Philwhite994

Hi.
I moved to Florida a year ago. However, my daughter was in the final stages of her GCSEs so we decided that she and my wife would remain in the UK until she had completed her GCSEs and then move out here in June this year. Although I believe she can start college at 16 with her GSCEs being the equivalent of a High School diploma, we would quite like her to still go to school in order to help establish herself in the US, make friends etc and not be 2 years younger than everyone else were she at college. My question is whether, even with her GSCEs completed, she could still attend school, albeit possibly repeat some of what she may have covered in the US? I'm making enquiries with some schools but not getting very far!! Thanks, Phil

Sally Redux

By 'college' do you mean university? If so, I don't think GCSE's will give her a high enough standard. She will need to get credit for the work she has already done with a school here, I'm not sure how this works but it can be done as I know of a child who was in a similar position. Her grades can then be shown on her school transcript. If she goes into the junior year at school, she will be doing higher-level work more like A-levels.

Michael

I believe that she will be allowed to attend high school until she is 18. Call the school district where the number can be found on the internet by googling.

Bob

This.

Highschool till 18 generally....GCSE's alone mean jack unfortunately and it's not really a case of going to a CoFE to do last couple of years of schooling in the US as community college is kind of a different idea over here to the UK.

Michael

Another thing is that if she has completed all the prerequisites for a high school diploma (get her transcripts evaluated), she'll likely be able to choose her curriculum from all the fun and/or interesting classes. So if she likes drama, arts and crafts, sports, or just about anything else, she may be able to fill her day with subjects like that. However she'll probably have to take some boring classes such as American history and/or civics classes.

She may also be able to take some college prerequisite courses for a field that she may be interested in.

Philwhite994

Thanks for your replies. I'm still getting my head around the terminology. So if CoFE college ie after High School? And is Junior Year at High School? I think what I'm reading is she is better going to High School for the last couple of year and there she could possible start some of the prerequisite classes for college?

Sally Redux

I think Bob was referring to colleges of Further Education which exist in the UK for 16-year-olds, however the US Community College is not quite the same. The last two years of high school are referred to as Junior and Senior years, I am guessing that your 16-year-old daughter would go into the junior year at a high school. The system for going to college is far more complicated than the UK and you and she will need to look at the requirements for different institutions and what she is interested in.

Michael

A lot is going to depend on the school district. In high school, there are generally only a certain number of requisite classes and the rest are elective. Many have classes with advanced studies for gifted students. Some have college preparatory courses which can possibly be transferred to colleges as already taken credit courses. So talk to your school district and find out what they offer and if it suits your daughters needs but at the same time try to have as much information available about your daughters ability so that the school can give their recommendations.

Bob

What you've just said!

Thing to look into, if you've already got GCSE's and would be considered having the requirements to graduate a US highschool would be doing AP classes as they would be more along the lines of doing A-level type classes I guess, they would certainly improve chances of getting accepted in to decent universities.

Philwhite994

Ah ok. And are AP classes done in Junior/Senior year at High School?

Sally Redux

They can be done anytime in high school depending on the child's level of abilty They involve a significant amount of extra work though . But the regular classes will also prepare her for college.

Philwhite994

Brilliant. Thank you so much! I've got the numbers for the local school district here in Orlando so will make calls tomorrow. Appreciate your advice, guys!

nethead

To graduate from high school you need a certain number of 'credits' in certain subjects maths, English, gym etc etc. Each school district specifies how many credits are needed to graduate, so can vary from area to area greatly. She may not be further ahead of her American peers.

khitan004

You could homeschool your daughter using a tutor for A-Levels. All you would need is an exam centre to accept her as an external candidate. A-Levels would be more than enough to be accepted into a US College and gives her the opportunity to apply for UK Universities too.

JJCC

We moved to North Caroliona last summer in July, my son was 16 just after GCSEs. He is in High School here, there were some hoops to go through:
- they needed his GCSE results before starting school here
- they had to assign him to some redundant courses which are mandatory here (and he needs to attend them with younger kids - a bit waste of time, but on the other hand some they can have some rest)
- we met the school counselor prior to moving, after starting school, and now half way through the school year. They recognised his GCSEs and gave him lots of credits for these (in NC one needs a number of "credits" to complete high school), but not as many as he would need to graduate
- the offered him possibility to graduate from High School at the age of 17 if he gets enough credits - but we did not go for it as we felt he needed the adjustments
- after initial period of "adjustment" he enjoys the school now. Generally, there is much more homework and self-study than he used to have in high school in the UK (not sure how close ths is to sixth-form - he spoke to his peers and probably similar)
- education level seems to be quite high - but we chose the place to leave with access to good schools being the most important thing
- we discussed last week with the school counselor going to university ("college" as they call it here). Very good and helpful discussion.

All in all, it is complex but it works. We have been through that and I know how stressful it is, I offer to share our experience. If you would like to speak and ask questions directly, send me a private message with your phone #.