Rosie R Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 So I've been living in England for around 6 years now (Born in UK, moved to Tassie, lived there for 8 years - up to grade 3 - , moved back to England - year 4 to year 10 (present)) My family is thinking of moving back to Aussie after I finish my GCSE's (year 11 finals) as I am currently near the end of year 10. We are not sure when/if we will be moving so I will most likely be doing college prep/searching for colleges in the UK but I do not know whether or not I will actually be going to college in the UK before we move to Taz. I don't really know much about Australian high school qualifications and stuff so I do not know what the GCSE equivalent is or what it means. I do want to go to college (idk if its university in Taz) though but I do not know what qualifications I need to be able to get into the colleges and whether my GCSE grades will be enough. I will be 15 doing my GCSE's and at least 16 when moving. Should I instead make sure I complete my college/year 12 A-Levels before moving or will I be fine with my completed GCSE qualifications? Any help would be appreciated as to what the schooling system is in Australia (i.e. primary school -> highschool -> college/uni etc.) and what I would need to do to be able to get into colleges. Sorry if this is confusing, I wasn't sure how to word it. Let me know what you have to offer to this topic, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 The system here in Aus is a little different than the UK as you stay at High School until year 12 (no college year) and this is where you gain your Uni entry qualifications. Ideally, it would be good if you could do years 11 and 12 here in Aus - alternatively, you could do your A levels in the UK and these are transferable to get you a Uni place. Are you an Aus Citizen? If you are, you are entitled to a loan (only citizens get that), if you're a permanent resident you'll pay domestic fees (usually payable up front per semester). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 10, 2020 Share Posted May 10, 2020 Yes, what Ali said. Basically, GCSEs mean diddly squat. Get your Alevels before you leave if you can. Failing that, be in Australia when you are just 16 or just about to turn 16 to do years 11 and 12. A levels travel well to Australia for Uni entry (they convert to good scores). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie R Posted May 12, 2020 Author Share Posted May 12, 2020 @ali @Quoll I am pretty sure I have an Australian Citizenship (I'd have to double-check though). Thanks for the feedback. I highly doubt we would be moving before I finish year 11/GCSE's so by the time I'd get to Australia the next education level would be college (Year 12 basically?). I suppose I am in a difficult spot because from what you are saying, the best option would be to do both Year 11 and 12 in Aus (which means I wouldn't finish my GCSE's in the UK) or do my UK A-Levels before I move to Aus - which I am not sure I would be able to do . I've said to my mum that I don't think I'm ready to move back before I finish highschool because, well, I really want to finish it all up and have a proper goodbye to my friends etc. And about doing A-Levels I don't think my family wants to wait that long/stay in England that much longer so my sister thinks there won't be any point starting college in the UK cause we plan to move a bit before I would start it. I don't really know. -- I suppose because UK year 11 is ages 15-16, if I go to Aus aged 16 I would have to go 'back' to highschool and do year (11?) and 12 in order to get my Uni qualifications. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe UK year 11 is Australian Grade/Year 10 - so if I move to Australia after finishing UK year 11 I would still be at the right age/position to do Aus Year 11 and 12, which would mean I would be able to get Australian scores for Uni? Apologies for the roughness and anything I said that is confusing! Thanks, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 2 hours ago, Rosie R said: I highly doubt we would be moving before I finish year 11/GCSE's so by the time I'd get to Australia the next education level would be college (Year 12 basically?). Schools in Australia are different. You stay at the same school all the way from Year 7 to year 12. You don't go to a separate college to do Year 12. In some cities, there are a few senior colleges, but you go there for years 11 and 12, and they're quite rare. One way or another, if you move to Australia before you get your A levels, you'll have to do both year 11 and year 12 in an Australian school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 (edited) You can do years 11 &12 in TAFE if you are well over 16 at the time you want to start year 11 but you may find the cohort isnt as stimulating or motivated as it would be doing the final two years in HS (or College if you are in ACT). You cant really just do year 12 - that's like doing A levels without having done half the course and though they may offer "conversions" there are questions about how much you would be disadvantaged with your final score if you did that. Ah, edited - you say you will probably return to Tasmania. Looks like the cut off there is 1 January so if you have turned 16 before 1 Jan then you would be in yr 11 - so technically that year level will have kids who are anything from 16 years exactly through to 16 years and 11 months just to give you a clue about ages. Could you possibly stay behind and board with friends or family to finish your A levels? I think that might be your best bet actually then you keep all your options open for whether you fancy Uni in UK or Australia - that would depend on your scores, what course you want and where would give you the best outcome to achieve it. Dont get hooked up on what the ages/year level names are in each country - Australia is a foreign country with its own education systems (even the states cant agree with each other!) so just focus on what your age cohort will be doing in Australia - you wont be repeating anything because you havent done the Australian curriculum before, just going with your age peers. Remember, too, that the school year in Australia runs from January to December, not September to July!!! Edited May 12, 2020 by Quoll 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie R Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 Quote 16 hours ago, Quoll said: Looks like the cut off there is 1 January so if you have turned 16 before 1 Jan then you would be in yr 11 - so technically that year level will have kids who are anything from 16 years exactly through to 16 years and 11 months just to give you a clue about ages. I turn 16 in June 2021 (I would have finished my GCSE's/UK highschool before then). So I'm guessing if I move to Australia before January 2022 I will be there in time to join the new year for Year 11? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Yes, looks like you will be 16:7 at the start of the new school year so you should be fine for year 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 I wouldn’t want to go straight into year 12 over here, it would be more comfortable to do year 11 first. I wouldn’t even think about the ages, either, unless you were several years over. As others have said it is different here and you tend to study a bigger range of subjects. There seems to be a shift towards online learning, especially since the covid-19 outbreaks. One of my grandchildren is at university doing 3rd year commerce/medical science and a lot of his study is online, not much class contact even before the lockdowns. You would probably find A levels more like first year uni here, depending on the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted May 19, 2020 Share Posted May 19, 2020 On 13/05/2020 at 04:52, Rosie R said: @ali @Quoll I am pretty sure I have an Australian Citizenship (I'd have to double-check though). If you have citizenship you can move whenever you like. If you don't want to move with your family move later. If you don't have citizenship, what visa will you be moving on? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie R Posted May 19, 2020 Author Share Posted May 19, 2020 @Nemesis Hi, yes I do have an Australian Citizenship so I am able to move whenever I want, I just need to renew my passport! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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