Hi my flights are booked to head home after over 6 years in Brisbane and Gold Coast just wondered if there are any people out there that went back with a 14 year old, he's excited and a little nervous, I'm petrified I'm sure secondary schools are a lot different over there to here. How did they settle? Even the little things like lunchtime are worrying me packed lunch here lots of options back home. plus the fact he' ll be behind in class work.

ditto with 13, 11 (due to start secondary in sept but as yet no place and no fixed arrival date ) and 9 yr old sons. So I'll watch this post carefully.

I cant comment on 14 year olds but our 11 year olds had absolutely no problems at all. From what we have seen schools are schools, why do you think they are a lot different? As with everything wherever you are it all depends on the area. We live in a rural area and the people are friendly and our boys friends are polite and nice to have around, luckily as we have 7 of them here today for our boys birthday
The thing is kids are incredibly adaptable.

Hi,
We took our 13 year old back after 6 years in NZ and I was very worried with how he would get on.
We moved to a totally different area and picked a smallish secondary school on purpose. At the very last second and mainly due to the difference in curriculum we asked the school if he could start the year in year 8 instead of 9. My husband and son went and met the head of years and it was agreed he could go down into year 8.
First year done and he is happy and we are very happy with how it has gone.
Good Luck

After 7 years my sister returned to the UK last year from Spain. Her youngest was 12 (year 8) and had only known a small village primary school in Spain (8-10 kids in her class) so was very nervous about joining a large secondary school. They couldn't apply for a place in a school until they were physically living in the UK but did manage to secure the school of their choice and she has settled brilliantly, lots of friends and enjoying school. Her year end school report and meeting has her working at above average and shows she is not behind in any subject. They are also providing additional support with languages and she will be taking her GCSE Spanish in year 9.

Key consideration for my sister was the openness and support the school were offering to help my niece transition, having a rapport with the head of year has helped considerably.

Do bear in mind the year depends on birthday between 1st Sept to 31st August rather than calendar year like much of the rest of the world. Kids born 1st September 1999 to 31st August 2000 would be year 9 this September. This worried the hell out of me moving to Canada, thankfully with December birthdays my daughters did not move year/grade.

Good luck

We moved back last year with a 14 yr old boy and 12 yr old girl. They had never attended school in the UK and were apprehensive, but both settled without any problems. They have just completed year 10 and year 8 respectively. The school has been very supportive. The main challenge for the 14 yr old was choosing his GCSE options as soon as we got here. Again the school staff were fantastic and talked us all through the process. He is now predicted to get all A* or A grades next year. He did have to do some catch up work for history and geography because some of the coursework had been covered in year 9 , but it has honestly not been a problem. Both kids have made new friends and seem to have adjusted very well. Hope that reassures you a little bit!

The girls in a sleepy backwater may find his accent attractive so he may have an active social life and a baby by 15

I took my 12 year old daughter back after 4 years in Canada, I didn't have a school place and had to fight for a place and won my appeal. She was very nervous as she went straight from Elementary to Secondary school. But she is having a blast, made lots of new friends, joined the Youth Club and several after school club, her accent made her a bit of a novelty to start with but that has now calmed down.

The school were brilliant, assessed her every week to make sure she was comfortable and she has now started getting 'A's'. So all in all a very positive experience for us.

Good luck

Was the appeal on the Fair access protocol or some other means? I think I may be about to have the same battle. Our chosen, catchment and nearest school is always oversubscribed. The others not being great at all and not so close by far

Hi Safin

The school was oversubscribed, 5 of us fighting for non-existent places, my saving grace so I later found out was the fact my daughter had kept in contact with her old junior school friends who were now in the secondary school. I also secured a rental as close to the school as I possibly could as schools are now hot on kids being able to walk.

If you want any help with appeal pm me.

We are taking our four kids 6 through 16 to live in the UK next April. Our school year starts in January so it is harder to line up the ages but reading the BE Forum comments make me pretty confident we can pull it off. Kids are resilient and the European environment will give them a whole new perspective on life.
Anyone got a location with a good school that would take a 12, 15 and 16 year old next April?

Hi,
Im in North Yorkshire, happy to message you the name of our sons school if you want it.
Carole

Thanks Carole
Yes could you please PM me the name of the school and contact person.
Appreciate the help.

Hello. It's been a few months since you we're planning to move back to the UK and would be grateful to hear how it all went for you. We are in a similar situation with 14yo and 13yo boys, and are aiming to move to the UK from Brisbane later his year. We are trying to get feedback on our thinking that starting our 14yo midway through Year 9 in January 2015 in the UK is the best thing (he would be starting year 10 here if we stayed). Any help or feedback on your experiences would be appreciated.

We'll be doing a similar thing in a few years. Personally, I'd try to move back a little earlier so that your son can start school in September. Kids generally settle and make friends much better when they join a new school at the beginning of the school year when lots of things are new to the children. Starting in the middle of the year makes it harder for the children to fit in because social groups are already formed. Of course, some children are very sociable and cope fine, but I would move earlier to be on the safe side.