Emmer

11 hours ago, rammygirl said:

Overall yes they did.  They were ahead in some things but behind in others. New subject areas and other new things to get used to. They were with age peer group. You will need to talk to schools regarding birthday. If you are on the cusp then often a decision can be made either way when you are joining an older cohort from overseas. Kids here often move interstate and have to adjust as the systems are not the same in every state. Don’t get too stressed about it. 

Ok thankyou 

15 hours ago, rammygirl said:

Also it is not a full year behind.  The school year here starts in Jan/feb so only six months to catch up with a new curriculum.  In my experience it is far better to be with your age cohort if possible.  As long as the school can cater for differing abilities and will stretch you don’t get too hung up on year group, they are different here.  
I speak as a mum of two boys who moved to Australia and had to “repeat” party of a year.  Gave them time to settle and get used to the new curriculum, they had never done Asian studies or German before for instance. Never caused them a problem and one is now a researcher and lecturer at ANU.

The only thing they moaned about was the school uniform! If you are not used to a uniform or had a standard basic one in UK then be prepared for a pretty old fashioned one here, especially in the posher schools!

Did your children find the year they were put in about right? 

15 hours ago, rammygirl said:

Also it is not a full year behind.  The school year here starts in Jan/feb so only six months to catch up with a new curriculum.  In my experience it is far better to be with your age cohort if possible.  As long as the school can cater for differing abilities and will stretch you don’t get too hung up on year group, they are different here.  
I speak as a mum of two boys who moved to Australia and had to “repeat” party of a year.  Gave them time to settle and get used to the new curriculum, they had never done Asian studies or German before for instance. Never caused them a problem and one is now a researcher and lecturer at ANU.

The only thing they moaned about was the school uniform! If you are not used to a uniform or had a standard basic one in UK then be prepared for a pretty old fashioned one here, especially in the posher schools!

I will go from the start of year 10 here to the end of year 8 because of my birthday. I don’t mind repeating a few months because that will give me time to settle in. Even though it’s a new curriculum it is only the 9th year of schooling when in the uk it will be my 10th if we all started school in jan/ feb time.

9 hours ago, ali said:

You would need to ask the school that you're going to, my assumption is that it will be the school doing the assessment.  From your previous post, you already have a chosen school - it would be best for your parents to contact them and ask them the question directly.

The school won’t Normally  talk to you unless you are already in the zone. 

As you saw from my last post there was a chance that because of my birthday I Would have to repeat a year of school. However I have several family members who are teachers and they said that the school would assess my ability and they decide if I should repeat a year or not. They were all unsure how long it would take to assess my ability. Anyone ever been in this situation?
 

7 minutes ago, purplealster said:

They will be substantially older than you  and by more than 6 months. My son turned 11 in April and one of  his best friends will only turn 10 in July. The difference in maturity is quite evident . 

There is a lot more difference when you are younger then when you are older. I am already one of the youngest in my year In the UK and there is no maturity difference between me and someone who is born in September.

27 minutes ago, Toots said:

You could have a look at this. https://bettereducation.com.au/AccelerationClass.aspx  I have no idea whether or not it will of any help but just noticed that very able students can be accelerated through secondary school.

Ok thanks

18 minutes ago, Quoll said:

Didn’t you say that when you moved from Australia you skipped yr 3 so you’ve actually only done 9. You’ll be with the cohort you started your educational journey with.  Please don’t get hung up on the ability gap - there are going to be lots of very bright kids in your year, and, at the risk of sounding boring, you haven’t done the Victorian curriculum for that year. The focus of education is quite different - less talk and chalk and more independent exploration. You may find it hard to come to grips with a foreign education system and a whole new High School jungle and you will be much better with your age peers. If you have the ability, you’re going to make it anyway, but Victoria is one of the most draconian states for rules and guidelines and their cut off date is their cut off date and you don’t want to be 17 going to Uni. The social gap gets quite large around that time.   Just another gentle heads up - I mentioned before, tall poppies often find themselves cut down to size quite quickly so be careful about pushing that “different ability” barrow, you’re going to have/want to make friends too and nothing puts the other kids off quite so much as the “I’m better than you are” thing.   Perhaps you could talk to your parents about looking at one of the top level private schools. 

Private school isn’t really an option and the school I will be going to is considered to be a good school but they don’t have an extension program. When I skipped year 3 I struggled at first but I managed to catch up. This is why I fear I will be repeat a year because of the gap. I pretty much did two years in one so I have completed 10 years worth of schooling not 9.

20 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

I was born in August too.   I can  understand you're reluctant to repeat a year when you're going to be ahead of everyone, so there's a risk you'll be bored.  However, have you thought about how you'll make friends, if you are accepted into a higher year?  Your school work will suit you better, but you'll be amongst students who are all older than you.   It can be challenging to make friends when you come from a foreign country anyway, but even more so if you're out of your age cohort.  

