lolylew

Hi,

still trying to get my head around the 'schooling' ages.

can anyone tell me if the UK YEAR 8 children are the same age as the AUSTRALIA YEAR 8 children?

I have a daughter who's just started in year 8 here in the UK, and am wondering if Australia year 8 has the same age children.

i am in the middle of looking for schools and am wondering if i look for high schools or primary.

all help will be appreciated

many thanks
lisa


ps, just noticed i spelt schools wrong in the title....sorry, i've had a glass of wine!!!!!!!!!

Babsw

Our boys are year 9 and 10 here in UK but we're expecting them to go into years 8 and 9 in brisbane when we move in Oct. and then move into years 9and 10 after Xmas when the Oz schools move up as UK schools do in September .
However the Oz system is much more flexible and children aren't as 'fixed' in years as in UK.

Babsw

sorry,just noticed the bit about primary or high, year 8 is first year of high school so depending on when your daughter's birthday is she might have to go back to primary for a while to keep her with her own age group.

lolylew

thanks for that........my daughters birthday is 22nd november, but is in top sets here in the uk, do you think its worth just approaching the high/senior schools?
we're thinking of moving dec/jan time if my OH gets the job. (just dont want to sound like a thick parent when i approach schools)

quoll

It all depends on the state you are going to as to what the cut off birthdays for each year level will be. The best summary is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Australia In general schools will place kids in their chronological age group so they progress with their age peers. Enrolling a child out of their chronological age group can be difficult - often a directorial decision and schools dont really like to do it, although private schools are more likely to have the flexibility than government schools. Year 9 kids here will generally be 14 or imminently about to be 14 and Year 10 kids will be 15 but, as I said, the states all have a bit of variability.

My advice is not to get hung up on what the year level is called - you are coming to a new system and just slot in with the right age level. The most important years in any state are years 11 and 12 and, if at all possible, be sure that the kids get to complete both years otherwise there is some potential disadvantage when getting a university entrance score. Putting a kid in a year level with other kids who are older often has significant social disadvantages especially in the older age groups (driving, partying, drinking etc) so do be careful about it.

ABCDiamond

As a guide, my daughter will be 12 years and 8 months old when she starts year 8 in January 2009. She is just about the middle of the age group of her class, some are a few months older, some are a few months younger.

Although most State schools, in our area, end Junior school at year 7, and begin Senior in year 8, some of them actually end Junior in year 6.

My own daughters school is one that ended Junior in year 6, and she therefore started, what they call middle school, in year 7. That runs to year 9, and then becomes Senior school for years 10-12.

There is talk of this becoming the norm for the future. (But then, what a Politician says and does... ?)
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Petals

Year 7 is the first year of high school in Victoria

Children borne before the end of June go in the current school year children born after June go into the next school year.

kiwinow

If you know where you're going your best bet is to e-mail a high school with your kids birthdates and check what year they will be in.

Two of my kids will be in the same year as NZ, but one will drop from starting Year 9 to starting Year 8 because of differences in our system. It makes no difference to him as in NZ kids start High School in Yr 9 but in Oz they start in Yr 8. The only thing he'll notice is that he has always been one of the youngest in the class. Now he'll be one of the oldest. For some of my other kids I might have been upset, but this son could still pass for 10, so I'm happy for him to be kept back as he's had a bit of bullying due to his size.

I think some schools are flexible, especially if you're not sure you're staying, but your kids are usually happier with their age group and if they are bright they should still get the tuition they need.

quoll

Actually, not all states start HS in year 8 -just Qld, SA and WA, the others start HS in year 7. It would make so much more sense if we could get it all together with national consistency!

mad.chef

Hi Lisa,

If she has her birthday in November she will be in year 8 and go to high school in WA next February. Remember the school year here is 5months behind the uk. The school age for WA is 1st July - 30th June. The only children it affects differently from the UK is the kids born in July and August, they will be a whole year lower than they should be. I hope that makes sense.

Sarah

mary1967

My daughter is also 13 on the 22nd November!!! I had an email off the school in Port Kennedy and they said she'll start in year 9 at the beginning of February. I was under the impression that year 9 is the second year of high school in WA, is that right?

Mikeyc

In NSW it's Year 7 that is the first year of high school, VIC also. WA is Year 8, not sure about the rest.

mikey

mand8002

My daughther's birthday is in October so she went from being one of the oldest in the year in the Uk to one of the youngest here in Queensland. She is now in year 9 and turning 14 this October (so year 10 next year), so in that way year 9 has the same age children, although had she still been in the Uk she would have just gone into year 9 (all comes down to when your birthday is)