Hi, I am wondering if anyone here has any experience with the British Schools in America? I know that it is a for-profit private school system, and it is quite expensive. On the upside there is no fundraising or added costs aside from tuition. I am married to a UK citizen and we are looking to move to England within 5 years. My daughter is just starting school, and we are not sure if attending the BSA will help her settle easier once we move.
Any opinions?
Thanks!

How old is your daughter now? We moved UK to US and I'm still not sure when they start school here (I have older children).
I personally would want to avoid hitting the UK system with a US (or anywhere else) educated 9,10 or 11 year old.
If you move to an area that still has the 11 plus you will find it hard to get them up to speed to take the exam.
Even if the area doesn't do the 11 plus,and it may have gone from everywhere within 5 years, your daughter would be moving to "high school" at 11 years old and that's a big move even if you go with all your friends.
There is no middle school system in the UK and so they get that big move much earlier. My daughters found the move from primary to secondary education very daunting, lots more homework and a much more serious environment. And they went with children who had been their friends from age 4.

If the British Schools here follow a UK curriculum and you can afford it and you are definitely moving, then that is what I would do.

Hey Doris (or anyone in the know for that matter)
Would you rate the US school system better, worse, the same as the UK?
From talking to my husband and watching his little sister go from High School to Uni I feel like they have the edge...
I don't know the curriculum in the UK or here in the US, but I think I'm pretty well read and somewhat smart, but my husband WHOOPS my arse at Jeopardy! His knowledge of history, maths (it seems 'math' is less generalized in the US) and geography impresses me, far more in depth than wot we learned ennit!

Hard question because it depends where you move from and to.
We left an area that had really good secondary schools (we still had the 11 plus) Where we live now has an excellent high school. In the UK the primary school we used was lovely but low in the ratings and it could have been better. Here my youngest goes to a very good middle school, is doing a lot more etc but it lacks the warmth of her old school.

Here, we live in a "well off" area, eye-wateringly high property taxes and good schools. The teenagers I meet are very well educated and extremely confident in a way they weren't in the UK. The facilities in our township are amazing. The sports teams get more money thrown at them than most small third world countries.
My only gripe is the lack of good art education and that might be just our schools. In the UK my eldest was doing GSCE theatre study, textiles and art amongst other things and here they are mostly done as after school clubs. No textiles at all.
Also, we are lucky because we have the IB programme from 1st grade so the children on that programme do have some global awareness.

The teenagers are all very preppy, gap types and I sometimes wish they had a bit more individuality about them....a touch of anarchy, perhaps.

There seems to be more available at college level here in a way that suits everyone.
But like the UK, getting a good school seems to be the luck of the draw.

yeah I guess it does depend on where you are both over here and there.
We don't have kids yet, but when we do I want to know that they're getting the best education possible and wondered whether as a rule, that meant staying in the states.
I like the higher education ethic that seems instilled in kids here, staying on until they're 18 (maybe Mr. Brown will get his way back home) and as I said in some cases what appears to be a broader study in certain subjects.
I don't remember doing any extra-curricular activities, well not any of any worth anyway! Ok, I can drink like a sailor, but not really a resume building skill!

My fiance is in Scotland. To go into vet school there, they can go right from high school. The U.S. students need at least 2 years of the bachelor's degree to catch up to the UK students.

Apparently, I am told, they learn by 16 what our kids learn by 18. So yes, ours (US) stay in school 2 years longer perhaps, but do not learn more in that time.

My impression from talking to him, is that the UK system is much more rigourous.

depends where you live...but there's been some mention of it in the past, so you might get lucky and find some info doing a search for it....welcome to BE though

[QUOTE]I like the higher education ethic that seems instilled in kids here, staying on until they're 18 [/QUOTE

Where we lived in the UK most kids went on to 6th form. Very few left at 16.

[QUOTE=jumping doris;4502505] Besides, kids can drop out here at 16 if they want, but they won't get a diploma.

QUOTE]My impression from talking to him, is that the UK system is much more rigourous[/QUOTE]

I really think it depends where you live. Our high school here has very high standards and is pretty rigourous. My middle daughter was classed as gifted and talented in the UK and she is having to work her socks off here.

One thing to watch out for is getting behind - I had some friends go home to the UK last year and they needed extra tuition for their kids at primary school age as they start a year later here - and so they would have been held back a year.

As for whether the schools are better or worse i think it depends on where you are in both countries - there are good and bad!

I think as well, things are taught in a different way. My daughters were all very behind in maths when we moved here. They seemed behind in other things too but once they understood the teaching methods thay caught up. Latin and French they were ahead because they started much younger but they hadn't done any Spanish at primary school in the UK. Here they start in 1st grade. American history, obviously they were behind because they don't do it in the UK but they have caught up. There is more testing here and it is hard to skip homework.
There are more subjects here too.
The thing they miss the most are school uniforms. They couldn't wait to not wear them and after 18 months they wish they had them here.

Thank you all so much!
I figured it would be dependent on area but thought it would be nice to get other people's more informed opinions, so ta very much!

I don't think it's so much that there is more subjects, just that they are broken down more...

And yeah, quality of the schools varies wildly around the country, even within the county in your state.

We did it the opposite way round to you...our daughter was 11 when we moved here. She attended private schools in the UK then in the US...the transition was pretty easy for her. Although we did find she was behind in English...yes can you believe it ...science and French.

If she is bright and you send her to a good private school....IMHO she shouldn't have much problem adjusting in the UK. In fact she may have a better chance of getting into a good senior school (age 11 to 18) because of her 'international' background. Make sure you keep all her school reports and books...the UK school may want to see them.