rossendale

The majority of the children I teach are wonderful. Their rep is put into disrepute by a small minority. There is a pattern. Pupils come in Year 7 eager and enthusiastic but as Year 7 ends and pupils go into Year 8 the number of pupils still involved in sport, D of E, scouts etc falls. Those who do continue are usually supported and encouraged by their families to do so. On the other hand, despite fabulous parents, a lot of my students still see drinking, smoking etc as necessary to be accepted by their peers. I'm a firm believer in boredom making work for idle hands. I think a broad range of interests with a variety of friendships groups (friendships are volatile) is the key. Area and school matters but good parenting is paramount.

Melza and caramac, do you think your children are more resilient because they made the move to Oz and the subsequent return to UK?

Thank you for your insightful post.

The lengths teens will go to be accepted is frightening. I know it's the same everywhere. I think I'm looking for a glimmer that perhaps what a twelve year old in Salford will do to be accepted will not have entered the brain of an australian twelve year old. I'm also trying to find out whether a focus on the whole child rather than achieving a random level pays dividend. My daughter is academic and will thrive wherever but my son would definitely benefit from a more 'whole child' approach.

Is part of the difference that australian teenagers continue to participate in outdoor activities as a cultural thing or does early teen complacency kick in when they get to high school just like in the UK? Does staying on until 18 have a more positive impact?

Do you think your Telford cousins would have turned out 'differently' in Australia?

I am a high school teacher and parent of three young children 6, 4 and 3. I know children grow up very quickly these days. The state education system in UK is very target driven. Schools will go to great lengths to ensure pupils achieve their target grades. Some go too far and to be honest pupils leave school ill equipped to study independently. Is Australia a better place for kids to be teenagers?

Three kids 6, 4 and 3! Car is a necessity. Not researched inner city living. Definitely not ruling anything out.

Mine was about speakers at conferences!! I made most of it up. If you are stuck on the topic -say so; it's about your ability to articulate not a test of your topic knowledge. in the writing make sure you spend a few minutes planning how you will answer the question, what each paragraph will say and what examples you will give to back up your argument/ opinion. Make it clear in the opening paragraph what your opinion is and refer back to your opinion again in the conclusion. ieltssimon in a blog. I found it useful because simple strategies were given to answer questions. The questions are given and sample answers worked through. It was good for both task 1 and 2.

Don't let your mind wander during the listening as information is not repeated. Read the reading questions first before reading the texts themselves and perhaps do the harder later questions first. Give lots of examples in the writing. I watched Ryan English YouTube clips but found ieltssimon simpler. Good luck!

Thank you wisey26. An honest,no nonsense response albeit quite depressing for me to hear. So.... live as close to CBD as financially possible, buy a car and do lots and lots of research. Just hope my oh manages to get a job ASAP or the family adventure could be short lived.

All going well with visa etc we intend to be in Melbourne next August. I worked with an agency in Sydney many years ago and I always had work of some description. Are you saying there is little or no CRT work? How have you managed?

Thanks for that. Have to wait at least 14 weeks for AITSL assessment so lots if time to obsess about all the other details. If I can just tick it as not relevant that's easy although not true! Don't want to risk losing fee if they decide work exp not appropriate enough for nominated job.

Do you tick'no experience' on the EOI or just leave that part blank? I have 11 years experience but prefer not to risk declaring them.

What does bumping mean? I am in the same situation and would appreciate the feedback.