yes, thanks for the info.

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

I have to admit that (in NSW anyway) doing Year 11 and 12 at TAFE as opposed to school does have a bit of a stigma attached. As you surmised, these courses are really designed for people who dropped out of school early and want to catch up (that's why the courses are so 'flexible'). You can get a real mix of people in these classes - different ages and backgrounds.

An adult doing them probably wouldn't bat an eyelid - but someone coming direct from an english school might find it a bit of an eye-opener.

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

That was kind of my thinking. From looking at the site and what Wendy said re age ranges etc. I know my daughter wouldn't really like that. Its an option for some though.

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

Hi Tracy,

My son was just 17 when got here, & as we didnt know the system we agreed to what the school said & put him in year 11, he wasnt happy, as he found the work far too easy. Back in UK he was doing he's first year in the 6 form college, I know he wasnt there long.
So we got in touch with the SA eduction department & they said he shouldnt have been put in year 11, he's GCSE is equivalent to their 11, & he should have been put in year 12.
We told the school, they phoned the eduication dept & were told the same thing, school forward he's GCSE qualification it got verified, he doesnt need to do year 11 exam.
As so much time was wasted, by the time school acted on it, the school agreed that he can move to year 12 but not allowed to take the exam.
Next year he would just do year 12 again, & get to do the exam.
As I notice, you are coming in september, you have enough time to verify her GCSE qualification, this way she could start in year 12 at end of January intead wasting a year like our son.

Farideh

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

Thanks :)

Does that mean that she will be in with kids her own age then?

She will definitely have her GCSE results as that's what we're waiting for. I decided as we'd waited so long to move we may as well wait an extra 2 months for her to collect her results with her mates. I'll get in touch with one of the schools I 'm considering and see what they say.

Thanks again

Re: Schooling - changing from UK to Oz
 

I have a similar problem as in my son will be doing GCSEs next summer and then we are going out on a student visa. As part of the visa, Andrew, who will be nearly 17, has to go to school until he is 18.

Will he have to go to a school or can he go to a TAFE instead, under this visa category?

Thanks.