sanjbudd

My family and I are all dual nationals UK and Canada and are contemplating returning to the UK for July 2019. Our obvious concern is education for our son and for the change to be as seamless as is possible. He is currently almost 14 and is in an accelerated program (diagnosed gifted) and is completing grade 8 & 9 by June. In Maths he is completing grade 10. By June 2019 he will have likely completed grade 11 in Maths, maybe one of the sciences (Chemistry or Physics) and maybe English. He will have completed grade 10 in his other subjects. We would like for him to go straight into A levels whenever we move as it would be a backward step for him to have to do GCSE's though he is fine with doing GCSE English as it seems a University requirement. He'd be looking to do A levels in Maths, Business Studies, Further Maths and possibly a Science (maybe dropping 1 after AS level).

The problem is that he would be underage (15 by Sept 2019). Does anyone have any experience of how 6th form colleges and Colleges view Canadian High School qualifications and or the implications for University application there. He is keen on going to a London Uni such as Imperial, LSE or City.

If you have information it would be greatly appreciated. Have spoken to NARIC and they are unable to do anything till he has his final qualification.

Snowy560

Have you thought about the impact on your son socially, returning to the UK, trying to make connections but studying with teenagers a couple years older than him?

I'd be concerned about that.

sanjbudd

Obviously everything is a concern but we have been to the UK every year once or twice for numerous years so he is familiar with the place. He has family and cousins there and to this point he is close to us as parents. He would be a year younger doing A Levels but the situation would be no different here in the sense he'd be finishing grade 12 early so would be Uni eligible early. I appreciate the society here is softer than the UK but in terms of prospects for him in future, he have to leave BC anyhow.

scilly

Why??

aren't there universities suitable for him, jobs suitable for him? Is he a rarified individual?

sanjbudd

He is interested in the finance sector and to be honest very few opportunities lie in BC in that sector. Toronto is fine or the US and even Alberta at certain times. Not saying there aren't any opportunities in BC but if you look at how few companies set up their HQ's here its not the ideal place. I think there are some great universities here in Canada such as Toronto and UBC and there are 5 in the top 100 rankings in the world but as a comparison there are 15 in the UK in the top 100. There are other factors such as his musical interests that are much more accessible in the UK also. It is far from a decision to go back to UK and obviously his best interests are #1. I am primarily concerned of a scenario that reaching UK they might say he is too young or not qualified for A Levels and has to do GCSE's which would be disheartening for him.

Usmaan.W

Hey, I don't think colleges would overlook the fact that he would have the required qualifications from Canada (in equivalence) for admission onto A-Level courses. Independent schools tend to understand these better as a local independent school I have connections with has students from all over the world and links to many worldwide universities.

Also the UK has many options for Further Study - have you considered courses specific to his Financial interest? There are Diplomas, BTEC's etc that all are A-Level equivalent and can be used for entry into the majority of universities including Russel Group universities (Similar to Ivy League in the US). I know this as I did a BTEC and gained entry without any prejudice.

Also, have you considered University fees in the UK have increased significantly recently.... I too have worked and currently work in the Financial sector and know of many banks with connections to Canada (HSBC especially)... I would seriously consider thinking carefully as to whether a move to the UK would be the right choice for your son as in my opinion unless he wants to go to Oxbridge or specifically study at a UK university there's not many advantages of moving to the UK in the current climate (University fees, student debt etc).

Regards,

Uzzy

christmasoompa

Your son is the same age as my daughter. Some uni's require other things at GCSE - for instance, my daughter, who wants to be a vet, may need a language depending on where she applies to. So do double check the entry requirements in case he needs to sit any others as well as English.

If he's been taught a different curriculum, then it may be that he's not as far ahead as you think, and he may struggle going straight in to A Levels when he won't have done the same modules as the rest of the students?

Definitely worth checking past GCSE papers, if he's able to do these now ok, then he's on a par with the UK GCSE students. He'll do the 'extended' ones, have a Google and see how he gets on with them to start with maybe?