We are hoping to migrate shortly after our son finishes his GCSE's. If we were to stay here he would go to 6th Form college to do A levels.
How would this work out in Australia? He is an October birthday so will be touching 17. Would he be expected to go to a college immediately in September or would he be behind or in front of his peers. I know the school year is different over there and that children start school at 5 instead of 4 but am still a tad confused. (doesn't take much!!)
Also, is there a legal requirement to put your children in school straight away? Our daughter will be 13 and have just finished year 8. We were hoping to have 3 months or so travelling around first before we settle. I look forward to your answers.
Andrea
xx
The issue of Year 11 and 12, seems to be different depending on which state you are going to be living in. I know in SA that young adults do years 11 and 12 at school or there are a few colleges that only have years 10-12, but on the whole they stay at school. As for you daughter we did the same thing and did not have any problems. Enjoy the time together as a family.
We are hoping to migrate shortly after our son finishes his GCSE's. If we were to stay here he would go to 6th Form college to do A levels.
How would this work out in Australia? He is an October birthday so will be touching 17. Would he be expected to go to a college immediately in September or would he be behind or in front of his peers. I know the school year is different over there and that children start school at 5 instead of 4 but am still a tad confused. (doesn't take much!!)
Also, is there a legal requirement to put your children in school straight away? Our daughter will be 13 and have just finished year 8. We were hoping to have 3 months or so travelling around first before we settle. I look forward to your answers.
Andrea
xx
Like you we are planning the move to conincide with our son finishing his GCSEs next year - he's a December birthday.
I asked the same questions about schooling a few weeks ago and had these answers. Not sure where you're headed - some information is specific to Western Aus ....
They go into year 12 in the year they turn 17.
They will not be able to go into further education at uni until they've done their TEE at the end of year 12. If they are not academically inclined, year 12 is not mandatory, they can leave school and work, do nothing, go to tafe, do an apprenticeship, or whatever they want (probably subject to parental approval).
If his 16th birthday is in Dec 2008, then he will complete Y11 in 2008 & will be one of the youngest in his school year. His classmates will all have been born in 1992.
This year (2007) he will be in Y10. It's the final year of mandatory schooling (until the rules change to make kids stay on longer). Y10 prepares the kids for the ordeal that is Years 11 & 12 & TEE.
Y11 & Y12 are not mandatory, but must be completed in order to obtain a High School Graduation Certificate.
University & TAFE higher education courses are not available to students who have not donesome form of TEE.
For people who drop out of school after Y10 for whatever reasons, there is a Tuart College in Tuart Hill, which runs TEE courses for those who would like to try again.
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16-year-olds (year 11) must be at school, studying full-time at TAFE, in a traineeship, an apprenticeship or employed in a job with genuine career prospects. The school leaving age is going to be raised to 17 in 2008.
This is the information on the Education Department website.
Interesting info regarding having their GCSEs reconginised in Oz -
My son is sixteen and passed GCSEs in the UK. He now has been recognised as having completed Year 11. He has a certificate from the Curriculum Council to this effect. So if your son can sit his GCSEs then it is well worthwhile.
You will need to take his certificates to the Curriculum Council Office in Perth and pay a small fee. They will take copies and you will receive the official letter in the post.
You might be able to do it while in the UK but it only took a few days from here.
Hi Karen
What a brilliant answer.
We also have a daughter sitting gcse's this yr and would like to be in Oz towards the end of yr ready for Jan 2008.
I had found out that she will go into yr12 and not yr11 as I thought she might, but could never have explained it so well.
Good news about the gcse recognition, do you know if they do that in other states?
I'm not 100% sure if the following are the correct places to actually get the certificate of recognistion for GCSEs but they are the education/curriculum departments for the other Oz states and should be able to advise you further:-
Ooopppsss! That all came out in very small print - here it is again .....
Australian Capital Territory
Department of Education and Training
186 Reed Street
Greenway ACT 2900
AUSTRALIA
Postal Address:
ACT Department of Education and Training
PO Box 1584
Tuggeranong ACT 2901
AUSTRALIA http://www.decs.act.gov.au/
If you come to NSW, I think you will find that he will go into Yr. 11. Students sit for their HSC in Yr 12 which is based on 2 years of course work. I doubt if your son would manage to do 2 years work in 1.
Very interesting hmmmmmmm! Am I right in thinking.........
My eldest daughter, a July birthday, currently one of the youngest in her school year would actually complete year 8 over here, turn 13 but would have go back to year 7 for a term in Oz. In January of the following year she would begin year 8 but be one of the oldest in her class. She would still only have 3 years to do before her High School certificate, as they do it the end of year 10, whereas they do GCSE's at the end of year 11 here. So she would only do an extra 5 months in school. Or would she have to do the whole of year 7?
My youngest daughter, an April birthday, will start Kindy the January after she turns 4. So she will do a year of pre school here then nothing for 6 months, then effectively do another year of pre school.
This is working out quite well for us. I don't want the children to miss out on their education but we did want to do some travelling before we settled. An education in itself I think. My son could complete his GCSE's, my daughters year 8 and pre school. We could have the summer hols here in the UK giving my hubby and I some time to get organised without the pressures of getting kids to school etc, then move over late August, early September. Hopefully we could have 3 months travelling around with the children then find somewhere to live and enrol them in school for January.
Has anyone else done this, took their kids out of school for a few months once they got over there. Are we likely to get into trouble for it.
Thnaks for all your replies
Andrea
xx
PS...I think we have settled on WA as a permanent base but that could change in the blink of an eye when we get there
That all came out in very small print - here it is again .....
