moving to australia with 9,11,12 year old boys....

[Kelly Blackburn]

Hi can anybody advise. We are going to be looking at moving to Oz next July.  My oldest boy is panicking and generally upset at leaving the UK. Has anybody done a similar thing ....I also worry his gcse's are few years away and would I be upsething his education too much. I think the other two will take to it as they are younger. Many thanks Kelly 

[Quoll]

If you're not planning on returning to UK his GCSEs will be irrelevant - foreign country, different education systems (the states can't agree on  anything).  If you think you might return then, yes, you should get him back before he starts the GCSE merry go round.  Kids move all the time, sometimes they do ok, sometimes they don't. If he is the sort of kid who is a bit of a magnet for bullies then he will likely be in for a hard time but if he's a bit of a jock he should be ok. Bottom line, if you guys say he is going, he will just have to get on with it.

[rosiew]

It depends if you are looking at a temporary or permanent move.  If it is permanent then GCSEs are irrelevant as there no 16 year old qualification in Australia.   It is expected that the vast majority of children will be at school until they are between 17.5 and 18.5 and they leave with a qualification at the end of that (Year 12, the 13th year at school).  If you are looking at a temporary move, or not sure, then you will need to bear in mind the timing for his education.

Also your visa type may impact on your liability for school fees in some states.  Many states now charge thousands of dollars per head for temporary residents to use state schools, so make sure you are across this.   Where are you thinking of moving to?

 

Edited April 13, 2017 by rosiew
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