Jill Douglas Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Hi, I'm trying to find out how my 14 yr old son will settle at college when we relocate to Perth from England, he will just be starting to revise for gcse exams in England so I'm totally confused how he will adjust to the education provided in Australia and where it will lead? What exams will he take will he be prepared enough etc, any help would be appreciated. Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 I think it's hard for anyone to be able to tell you how he'll settle - with you mentioning college i'm a little unsure when you'll be coming over? The system here is a little different in that Children don't generally leave school, go to college and then Uni. Here in WA following the natural progression then children leave school at the end of year 12 (years 11 and 12 being the years where results and exams go towards a final score for Uni entry). His GCSE's unfortunately, won't count for anything here - although A levels will be considered for Uni entry. http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Douglas Posted January 27, 2015 Author Share Posted January 27, 2015 Hi Ali, we will be coming over when he's in year 9, I just wanted to know if him coming over at that time in schooling will he have enough time to catch up with what the children are learning to complete his education (final exams) ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 In year 10 the kids start considering their options for year 11/12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Douglas Posted January 27, 2015 Author Share Posted January 27, 2015 Thank you so much it's all a lot to try and take in when kids are involved making sure your doin the best for them etc lol x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 It certainly is, when you get an idea of where you'll be staying and which school, contact them, they may be able to set your son up with someone of a similar age/be in the same year/same interests etc., who can correspond you come. The principle of my daughters school did this and it was great for her, finding out about her new school and having someone she could name on that first day. My son was much younger and got given two 'buddies' on his first year of year 2 - they're all going into year 10 next week and are still the best of friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 First of all, it's a foreign country with a totally different system. Forget anything you may think is going to happen - like "exams" for starters. As long as your son starts before he is 16 or has just turned 16 he will be fine - it's only the final two yrs of school that mean much so as long as he is there for yrs 11 and 12 completely he won't have any problems. Whether he will settle - who knows! If he's a sensitive little flower who is very academic, plays the violin and can't kick or catch a ball he will struggle considerably. If he's going to be one of the lads and has a deal of sporting prowess he will be fine. If you don't all like it when you've arrived though, you will have to put up with it until he has finished his education (which, these days means until end of Uni) because getting back into the UK system will be very difficult once he's stepped off the GCSE merry go round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Douglas Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Thanku so much you don't know how helpful that info is, to be honest we have a 5 yr plan, we can't relocate until my partners daughter is 18 there's no way her mother would give consent to her leaving the country, even tho she resides with her father, so this gives us time to save our money, plan everything as much as we can, my partner is a flux core coded welder and we have searched jobs over there realised how much wrk is available and rates of pay etc , I'm an experienced hairdresser with beauty therapist qualifications, we want a better life for our family unfortunately the future looks bleak here in England, and I'm very impressed with courses available over there for the kids, I don't think my son would have problems settling in life over there as he is a very outdoors person and makes friends easily, we live in an area which basically you learn from a young age to look after yourself (not saying it's a bad place at all just more down to earth in the north east of England) always been a working class area, we live on the coast a small fishing and mining village, so any info at all is cert a bonus to me :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Thanku so much you don't know how helpful that info is, to be honest we have a 5 yr plan, we can't relocate until my partners daughter is 18 there's no way her mother would give consent to her leaving the country, even tho she resides with her father, so this gives us time to save our money, plan everything as much as we can, my partner is a flux core coded welder and we have searched jobs over there realised how much wrk is available and rates of pay etc , I'm an experienced hairdresser with beauty therapist qualifications, we want a better life for our family unfortunately the future looks bleak here in England, and I'm very impressed with courses available over there for the kids, I don't think my son would have problems settling in life over there as he is a very outdoors person and makes friends easily, we live in an area which basically you learn from a young age to look after yourself (not saying it's a bad place at all just more down to earth in the north east of England) always been a working class area, we live on the coast a small fishing and mining village, so any info at all is cert a bonus to me :wink: Um, what will your "better life" look like? It's not paradise on a stick and WA is in a downturn at the moment so jobs are not as plentiful as they once were. Do it for an adventure by all means but the "better life" thing is a bit of a cop out. Of course, no one wants to move for a worse life but it's just different, that's all - swings and roundabouts. One first world country is very much like any other and things may be bleak up in the NE but you dont have to move to the other side of the world to make it better (though from all reports, Newcastle is very much on the up these days) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddball Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Good for you guys. Providing your son is resilient, he should settle okay. It's about taking each day as it comes because no amount of preparation or research can really prepare you for the reality of moving across the world! If you drop the 'better life' line, people will undoubtedly pick at that. Life is what you make it, wherever you are. There are variables everywhere that can affect the overall quality. I think a positive attitude is crucial, and providing your family is on board with everything, then you should be sweet. It's not easy, and when the 'holiday' period ends, day-to-day life is much the same as it is anywhere. It's what you do with your extra time that could make your life better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Douglas Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Thanku for the positive feedback :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Douglas Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Ok I understand 'the better life' is used with nievety in some respect, thing is its a new start for us and our family, we all have different ideas of a better life, to us working hard with a good lifestyle, good weather, friendly people, good education and job prospects would be the better life, reports on newcastle being on the up? Sorry to say but we honestly struggle in this area, the minimum wage is terrible, kids go thru uni get into loads of debt and end up working in Asda just to pay the bills. travelling to the otherside of the world may sound extreme to some but we honestly thrive on starting this adventure but also have a back up plan if things don't wrk out (would be stupid not to) but thing is we want it to wrk and are going to make sure we try our utmost for our family! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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