Quoll

Good point re Distance Ed but I think you need to be NSW residents - in Vic you certainly did, and have a home school which said they couldn’t meet your needs. Doing GCSE and HSC at the same time could be very stressful.

Ah, hes screwed then. He would be seriously disadvantaged by missing most of year 11 then popping straight into HSC - foreign country, totally different curriculum. His age cohort will have started year 11 in January 2025. Best option for him would be to leave him in UK to board with family or friends and finish A levels then move over for FE. Otherwise, he could look at TAFE for HSC - disadvantage with that is that the cohort are often not the kind of kids that are going to be great to socialise with and there may not be the breadth of subjects available. Other option of course is not to wait until hes done GCSEs - come at Christmas 2024. GCSEs are only going to be of any importance if he should go back so if there is any chance that one or more of you may not like Australia and want to return they’re good belt and braces then. There are “conversions” of GCSE scores available for credit towards HSC scores but if he’s trying for anything serious at Uni they’re not going to do him much good.

If your son turns 16 in September 2025 and you arrive then, he will enrol in year 10 for the last 3 months of school 2025. He will start year 11 in 2026 and do year 12 in 2027. He will do the full year 11/12 program. You do realise that the school year in Australia goes from January to December? The cut off for NSW is end July so your son, turning 16 in the September before he starts year 11 will be right in the middle of his age cohort. He should finish year 12 at 18 years 3 months.

Cant say that i blame her - she would be going into the year 9 girls bear pit where the Queen Bees and wannabes can make a young girl’s life hell. They tend to become more human when theyre about 16 but then you get into the big issue of that being a crap time educationally to move them and its probably better to leave them in UK to finish A levels then think about whether they want to do FE in Aus or UK. Edited to say, just in case you missed it, read up on the Hague Convention. If you decide that Australia isnt for you, and even if the kids want to go back with you, if the other parent says no, then no Aus court would let you leave with your kids. Its usually mothers who want to do that but bottom line, if you come and it doesnt work for you, too bad, youre stuck if you want to be with yiur kids.

If you've got assessments of Receptive and Expressive language then, yes, take them along. It is quite possible they will ask for them anyway because I am sure you will declare speech/language delays if asked. Speech pathologist reports are going to be more objective than preschool reports.

A child who is 9 in June 2024 will be in year 3 in Victoria in 2024 - the cut off date for Victoria is 30 April so, yes, you are correct in 2025 he will be in year 4. However, dont get hung up on the "dropping back" thing - what he will be doing is moving to a foreign country and enrolling with his age cohort. He will probably find the going really easy. It is only going to be an issue if you decide to return to UK where he will be quite out of whack with his age cohorts if you transfer the Australian year level thing - different cut off dates, different starting ages etc.

If they're outgoing and affable they'll make friends. Why the focus on "lifelong" friends? My sons don't have any - all school friends moved on - geographically and socially. They didn't make great Uni friends because of the ways Unis are these days. Then they've made friends in workplaces which have generally been workplace dependent and friends with interests which have been interest dependent. They'll be fine.

No, we didn’t get jobs (didn't want any!!!) but I was offered 3 and my husband was offered one - we didn't apply for any but were almost head hunted. One of mine was a professional option but they were generally low grade retail type options. I observed far less ageism. Good luck, I'd see no reason you shouldn't pick up something.

Why do you need a doctor that bulk bills? Go to any doctor and pay them, if you need to see one. Then claim off Medicare when you get your card. It's what the rest of us do - you'll just have to wait a little bit longer for your refund when you get your card.

Absolutely. Your head can tell you that this is home but your heart just doesnt go with the plan!!!

There is, roughly, a Catholic system which runs parallel to the Gov school system - it's a cheaper form of private. If you're Catholic, that's a good option. If you're not Catholic then proving you adhere to Catholic values could be tricky. Private schools generally tend to have better outcomes for kids and the more you pay, generally the better the outcome but they can decline to enrol kids who may bring their rankings down for whatever reason. It used to be that the very prestigious schools had wait lists that you needed to hop on at birth but I think with the financial situation as it is there are probably more vacancies. Around 35% of kids go private with relatively more in The HS sector which is where parents believe their money is better spent. There are selective gov schools which do well but you've got to be selected and competition can b e fierce with a lot of tiger mums pushing their kids. Best schools ranking here https://bettereducation.com.au/school/Secondary/qld/brisbane_top_secondary_schools.aspx Edited to say, all gov schools have a priority enrolment area and they are obliged to find a place for a kid residing in that area, so it's not like.UK in that regard where, if they are full, you could theoretically live next door and not get a place. Some schools will take out of area enrolments but they are not obliged to. Generally the schools reflect the suburb around them so if you wouldn't want to live in the suburb you wouldn't want your kid in the school there!!!

