Education, education,education!

[buffy]

Hi I'm actually Mrs Buffy, just stealing OH's place :lol: We are looking into this migration thing quite seriously and like any mum I want to know what my wee 3 should be expecting from school on Oz! My kids are at present in yrs 4 and 2 respectively, will this put them ahead or will they be level with children of their age? What sort of activities do they have in schools? Finally what sort of thing will potential head teachers need to see from our schools in the UK? Any advice is great and will be read and read and read again! :)

[calNgary]

Hiya the school year starts here in January unlike the uk's september.My son was 8 in october and is starting yr4 next week ,your school in the uk will make a handover file to give to the school here ,it has any test results ,reports etc just saying were your kids are up to .I havnt had much dealings with the system yet but they do seem stricter than in the uk.The big difference is you have to buy all the books and staitonary needed i have just bought my sons pack at a cost of $160. Also the schools semm strange as the classrooms at most seem to be seperate buildings and not many have didng halls ,i suppose its too hot.I have been impressed with what ive seen so far and my son cant wait to start which is a first !!
Cal x

[leanneandmark]

Hi my son was 8 in september, and is in year 3 here. Will have to go up a year. getting more confused by the day.

[calNgary]

Hiya Zak was 8 in october in 06 and started the new school year in january in year 4 ,i thought he may struggle as he had only completed term 1 of year 3 before we came here ,then didnt go to school till we got a rental by which time it was nearly school hols here ,so was informed to keep him home till jan ,hope that makes sense (its early), but hes doin ok and made loads of friends ,they dont seem to worry about kids repeating years either ,which i have come across quite a bit ,hope this helps
Cal x

[gillian]

re school years,i think you will find the grades vary fom state to state.Here in melbourne if your child was 8 in October would start this new year in grade 3.My eldest was 9 in October and is now in Grade 4 this year and my youngest was 6 in November and is in grade 1 this year.They are basically a term behind what they would have started in september in England.I think best way to check is to go on education websites to confirm.
Hope this helps