peterroulston

Hi All
can anyone tell me when kids in Canada usually start collage, my son was 15 last dec and has the rest of this academic year and the following year before he leaves, and we have just got our AOR and quote of 39 months, so will we be in time for him to start collage ?

regards

Peter Roulston.

dingbat

In most provinces your son has three more years of school left - "college" does not exist in the form in does in the UK. If your son wants to go to University however, as soon as he has his Grade 12 (or A levels) he can apply. If your son wants to do a vocational course, these start in Grade 11 (age 16+) in BC anyway as part of the regular school day. Kids here do not leave school until they are at least 18 years of age, unless they have skipped grades of course. Your son will need Grade 10 equivalent in in the major subjects (Maths, English, Socials etc. ) before he would even get a look in on an apprenticeship here. If he is leaving school in the UK with the bare minimum at 16/17 years old....this is not a good place to start out with no recognizable qualifications he can at least begin to transfer. What are your sons plans and where do you intend to go to? Provincial standards and and opportunity vary drastically.

peterroulston

Hi There
He would like to go to university, so would you recommend he stays here to do his A levels at collage before trying for university in Canada, rather than do his last year at school over there.

thanks for your reply

Peter Roulston.

Judy in Calgary

There are pros and cons for each course of action. Generally speaking I would say that if a student had one more year of schooling left to do in the country in which he/she had acquired the rest of his/her high school education, it would make sense to stay there and complete whatever qualifications would get him/her into university before moving to Canada. At least that was what our research brought to light when we were preparing for our return to Canada from Australia and our younger son had one more year of high school left to do.

But of course you shouldn't choose a course of action that would sabotage your son in other ways, e.g., a course of action that would make him too old to join you as your dependent in Canada or whatever.

Also, before your son chooses his A levels, carefully look at the admission requirements of the Canadian university that he wants to attend and also the admission requirements of the faculty in which he wants to study. The engineering faculty at the University of Calgary did not accept Morwenna's son's A level in combined science, whereas they would have accepted separate A levels in physics and chemistry. But that was the faculty of engineering. I rather suspect that several other faculties would be been satisfied with his A level in combined science.