Hi,
went to Kelseys parents evening on thurs and she is doing really really well...

Now im totally torn as to either
A) Pull her out of her school now, shes 14, in year 9 and due to start her GCSE's next school year.

B) Get our visas, hopefully, validate them and then stay in England until she has done the exams.

Are the Australian (Perth) schools on the same level as England...is their curriculum roughly the same? If its totally different then im worried that all she has learnt here is going to be forgotton and then she struggle in Australia and do really bad in her exams.


Ohhhhhh its really hard to know what to do for the best.

all advice and help gladly welcomed.

nickie

Nickie,
We are in the same position with our eldest son & I have also really been in two minds about it. But, I also consider what I know of my son & how much better he will be in a warm climate. (We have lived abroad before) He loves to be outdoors, sailing, surfing etc. He is bright & mostly a good student & I think that he will adapt. Only you know what will be right for your daughter but IMO you have to look at the whole person, not just academia!
Loads of luck!

If you stay for GCSE's and she does well she might want to A levels then a degree so you would just have more dilemmas - if you don't think she would go that far then she would do just as well in Oz really (possibly better) - I would say the best time to go would be now - plenty of time to get used to the Oz system before any exams - but only you can decide as you know your child best! Also if you see you all staying in Oz long term its better to have Australian qualifications.

We waited until my oldest daughter had her gcse's before applying thinking it unfair pulling her out prior to that, by the time we arrived she also had her A levels. However if im honest i think i would have come earlier, the schooling system here is different, and you may find that the gcses aren't really worth a great deal, they may have to go back to school to get their year 12 certificates as a lot of employers want them.
Also something to consider when you move is opportunities to make new friends, it's often difficult to make friends after leaving school, (unless you join loads of clubs etc) My oldest daughter found it very hard making new friends as most friendships seem to be made in school.

Maria

From what I can gather they do exams at 16 and 18 over here (Melbourne)......

I would say that if they have the apptitude / ability then they will be fine here - obviously different if it is their last year!!!

The only real area I can see that they might struggle is languages as they do Indonesian as a core language.. So if they are good at french / Spanish / German etc and want to work in languages they might have tuition outside school to follow the GCSE curriculum and sit exams via the UK.... Like with the London Education Authority or something.....

Hope that helps...

Lau x

Not all schools do Indonesian, my daughter had choice of Italian, Arabic or french, think it depends on the area you live.

Maria

All the schools here do Indonesian as far as I can tell!!! It is the only subject that my kids are struggling with at the mo - not that I or they are worried!!!


L x

In melbourne it depended on the area and i think the majority of the migrants in the area, daughters school ahd 2 sites, one north one south of the suburb, the northern site did Arabic as there was a large Lebonese community, the southern site had more Italians, french was thrown in as an alternative.
Here in Adelaide french is the only option, certainly this year, don't know about other years though

Maria

GCSEs are irrelevant once you get here. Most states have a course which takes up the final two years of schooling (generally starts when the kid has just turned or is about to turn 16) and it is best if they can do the whole two years as most states have a combination continuous assessment/exam at the end of it, leading to a year 12 certificate and a university entrance score (called different things in different states). It is like A levels in that you select your courses but not like A levels in that you do more units and dont rely on a single exam at the end (although the NSW HSC comes close)

If there is any likelihood that she is going to want to continue her education in UK at some stage then let her go through the GCSE/A level route but if she is going to continue through here then dump the GCSEs and make sure she is here in the January of the year that is her year 11 cohort (actual age depends on state).

Edited to say as for curriculum - some same, some different. Basics - english, maths and science I would say that generally the Australian levels are behind UK but other things like SOSE (social sciences) and LOTE are going to be different. BTW schools can choose what LOTE (Language Other Than English) they do and by no means all of them do Indonesian although there is a general preference for Asian languages over European ones.

Thanks for your advice guys.

think the general concession is that we go now and she can finish her schooling in OZ....thats all depending on how the call from doc goes on mon!!

I know, though, whatever we decide will be wrong in Kelseys eyes, she says that she doesnt mind what we do and then will chuck it back in our faces!!!!

Thanks everyone.

nickie

My daughter is at that stage now!!! She is 12 and I have ruined her life, taken away all of her friends and am the worst mother in the world...

I have had to start getting tough with her as she is out of control - I told her that I haven't been put here to be her friend but to teach her right from wrong and if she comes to hate me in the process so be it!!! It is so difficult to do though

I deleted her bebo account last week - she has been much better behaved since... I have let her get a new one but am quickly discovering the things that work..

The thing that confuses me though is that she really does want to go. If she really really didnt then i would suggest that she goes and lives with her dad, but he lives in Devon and we live in Kent so she still would have to change schools.

Kev is so sick of the attitude and the fact that being the oldest, shes 14 youngest is 4, she is the only one who managed to get her new carpet mucked up!!!! Shes just so inconsiderate these days that when her make up sponge landed on the carpet, it sat there for a while leaving a nice brown stain!!!!! The make up is all now in the bin!

shes not happy.

Im not going to slag her off on here but i dont know where to go with her! she doesnt really care about anything. Is it the age??? please tell me its the age!!! although i have another 2 girls to hit 14 and a boy!!



Im gonna stay by the pool for the rest of me life.


Nickie

I would imagine age & hormones have an awful lot to do with it. You just have to hope she emerges the other side a decent human being & you have retained some sanity!

Yup, she's a year 9 girl, scientific fact - they are an alien species. Just hang in there, she should be a human being again when she is about 23. I am so glad I had boys!!!

Like they are much better!

mind you, perhaps grunting is preferable to out & out rebellion