sharonhartley

Hiya, were just at the begining with our application, but I am just a bit concerned about my youngest son. I have two boys aged 10 and almost 7 the eldest is very outgoing and confident and makes friends very easily. My youngest is very shy and leans on his brother. Im sure by the time we get to Oz they will be in separate schools and I am worried he wont settle in or mix with other kids. Hes fine at home a right live wire, does his homework, reading no problem but finds it difficult at school even here, his concentration is almost zero at school, and the last parents evening his teacher said 'well what can I say lets just hope something falls into place', yet he goes to work with his dad (a carpenter) and know all the tools what they are for and is a better labourer than any of his dads!

My eldest was poorly the other day and the youngest cried his eyes out and didnt want to got to school because his brother wouldnt be there. Sorry to go on but we are doing this for the kids and just wondered if anyone has been in the same situation and if your kids have settled in ok. :scared:

Buzzy--Bee

Hello

May I recommend you spend time looking through this thread -

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=364535

If that doesn't convince you nothing will!!!

Cheers

Buzzy

Suni&Jay

You may find that OZ schools are a year behind us (QLD anyway) so if you son is to start secondary school in Sept. 06, this will change to Jan 08. Many of the schools we looked at took kids from primary to secondary (6yrs to 16yrs)
Hope I've got most of that right, if not I know someone will correct me

sharonhartley

Thanks for that Buzzy, its sometimes difficult trying to find the right thread, found this most useful and Im sure he will be fine.

Thanks

Sharon

sharonhartley

Thanks for reply Sunni & Jay.

Sharon

stutess

good luck with the application, I'm sure little'un will be fine, classes seem to be a lot smaller, I'm sure he'll make little friends out there, try not to worry,(easier said than done, I know)

sharonhartley

Thanks for those words of encouragment im sure he will be fine too.

Sharon

jothefw

We're not out there yet but from the schools we've looked at so far it seems they vary a lot from UK ...

1) there's a lot more all in ones as in start in primary and go right through till 16 ish

2) there is a lot more focus on practical stuff and less academic and I've read many threads on here about emotional strength of character and teaching children to be independent etc.

I'm worried about my eldest as he is v shy and settled in primary school thanks to the fantastic start preschool gave him ... are we doing the right thing in uprouteing all his support network!!! The joys of guilt of a parent! My youngest won't give a hoot!

Welshie

My four year old son was quite introverted in the UK. he is an only child. Here is the TOTAL OPPOSITE.....he now has so many friends and is very outgoing - my house is always full of his friends and he has joined swimming clubs and many other sporting clubs....the outdoor social life here seems to suit him and I am sure will suit your son too. It's a totally different outlook for them...

sharonhartley

Thank you for positive feedback. Glad your son has settled well and im sure mine will.

Sharon

nightnurse2

My youngest son (who was 5 at the time) in the UK, used to hate going to school. No real reason, just would have preferred to stay home with me all day! When he started at school here in Oz he was the same for a few months and then he was fine. Now he goes to school willingly. Not sure if he would have grown out of this anyway, but the school encourages them to be independant and confident and I'm sure your son will be fine. Both of my children have settled over here and apart from mentioning their nan now and again, they rarely if ever mention the UK.
On another point, my youngest (now 6) like yours,was quite shy and my oldest son (9) very confident and outgoing. They played together a lot in the Uk because they could not go out much due to the weather. They play out all the time over here and whilst they do play together, they now have their own friends and will play apart for most of the day sometimes. This has helped his confidence too and my mum was amazed at how confident he has become!

Tracey

sharonhartley

[QUOTE=tracey brien]My youngest son (who was 5 at the time) in the UK, used to hate going to school. No real reason, just would have preferred to stay home with me all day! When he started at school here in Oz he was the same for a few months and then he was fine. Now he goes to school willingly. Not sure if he would have grown out of this anyway, but the school encourages them to be independant and confident and I'm sure your son will be fine. Both of my children have settled over here and apart from mentioning their nan now and again, they rarely if ever mention the UK.
On another point, my youngest (now 6) like yours,was quite shy and my oldest son (9) very confident and outgoing. They played together a lot in the Uk because they could not go out much due to the weather. They play out all the time over here and whilst they do play together, they now have their own friends and will play apart for most of the day sometimes. This has helped his confidence too and my mum was amazed at how confident he has become!

thank you for that Tracey, I think I can stop the worrying now, my kids sound just like yours, so if yours have settled in well I know mine will.

My youngest is getting bullied at school so im off to see the head again tomorrow, cannot wait to tell her were off to Oz for a better life and hopefully a better school.

Good luck to you all.

Sharon & Phil

nightnurse2

Good luck Sharon,
Hope you sort it out for him.

Tracey

PJA

Hi there, really interesting reading these replies, we've been looking on the net at Brisbane Western suburbs schools and just wondered if anyone knew of any of the all-in-ones schools in the area? We have a 12, 10 and 2 year old and my 10 year old is worried about not being in the same school as her older brother!!

We've booked a holiday end of May in Oz and are hoping to have a little look at the schools.

I've only only come across separate primary and secondary schools.

Regards

Jane

Australia_bound?

Sorry but you must know your son better than us lot
Can't really advise, I know my sons will both love Aus as they both have been there and have friends there so not worried about how they'll settle in.

Good luck