five to go Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 My son has just sat his G.C.S.E's here in the UK and we are moving to Victoria for the 1st October due to my husband's job. Not sure where we will be living yet as we are military and have to wait until August to find out. I expect it would be near Yellambie. My big worry is what should I do with schooling for my son? which year would be best he starts in? should I put him back a year and he resits year 11 or would it be best for him to continue as he is and go into year 11 for a little while in October then join year 12? will his exams count? I do not know enough about the Australian system so if you could help advise me in anyway I would be grateful. thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valespark Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Hi, You need to view years 11 & 12, as a 2 year course. They function same as "A" levels, in that the score achieved will determine what choices are available for University. Sensibly, your son will need to do both years in full, otherwise he will not accrue a high enough score. The GCSE's have no value, sorry. There is no equivalent here VS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beddy Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I would start him in year 11 and look at it as your not putting him back but starting him with an advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 Talk to the schools you're considering. Victorian schools can take GCSEs into account. If his scores are good they can equate to 'satisfactory completion of year 11' and he can go straight into year 12 and he'll take his exams at the end of that year. It's something we considered for our eldest daughter as she wasn't keen to repeat year 11, but in the end we decided to stay in the UK until all the kids finished school. Had we gone I think I would have preferred for her to retake year 11. She could have done the year, but not had the results counted if she didn't want them to. It would have given her time to settle and make friends before the pressure of exams started. I spoke to several schools and those who were most accustomed to having transient students were most knowledgeable, and understood the process for translating the GCSE results, which I think is essential for students moving at this stage. Have you considered leaving him in the UK for A levels? It's just another option and don't forces children have priority for places at state boarding schools with the boarding fees paid by the forces? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tina0101 Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 We are moving to Qld in August in the same situation. Every school I have spoken to have recommended our son does Term 4 (October - December) in Year 10 so he can get used to their system and be with his peers and then go up with them into Year 11 (their first year of sixth form). None of the schools suggested him going into Year 12. It may be different for Victoria. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nic1171 Posted June 29, 2014 Share Posted June 29, 2014 I was in same boat. They initially put my son in yr 11 but because he'd missed the curriculum from Jan to Oct and being late in the year just had to slot into what subjects were available he really struggled for a week. We then requested he drop to yr 10 for remainder of term and commenced yr 11 in Jan this year, best thing we done. Although hes older than a lot of his peers The Gold Coast is quite transient so theres still kids older than him. Hes thriving now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Mannion Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Hi. We are going through the process of emigrating to Queensland. We are planning to go when my daughter finishes her gcses next July. I have been really worried about how disruptive this could be to her future, as she is targeted to A* in most of her subjects but I'm concerned these grades will have no bearing in her future once we get to oz. I'm just hoping the curriculum isn't to different from ours so she can pick it up quickly and get fantastic grades over there too. So can anyone please suggest what would be best for her? Starting in the July as a year 10 then continuing to year 12 or starting in the July as a year 11 then continuing to year 12?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 (edited) Hi. We are going through the process of emigrating to Queensland. We are planning to go when my daughter finishes her gcses next July. I have been really worried about how disruptive this could be to her future, as she is targeted to A* in most of her subjects but I'm concerned these grades will have no bearing in her future once we get to oz. I'm just hoping the curriculum isn't to different from ours so she can pick it up quickly and get fantastic grades over there too. So can anyone please suggest what would be best for her? Starting in the July as a year 10 then continuing to year 12 or starting in the July as a year 11 then continuing to year 12?? Year 10 definitely. GCSE's really mean nothing at all here. If she starts in year 11 she will most likely struggle and it will impact on any future university ambitions. Edited August 12, 2014 by Sammy1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tina0101 Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Start in Year 10 then move into Year 11. No school I have spoken with would put a child in half way through year 11. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nic1171 Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 I would recommend yr 10 if you check out my previous post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracey Mannion Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Thanks everyone, that's a big help. As we were at a total loss to how it all works [emoji2] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tina0101 Posted September 15, 2014 Share Posted September 15, 2014 Just an update as we are now in Brissy - we can claim credit for our son's GCSE results and the schools we have been for interview at have all said that he will only do 1 term in Year 11 and then move straight into Year 12 in January!! They said he will still be able to get a decent OP and be able to get into uni doing it this way. We are looking at private education, but just thought I'd give you a heads up as we are now starting to think about Uni for January 2016, much sooner than anticipated!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali B Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 Hi, You need to view years 11 & 12, as a 2 year course. They function same as "A" levels, in that the score achieved will determine what choices are available for University. Sensibly, your son will need to do both years in full, otherwise he will not accrue a high enough score. The GCSE's have no value, sorry. There is no equivalent here VS Hi Five to Go, hope you are coping well. 1st Oct is just around the corner. Have a safe journey. I have taught 12-18 yr olds her in Victoria for 14 years now and Valespark is absolutely correct. VCE Yrs 11/12 are the A Level 6th form equivalent in Victoria. I would start your son in yr 11 next Jan/Feb . It means he will do Oct-Dec in the tail end of yr10 (which is the equiv of UK Yr11 minus the GCSEs) but the big advantage is he he has no overwhelming pressure to perform in official exams as GCSEs don't exist here. He will have normal school end-of-year exams tho. Also in that way he'll find his feet with his peers and staff. Also he'll be able to pick a full range of subjects for 2015 rather than getting the crumbs of whats left. Get on to this immediately tho, as my school is currently finalising groups, and subjects for next year, now. Bring school reports and samples of work with you. Especially Maths and English as there are a number of courses that run in Maths for VCE (yr 11/12) and English Lit or Eng Lang. You need to get him into the right course. good luck ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali B Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) Just an update as we are now in Brissy - we can claim credit for our son's GCSE results and the schools we have been for interview at have all said that he will only do 1 term in Year 11 and then move straight into Year 12 in January!! They said he will still be able to get a decent OP and be able to get into uni doing it this way. We are looking at private education, but just thought I'd give you a heads up as we are now starting to think about Uni for January 2016, much sooner than anticipated!! QLD has a slightly different system, i think. The first year of secondary is year 8. Yr12 is crazy pressure and the exams start in about 4 weeks from now, so the "year" is essentially just three terms long. Most kids take a term to find their feet - there are always obviously some who take longer, or some who settle quicker. I have never known of any newly arrived immigrant kid anywhere be advised to go straight into Yr12. There are some stand-alone subjects (like Psychology) that you CAN study in Yr 12 without prior study but most subjects simply have to much bulk of info covered in Yr11 and it's often very different to UK course content. Maybe reassure yourself and read up on the QLD Study Designs for the subjects your son intends to do (this is an A-Z database) https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/670.html Edited September 22, 2014 by Ali B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.