hi my name is amy and i am a 15 year old who is currently at school. it looks like we will be moving to new brunswick in canada next year and there is a chance that i will leave before i finish my gcses. i am worried that i will have to start all over again at a school in canada and none of my education will count over there. also, if i do finish my gcses i might have to go to school anyway because i have heard that you have to stay until your 18 years old. this worries me because after 5 years in my school i have only just made some friends and i am really worried that i wont fit in or i will get bullied over there. my education is so important to me, so if you could give me any advise i would really appreciate it.
thankyou for your time
amy

Hi Amy

I had children around your age when I moved to Canada and they had the same fears as you. So your fears are quite natural.

The first thing I want to say is that the knowledge that you have gained through your education in the UK will count.

what you should do is make sure that you bring all your school reports, your records and transcripts as well as outlines and content of the courses that you have followed and take it to whatever school you go to her. When you expalin what you need, schools in the UK can be very helpful.

If you do not do this, when you move to Canada it is likely that they will put you in school with people your own age. It is possible that you will go over some of the things that you did in the UK, but this is not a bad thing. Moving to a new Country will be a big change for you and the fact that you have already covered some of the materials that you will be learning will make your adjustment that much easier.

Generally speaking Canadians pride themselves on being nice. Children from England are generally quite popular.

Though most people stay in school until they are 18 to get their high school diploma it is possible to leave at 16 years old. Once you are 16 you will have the option of completing your high school diploma via other routes.

I am not sure why you think you might be bullied, but I would say that it is likely that everything will be fine, despite my children's fears they have settled well, they are also very happy with the friends they have made. But if you do have any problems, you will still have options open to you.

This however would not be a good thing to do. Without graduating high school you cannot get into advanced education and would have a problem getting work. Doing the high school diploma after leaving school is hard work and means settling somewhere else all over again. Once in school best to stay there.

Bullying can be a problem in schools, but no more in Canada than in the UK. It is not tolerated, and on the whole students are pretty decent. As a 'foreigner' you'll probably find lots of people interested in where you come from and finding out about you. Join clubs, take part in activities and you'll soon get to know people.

hi thankyou very much for replying to me, i ahve found this very helpful and i am now excited about going to canada. and i probably will stay in school till 18 anyway because i do want further education i think.
thankyou so much for your time
i am now not as panicked as i was, thankyou so much
amy

hi, thankyou for replying to me and thankyou for the advise, i would not leave at 16 because i want to go to uni i think. thankyou very much
And the bullying comment was very helpful thankyou
amy

My daughter was ten when we moved over, she was surprised at how nice her classmates where!

Generally she finds that kids are nicer and easier to get to know (she's 16 now), she goes away on quite a few camps during the year and she always comes back having had a great time and a load more people to add to facebook

pridefulwings, I can't imagine anything more scary than what you are going through, I look at my son who is eleven and know that he is terrified too. Well done for voicing your fears. I worry that you feel you may be bullied, Why? If it is just that you may be 'new' and 'different' then I think you may be pleased to find Canada is a much more 'inclusive' country than most, I hope, and that many more differences are embraced rather than laughed at. I really wish you every happiness, it isn't a perfect place, no place is, but It can be better than anywhere else.

Hi Amy...

I know this is a very scarey situation for you but please, BREATHE and try to relax.

Canadian kids are for the most part really nice. They won't bully you just because you are English.... and I also doubt that you would have any issues fitting in - I know my kids (who were much younger than you when we moved here)had no issues - if anything they were REALLY popular because they were English!

As far as the education thing - you will most likely have to stay in school to get your High School Diploma, which WILL mean staying until you are 18 - but that is because it will be impossible for you to get a job or a college course if you don't... Seriously though, it is no worse than you staying on to do A levels at school in the UK.... And if you want to go on to Uni, you can do this over here just as easily as in the UK...

And they will take your GCSE's and everything into account and will make sure you go into the appropriate grade so that you complete your education.

Because you sound like a lovely, intelligent young girl, I am sure you will have no issues making friends - I have found that most Canadian kids are really friendly and only too glad to befriend new immigrant kids.

thankyou so much, the only reason why i was worried about getting bullied is because in every school i have been to i got bullied due to me not fitting in. but because of what you have said and what other people have said i am gaining more confidence and becoming more excited thankyou so much

thankyou so much you seem to understand how i am feeling and this is so helpful to me. it means so much to me that you are taking your time to reply to me thankyou. i am now so excited to go to canadian school

Hi
You are the same age as my daughter, and we are looking at moving out to Ontario next summer - she is in year 11 now doing her GCSE's. We were going to move this year, but she decided that she did not want to come with us - she has had time to think and is now happy to move as long as she can finish year 11 and go to her prom - sort of finalising her school years as she has been going to school with some of her friends since primary school.

She is now quite excited about the move - even the extra 2 years at school . We are going over next week to have a good mooch around and we have narrowed down her potential schools to 4 - so she is quite excited about having a look at them.

Change is always very difficult, but I am glad that people on here have been able to reassure you. Hopefully if you keep posting on here, you and my daughter may be able to share experiences and apprehensions of making such a huge move.

thankyou its nice to know that other people are going through exactly the same as me. but im sure she will come around, it has taken me a while but through me talking to my mum and everyone on expats i am really excited about moving and i want to move tomorrow is your daughter on expats? if not create a profile for her, it has helped me alot thankyou so much for your time

thankyou everybody for all of our advice and support i have now overcome my fears and i am not worried about bullying or anything like that. i am now so excited to move to canada , thanks to you guys and my parents. i cant wait to move

Hi
We are a family moving across next Summer. Our youngest will have just completed his GCSE exams. He is looking forward to Senior High School. He had worries about not making friends but after speaking to people when we have visited his mind has been put to rest. He was told by most locals that it is more likely that he will be popular due to him having such an "English" accent.
From my understanding GCSE results are converted into credits which will go towards his High School Diploma. We have also been told that other activities such as Duke of Edinburgh Awards and Voluntary work can go towards credits, so if you take part in anything like that it may help towards your studies?
Hope everything goes well for you and your family. Good luck.

Our boy was 14 when we moved over, so he had one year of Junior High school, then went on to three years at Senior High.

Initially I was really worried for him because we were not able immediately to rent in the area we aimed to live in, and it meant he had to go to the nearest Junior High school for just two months before we bought a house and moved, and that first place was in what is considered one of the roughest areas.

I was sad for him as he cried to say goodbye to his friends in England, and I worried about how he'd cope, but he soon made friends at the first school, and then was worried about saying goodbye to THEM and how he'd fit in in his second new school in Canada!

After his first day at the second school however, he came home beaming with happiness and saying how the kids were EVEN NICER than in the first school he'd attended.

In a nutshell, as others have said, you are likely to find them all very welcoming and eager to befriend you ... they will love your accent, but be prepared to say "Harry Potter" quite a lot, as they seem to find this hilarious!!

One thing: after a while he told me that he had lots of new friends here, but they "weren't the same" as his friends in England. I think he was comparing them with kids he'd grown up with and known for years at school, so of course it takes time to build that sort of relationship. Now we've been here six years, and he says he'd never want to go back to the UK to live, maybe just for a holiday ....

Just be yourself, and accept that things are not all the same the world over, and I'm sure you'll be fine!