I think it might be better to accept that you're going to have an easy year with schoolwork, which will give you more time to concentrate on developing hobbies, making friends, and settling back into Australian life. You could also take up a new, demanding hobby if you want more intellectual stimulation. 

For someone who has always had education as a priority and who has never really struggled to fit in with people older or younger, I’ve never really had a problem with everyone being at least 6 months older then me. It will probably be very boring even if it is a different curriculum because I have already completed a year more of school then everyone else.

10 hours ago, ali said:

Yes she was in year 7, but going back to primary school after being at high school was a big thing as i'm sure you'd agree that a primary and HS curriculum are very different..  Perhaps your parents could look at a school that specifically offers a gifted and talented program for you - most programs will only run until year 10 anyway because for years 11 and 12 you're doing subjects that will lead to Uni entry (there isn't a collage year prior to Uni), would your intention be be to go to Uni a year early?

Yes that would be my intention however I have already completed 10 years of schooling and I would be going into my 11th year in September so when I go to school in Australia I will be either people who have only completed 9 years. As you can imagine there will be a huge ability gap.

17 hours ago, ali said:

My daughter had started HS in the UK before we moved, when we arrived year 7 in WA was the last year of primary school .  She never looked at it as "going back", but settling in.  It allowed her to find her feet, establish herself with a peer group.  Whilst some things were easy, some were more challenging, she was accepted into a HS Academic Extension Programe for Science, English, Maths and HASS,

Don't underestimate how difficult moving to a new country can be - finding friends who are the same age/same interests and establishing an out of school network will be equally important.  A good school will ensure that you're stretched if you have the ability.

Did she have to repeat year 7? Even though it’s still a primary school year if she was in the same position she was in the uk then that shouldn’t matter that it is a primary school. My point is that I need a teachers input on what happens as I know not all schools have extension programs and I am already ahead for my age anyway.

9 minutes ago, Quoll said:

No it wont.  If a school has an extension program if you fit into it you can join it.  

How easy is it to join the program? I’ve heard of the seal program but I know that there are only 25 spaces per school and I’m assuming that no one really leaves it. 

16 hours ago, Quoll said:

The “correct” year group is the one where your age peers are.   You’ve done schooling in a foreign country so you won’t be “repeating” anything, it’ll be a whole new experience so just enrol with your age peers and forget any year level names that you might have encountered on your educational journey thus far. Australia is a foreign country with its own education systems - we aren’t consistent across the country but an August birthday is beyond any state’s cut off. 

So what if you’re ahead of your peers - you’ll find it hard enough in many regards as it is very different so if you’ve already covered some parts of the curriculum that’ll give you time not to stress over other bits that you’ll be paddling very hard through to try and catch up.  Many schools prefer to offer extension programs for kids who are streets ahead whilst keeping them with their age peers and that social/physical/emotional development is just as important as any skill level.

Bottom line, don’t worry about what the year level you are going into is called.

 

I moved from Australia to the Uk in 2014 and I skipped the whole of year 3. I struggled a lot but I managed to catch up. My point is that in the UK you have an extra year of school and you start a year earlier in the uk. If I go into the same year group it will be the right one for my ability.

My sister will be able to go into the correct year group because her birthday is in April. So I was wondering if they will let me go into the correct year group.

13 hours ago, ali said:

My daughter had started HS in the UK before we moved, when we arrived year 7 in WA was the last year of primary school .  She never looked at it as "going back", but settling in.  It allowed her to find her feet, establish herself with a peer group.  Whilst some things were easy, some were more challenging, she was accepted into a HS Academic Extension Programe for Science, English, Maths and HASS,

Don't underestimate how difficult moving to a new country can be - finding friends who are the same age/same interests and establishing an out of school network will be equally important.  A good school will ensure that you're stretched if you have the ability.

When I move it will be too late for me to be accepted into any programs. 

I also moved from Australia to the UK and I skipped the whole of year three. I struggled a lot and but managed to catch up. This is why I feel that I will be repeating a year and I was wondering if schools are flexible with letting me go into the correct year group. 

I’m currently a student (13) who is planning on moving to Melbourne in October. I am almost finished with school year 9 but because I’m born in August 2006, I will have to repeat a few months in year 8 and the whole of year 9! I’m not bothered about repeating a few months at the end of this year but I am about repeating year 9!
 

I have been told that I have an exceptional ability in maths English and science and I have taken a look at the Australian maths curriculum for year 9 and I have completed almost all of the work this year. I have also looked at the writing standard and I have the ability to achieve it. 
 

Is there any way around repeating a year of school as im aware that the cut off date is in April? I looked on the Victorian government website and they said that if  a child has already completed more then one term of schooling abroad them they will be able to commence their schooling in the same year in Australia. They also start school a year earlier in the UK but I’m not sure if they will let me go into the correct year group.