aftabhasan

Hello, hope you can help with regard to doing A levels in the British schools in Jeddah.
My husband, moved to Jeddah last year and the idea was that we would join him in Sept 2012 to start my 16 year old son's A levels.

However, we are hearing that it is better to stay in the UK and complete his post 16 studies here!

Will he be classed as an international student if he does move to Jeddah and then back to the UK for his degree?

Thankyou in advance for your advice.

tayls123

no as long as he's not out of the country for more than 3 years. i think he'd be better off studying in the UK though, might not be worth uprooting him for 2 years only to send him back for 3 of uni...

khitan004

So long as he takes his A-Levels at an International School in Jeddah there is not a problem. He would apply through UCAS exactly the same as anybody else.

mentalist

Doesn't he have a close friend or relative he could stay with? I would not recommend sending a teenager to Saudi Arabia under any circumstances. When I was his age and my parents moved away, I stayed put with friend/relatives instead so that I could complete my A-levels back home.

Bob

He needs to be resident of the EU for 3 years prior to starting uni to get local rates.

With the new fees, it won't make much difference to the cost, the real difference would be eligible for SLC loans, which would have better rates and repayment options to a private loan, and being a local student, you'd not have to pay up front costs.

Millhouse

That maybe what the words say, but I think it may be different in practice.

I know of a family who have lived in the UAE 20 odd years and are non resident for tax. They still own a house, and more importantly pay council tax, in the UK. That has qualified them to send young tarquin to university as a local.

Bob

It might for some, but it hasn't for a awful lot of people. How strict to the letter of the law depends on how well off the local LEA is and there are quite a few that would want to see proof of residence such as school reports and utilities.

So it's not something to wing and hope the best for if you can't afford to pay cash up front.

aftabhasan

Thank you for all your replies...

We really want to move to Jeddah to be a family but just wanted to be sure that my eldest would qualify for a student loan.
Also we have two younger children aged 14 and 12, so its a huge consideration to leave the UK and then have to pay international fees at university...

Thanks for everyone's replies