Mixed marriage here but my Aussie DH was never controlling. In the beginning we were both of the "go where the best opportunities are" mind set. It wasn’t until about 30 years in that he became the "I can’t possibly leave Australia“ type and all my plans for a split retirement which had been sustaining me for a few years were dashed. Things changed and we did have 9 years in U.K. which he very much enjoyed but that’s a whole other story. My advice - don’t do it. Cut. Run. There are plenty more fish etc. Your reporting smacks of control to me and I’m not a big fan of control in a relationship. If he is the man of your dreams/soul mate then you will have to live with the least worst option - and that will require you to be strong and give everything. At least in our situation we weren’t living in either family's pocket and that made for more equity in our relationship - 24 hours by air to my lot, 12 hours by road to his. I think the resentment would have gone through the roof had he had all his family and friends and I had none of mine. What has worked for us for half a century is a much better sense of compromise than you seem to be being offered. I have no idea what the visa thing is like with Ireland but would he even be able to live with you there? It's certainly not easy to get a spouse visa for UK. So it might not be something you could do anyway. I second what the others have said, do not bring kids into the equation until you are 100% certain you can hack it here because once the kids arrive the Hague Convention will never allow them (and you) to leave. If you do decide that you are content with the least worst option then the trick will be to reframe it as the choice that you make rather than a decision he is imposing. If you feel bulldozed into it, your resentment will build. It's different for me because I've had him for over 50 years and I can't imagine training up a new one and life here with him is less worse than life there without him. If I were in this position 50 years ago I would tell my younger self to look after myself and my mental health, I think, but love is blind so I might have told my older self to get knotted - I dunno!!!! Good luck, I don't envy you your decision, it's not easy and what is right for one of us is not necessarily right for another. ((((Hugs))))

$10-12k for braces these days and very little back on the insurance unfortunately. There's at least a 12 month wait before you can claim on insurance anyway. And there's no point in getting them started in UK because Aus orthodontists won't take responsibility for someone else's practice.

Where's the hug emoticon when you need it?! Next year, start planning now!!! Book yourself a hotel break for the festive period and tell the rest of the rabble that they're on their own. It's Christmas, dammit, you deserve the fun of it. Stay strong!!!!

Nah, prolonging the agony I reckon!

I keep thinking of going business class but my miserly attitude won't let me. I reckon you can put up with anything for 24 hours and business class doesn't get you there any faster so I stick with sardines. My son arrived yesterday and door to door was 39 hours 52 minutes - getting to the airport, going via San Francisco then bus down to Canberra.

Oh yeah!!!

Every flight I've been on, for years now, give you a bottle of water once you've boarded. Then you can keep refilling it throughout the flight. I've not felt the need to buy water en route at all. They're dinky little bottles too - very handy for popping in your bag to go down town.

I hear you! The saving factor for Christmas for me is my youngest granddaughter. She loves Christmas and I have steadfastly clung to my British Christmas roots so that she knows (and tells me she loves) our family Christmases. With the maturity of becoming a teenager she has really thrown herself into this Christmas especially - she's been really enthusiastic about finding just the right gift for her dad, sister and pup. Her mother doesn't celebrate Christmas at all because it's her birthday on NY Eve and in her mind that's more important than Christmas! I guess what I'm saying is that I'm leeching on her excitement and enthusiasm and feeling more Christmassy than I have in a long time. It'll also be good because this will be the first Christmas in 10 years that we can share it with my UK son who should be on his way in a few hours (bugger about all the pre Christmas visit housework that needs to get done now though!)

They will certainly if you're paying international fees. Oxbridge will be requiring 99.5+ I would think.

In that case I would seriously consider leaving your 16 yr old to board with family or friends and finishing his A levels in UK. What he does after that would depend on your visa status and what he wants out of life. He could fly over and see you in the holidays so he would get a feel for what life is like here. Don't go and live near Ballarat then, the farming community around there hates the idea of the transmission lines - big protests earlier this year lol.

You havent said whether you are coming on a permanent or temporary visa if it is with your husband's work. If it's permanent then unless you hate the place you should be OK. If it is a temporary visa then you might seriously want to consider what happens when you go home. Year 12 results dont travel back to UK as well as A levels do to Australia and if a kid wants to go to a UK uni they often have to do a foundation year (because Australian education is one year less than UK education to that point) and if your son is aiming for Uni, and he wants to go to a UK uni, then you will be up for international student fees even if he is a British citizen (residence in the UK for 3 years immediately prior to starting Uni is required). Also if you are on a temporary visa then things like apprenticeships will not be available to him in Aus and if he wanted to go to an Aus university he would be paying international fees. It's a bit of a minefield

Technically yes your calculations are correct but he would be the youngest and kids of his age are actually more likely to be starting year 11. Kids can be older in a year, they generally cant be younger than the year so cut off 30 April in Victoria means that a lot of February, March and April babies will have been kept back probably in kindergarten and will be on the older side for the cohort. Given that he will be going into a program which is assessed on 2 years of work, he would be better to join year 10 when you arrive and then go into year 11 in 2024. If he goes into year 10 when you arrive he will be one of the older kids in the cohort Dont think or talk of it as "being held back" he will be joining the cohort of his age peers. He will probably find it quite easy content-wise which is no bad thing given that you are moving him to the other side of the world and there will be all sorts of social and emotional challenges blending into a different culture. A bit of maturity never did anyone any harm. Even if he wants to follow a trade, getting his year 12 is still a good option if he is bright because that keeps his options open.

As I always say when someone is considering moving with a kid in the final year/s of schooling - consider leaving the child to finish their A levels in UK - they could board with family or friends and keep all their options open for Uni in UK or Australia. If, as you say, he's extremely bright then you would disadvantage him by moving him over. He would need to do the full 2 years of the VCE so he couldn't really land in year 12 and expect to do well - it's a 2 year course. He could go to TAFE but the cohort doing VCE in TAFE often isn't the cohort you'd want your child to be with (think repeaters or out of school for a while) and the wider experience you'd get from a school environment would be missing. His age makes him marginal for year 11 in 2024 actually. Cut off for Vic is 30 April so he would be one of the youngest of a year 11 cohort in 2024 and he could conceivably go into yr 10 for the remainder of 2024 then start yr 11 in 2025 when he would be amongst the oldest in the year. VCE has more subjects than A levels, usually Maths English and 3 or 4 more subjects.