Pit Bull.

Shelley and Shepley are beautiful scenic parts of outer Huddersfield as you know, not far away from everywhere, it is an idyllic place to live, all the best.

WEBlue

We moved from the American public school system to the UK state school system with teenagers. At age 13/14 (which would have been 8th grade in the US/entered Year 9 in the UK) he went from a smallish, excellent, very child-centred American middle school to a large UK secondary school, also with a great reputation. He was/is very bright and well-behaved, and had thrived in his previous school both socially and academically. He struggled in his new British school, finding the behaviour of the other pupils frivolous & wild, the classrooms chaotic and noisy, discipline lacking, uniform rules "stupid", and the intellectual level of the material he was taught--supposedly preparing pupils for GCSE's--not challenging enough.

I think the key to a smooth international transition is VERY individual, and depends very much on the kind of child you have, what kind of school he's coming from, and what kind he's going to. It's good you're so familiar with the school he would (hopefully) be attending. I wish I'd prepared my son more for the differences in curriculum that seemed to really kick in Year 9. All his classes seemed to be teaching straight to the GCSE's, whereas his American middle school had no test-focussed orientation and allowed the pupils a lot of creative leeway. But again, that's all part of the differences between the systems followed by each school, and can vary so much.

We eventually found a great British school that nurtured our son, but I wish I'd done more delving into the different schools available locally before rather than after we moved. We'd have saved him a difficult transition. But we also met Americans whose children of similar age did fine.

aroundtheloop

Re education, my 2 sons just turned (last couple of weeks) 13 and 15, they are Aussie and have restarted yr 7 and yr 10 in the UK, because our school year in Oz starts in January. They are both a year older than their peers but because of the school system it was imperative that my older son especially started yr 10 in the UK . My younger son looks and acts slot older than his peers... We are from inner Sydney and they are at a school in the country UK, we have now asked the school to re-access my younger son to see if he can be now moved up to year 8 as he is so much more mature... The school are looking at his ability academically and will make a decision shortly.
As for socially my boys are loving the school, they are fortunate as it's a small private school with many students from all over the world. They are currently boarding while I finish up the move and wait for my visa in Sydney..... They have never boarded before and luckily are loving the school and new experience. My boys are not particularly academic.... They are into the arts and love sport..... My older son is a little shy but loves the lack of "jock" mentality at their UK school and his aloofness ia now not so much a standard issue with him.... In short it's working out well.

Re language, both my boys did French at school in OZ, but my older son dropped it for yr 10 here, as ut is compulsory at the UK school we had him do some private tuition prior to starting school in the UK.

Good luck ! You have plenty of time to plan and organize, unlike us we only had a couple of months.

chris955

Our kids have really taken to their news school here very well and have made some great friends. There is definitely more discipline here which is fantastic, their old school in Brisbane was pretty lax. We did worry that they wouldnt take to wearing a more formal uniform and especially a tie but it was no problem at all.
As has been said every case will be different and is so dependant on where you came from and where you are going to.

aroundtheloop

Haha! Yes every case if different... The school my sons went to in Sydney is a very traditional boys school... Strict on uniform, detentions for looking at the teacher the wrong way etc etc.... The school we chose for them in the UK has no school uniform, teachers are called by their first name and it's co-Ed .... They are loving it and enjoying the teachers not sweating the small stuff.... It's an arts based school which really suits my sons .

chris955

I must admit I like the discipline aspect of their current school, I hate the idea of calling teachers by their first names. I havent heard of a school quite as 'relaxed' as that.

aroundtheloop

Yes difficult to get used to calling the teachers by their first name, and I find no uniform a pain because it costs more to dress the boys.... However the ethos at the school is marvelous for my boys , being that they are both strong in the arts ( both my husband and I work in the arts). I did sayvto my husband though , that I wouldn't have wanted our boys to have done all their schooling at such a liberal school, it's a good balance to have experienced both.
The teaching for the arts far outstrips the school they were at in Sydney ( even though it pertained to supporting artistic pursuits compared to other boys schools in Sydney ) Not only that the teachers for maths and the sciences has engaged my boys.... What more can you want? Perhaps a little more focus on sport . It's a balance of experience and what works for the needs of your children.

cheeky_monkey

i really dont get why they teach French in schools anymore...nobody speaks French outside of France except in Quebec and a few west African countries..Spanish is far more useful as a second language globally.

brits1

It is hard when children are involved in moves (even a move to a different suburbs is bad enough let along another country) I use to worry myself to bits about returning with our two sons, my DOH use to drive me mad lol with his "it will all work out" etc and in the end it has/does. Fitting in with the Education is not so bad, we found the Schools/Teachers here in the UK to be really use to having students from overseas that they made it easier for our two to fit in, both have done well with their studies and have/are going to Uni here. I would do my homework on the best schools in the area you are thinking of returning to and try not to worry to much in front of your Son as they can pick up on that, the Students here are not like they are painted out in the press, you get good and bad in all walks of life. Best wishes