AnnieS Posted June 3, 2013 Author Share Posted June 3, 2013 Farnham has an internationally renowned art college I'm not using this thread for deciding on where to live. That would be crazy as everyone has their own priorities. Personally I prefer Cornwall to Surrey. I simply wondered how kids coped moving schools from Oz to the UK. So many people whinge about the academic standards in Oz but the majority seems to think that it's not a real issue to jump a grade or 2. It can't be that bad in Oz then or do they simply just waste time in UK schools considering they start so early. In any case, I feel better about our move back. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris955 Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 To answer the question our kids coped incredibly well with the move, they like the school and adapted literally in days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I'm not using this thread for deciding on where to live. That would be crazy as everyone has their own priorities. Personally I prefer Cornwall to Surrey. I simply wondered how kids coped moving schools from Oz to the UK. So many people whinge about the academic standards in Oz but the majority seems to think that it's not a real issue to jump a grade or 2. It can't be that bad in Oz then or do they simply just waste time in UK schools considering they start so early. In any case, I feel better about our move back. Thanks. No worries. You did ask me why I recommended Farnham over Truro though... Good luck with your move, wherever it may be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
summerhill Posted June 3, 2013 Share Posted June 3, 2013 When we moved back to the UK our kids also skipped a grade and have managed fine with lots of support from their school. My now 7 year old needed a lot of support but is now doing really well . Unfortunately because of the council application system even if you move into the catchment area of a good school you may not get a place in your preferred school because the year groups may be full. This seems particularly true in highly populated areas where the number of school places hasn't kept up with the birth rate. It would be best to try to move to an area where there is more than one good school. You will find that ofsted does address the issues of pastoral care and safety in schools if you read through the reports well. I have found that the biggest problem we have had is not the academic side of school but is the children missing their friends and feeling really homesick.(I should say my OH is Aussie so the kids really miss his family) If I was to do it again I would try harder to get them into group activities like scouts/brownies , team sports etc in the first year . I would also advise lots of play dates . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnieS Posted June 4, 2013 Author Share Posted June 4, 2013 When we moved back to the UK our kids also skipped a grade and have managed fine with lots of support from their school. My now 7 year old needed a lot of support but is now doing really well . Unfortunately because of the council application system even if you move into the catchment area of a good school you may not get a place in your preferred school because the year groups may be full. This seems particularly true in highly populated areas where the number of school places hasn't kept up with the birth rate. It would be best to try to move to an area where there is more than one good school. You will find that ofsted does address the issues of pastoral care and safety in schools if you read through the reports well. I have found that the biggest problem we have had is not the academic side of school but is the children missing their friends and feeling really homesick.(I should say my OH is Aussie so the kids really miss his family) If I was to do it again I would try harder to get them into group activities like scouts/brownies , team sports etc in the first year . I would also advise lots of play dates . Thanks for your advice. Forgot about the council system. That's going to be tricky. Yes, I can imagine it's hard for the kids to leave their friends behind. We have an opportunity to go back, but are not 100% sure whether it'll be a good move for us as a family. Hubby is very homesick and wants to be closer to family. Big decision. Most important thing for us is that the kids get a good education and enjoy going to school. Thanks for your advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k8bug79 Posted June 4, 2013 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Truro has excellent sxhools and is a fab place to live. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. However the good schools are full. Can't comment on the private schools. The onlu schools i could get my kids into wouldn't have been great. But you may get lucky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnieS Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 Oh dear! I contacted some schools previously & they told me they're full with 30 kids in a class. Thought I was just unlucky. There's no way we can afford private fees in the UK. :-(( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k8bug79 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Oh dear! I contacted some schools previously & they told me they're full with 30 kids in a class. Thought I was just unlucky. There's no way we can afford private fees in the UK. :-(( At the risk of adding another negative sounding post. It's one of the many reasons we are moving. We want to leave this area for our career prospects but just can't seem to find an area we are happy with schoolinga nd can get the kids into. My work is very limited in areas i.e I can't move to any city and hope to pck it up! and therefore we are hopeful thta the Ozzie schools are a little easier to get into. From what we've heard they are. Lets hope. I hope that you fiond something thats right for you. NOt nice to feel you can't do what's best for the kids because of the infra structure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chris955 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 It does obviously seem to depend on the area as is evidenced by posts in this thread, the same will be true anywhere to be honest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnieS Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share Posted June 7, 2013 At the risk of adding another negative sounding post. It's one of the many reasons we are moving. We want to leave this area for our career prospects but just can't seem to find an area we are happy with schoolinga nd can get the kids into. My work is very limited in areas i.e I can't move to any city and hope to pck it up! and therefore we are hopeful thta the Ozzie schools are a little easier to get into. From what we've heard they are. Lets hope. I hope that you fiond something thats right for you. NOt nice to feel you can't do what's best for the kids because of the infra structure Where in Oz are you planning to go to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k8bug79 Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Where in Oz are you planning to go to? We're going to Sydney, probably the Shire but not 100% set just yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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