carrieann8675

My girls are 8 and 10 just now but will probably be 10 and 12 by the time we (hopefully) get our visa...

Our 1st choice is Perth, then Brisbane, then Melbourne...what age do kids start high school and does anybody have experience of emigrating with kids of these ages to Australia.....

Carrie

spouse of scouse

Hi carrieann, I can't help with having moved to Australia with kids, but I can tell you that kids usually start high school at the beginning of the year they turn 13. Good luck with your visa!

carrieann8675

Thanks for that...x

carolinephillips

When we came out to Sydney, DD was 12, and had just finished Y7 in the UK. As the Aussie academic year starts in January, she had to go back into Y7 for another term!!
However girls in her year ranged from 11 to 13 years, as some had been accelerated and some held back. Although she was bright enough to be put up a year, I wanted her to be in the same social age as her peers, and also to give her a term to settle so that she could make new friends without the pressure of work.

So although generally in Sydney, you can start high school in the year you turn 12, it isn't a hard and fast rule- especially if you are in a private school.

carrieann8675

Ok..that's good to know thanks, did she settle ok? My oldest daughters birthday is January so she started school at 4, she would probably need to do the same, start high school here in Scotland then repeat it when and if we make it to Oz...

It's hard when you've got older kids as they have friends and a routine established here and I feel a bit bad about the possibility of taking away that security but its good to hear from people like yourself who have done it and its worked out :-)

Thanks again

Carrie x

carolinephillips

DD settled really well, made lots of friends, but still keeps in touch via FB with her best friend in the UK. We always visit when we go back, and it is like she has never been away. DD has a January birthday too, but is not the youngest in the year- the date you can start begins from the September before the academic year in which you turn 12 for her school! (In the UK I did not let DD start school until she was 5- the school wanted her to go into their pre-school for one term, which would have taken her away from the village preschool she was very happy at. Sometimes you have to stand your ground. I won, thankfully.)

Famous 5

My three were 13, 10 and 6 when we moved. The oldest two repeated the last term of the school year they had just completed in the UK - years 8 and 5 respectively. We decided that the youngest should move to the year he would have been in if he had started school here, so he went into Prep (equivalent to Reception) for a term even though he had completed year 1 in the UK. In all cases it worked well - they all settled, made good friends and have done well academically (the youngest is still at school and the oldest two are now away at uni). The age range in classes is more flexible than in the UK (at least in private schools) and the schools support acceleration for more able students along with lots of extension activities to keep students challenged and engaged.

At 13 I thought my oldest might have the greatest problems settling, but took it all in his stride and has less contact with friends in the UK than my middle child, although they both keep in contact with old friends via FB and do catch up with them when we are in the UK. My middle child had a month back in the UK in Jan/Feb before starting uni and met up with old friends and said it was just like old times!

quoll

Simple answer is that it depends on the state you will be going to - check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Education for a good overview.

Remember, too, that they wont be repeating or going back, it's a foreign country with its own idiosyncratic education systems (they are all different) so a kid will just be enroling in the most appropriate year for their age, they haven't done that Aussie year before. It's best to forget the education system you have come from!

Ball park, in most states kids will be just turned 12 or just about to turn 12 when they start HS. The states that used to start HS in yr 8 (13) are gradually coming into line to have HS starting in yr7 but I'm not sure what the timeline for that is.

carrieann8675

Thanks for all the replies, it's good to know that other kids gave settled at this age and I appreciate appreciate the feedback :-)

I know it's a different education system and using the word "repeat" is just a figure of speech I suppose

I've got 2 years left of a nursing degree so my oldest will be 12 when I qualify in the september but she will be 13 the January she would be starting school in Oz..

Good to know and thanks again x x

carrieann8675

Famous 5 where about did you emigrate to? c

carrieann8675

And oooops ignore all the typos in my reply to you all :-0 hopefully you got what I was saying x

Famous 5

The Sunshine Coast in Queensland.