Further education options for 16 yr old student with UK GCSE's

[Pompeyfletch]

My family and I are UK residents looking into emigrating to Australia within the next couple of years.

My stepdaughter, Mimi, is 15 now, 16 in Oct and in her first year of GCSE's (year 10), to complete in summer 2024. She is predicted very good grades and is keen to pursue further education into college and then onto university. We are looking to migrate to Australia and are just looking at skilled visa options, but our main concern is how we can factor in Mimi's education. We are concerned her predicted GCSE grades will mean nothing when moving to Oz. She wants to go into further education so would need to able to access a route into university. How best could we approach this with a move to Victoria state?

My wife is the main skilled visa applicant and 45 in Nov 2024 so we realise time is tight. With the assumption that we would have to move by the end of 2024, what options would Imogen have to further her education in Australia? I am aware the Australian education system is somewhat different to that of the UK. I believe that Australian students remain in school beyond UK year 11 and then move straight into university.

Are there exams that can translate GCSE grades into the Australian equivalent and allow Mimi to join year 12 (if there is one)?

Is it possible for Mimi to enroll in a school with her GCSE’s and progress through the remaining years toward university in some way?

Do UK A levels translate into a route into an Australian university? If so, would it be possible to do UK A levels remotely and then apply to an Aussie Uni?

We would be looking to settle in the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria as that is where our family live.

Any advice on how we can best make this work for Mimi and what options there are available, would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Matt Fletcher

[benj1980]

Hi Matt

If you are moving over from the UK you need to embrace the new country. UK A-Levels do translate to Australian universities but they'd much prefer ATAR which is the 'equivalent' course. How would Mimi meet new friends, create memories, if she was doing distance learning at home to do A-Levels? I'm not even sure if it is possible, I've never heard of it. GCSEs mean nothing here, employers are interested in your Year 12 qualifications. These can be ATAR, General certificates similar to GCSE amongst others including trade type of certificates. You could explain what GCSEs are to an employer but if they're an old school Australian you may get an interesting response!

The school year here is different to the UK so you would need to work out what year Mimi would be in. Ideally being here for Year 11 and 12 would be the ideal. Two years of senior school education would provide her with the Australian education platform to go to University or further education.

It's hard to break from what you know and Mimi's age is an important consideration to a move. My children were all primary school age so it was different for me! However, it may be sacrifice that you have to make or decide you don't want to make in terms of disrupting her education. If she is University capable she could also complete a bridging course (they vary in length from a month to a year - online or face to face) and then start Uni. I had a student who submitted an essay and they accepted that he could write to university level. There's lots of options these days...

[FirstWorldProblems]

This could get quite complicated and might well be worth an initial consultation with a migration agent.  You'll find Paul Hand and Alan Collett recommended on this forum regularly.

I know a little bit about A-levels for entry in a university in Australia as my son was looking at this.  It won't be an issue.  A quick google search will land you on a university site where they publish equivalent entry criteria.  It's a points type system.  For example at Sydney Uni, Advanced Computing required last year an ATAR of 90 or A Level points of 15/16:

• A*=6, A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, E=1. 

So for 15 you’d need two A*’s and a C.  It's worth noting that these points change.  In my example here the points back in 2020 were 13/14 (but the ATAR hasn’t changed). I assume this is due to A level grade inflation but don't know for sure.  Something to keep in mind.

Your bigger challenge is that the two different school systems do not line up neatly.   Whereas in the UK A-levels are taken in years 12 and 13, the Australian school ends at year 12 and kids going to university do so in what in the UK would be year 13, the final year of A-levels.      Transitioning to an Australian school after GCSE straight into year 12 is probably going to be quite challenging as the foundations of the syllabus are laid out in year 11 and that syllabus is different to the UK.   It would have been easier if you had moved there late last year and she started year 11 last month, but that window has probably closed now unless you have a visa and could go right away.  Really, the best window for her from an academic perspective is after A-levels.

This next bit I am not at all sure about but if I recall correctly, skilled migrant visa's don't come with PR which means your daughter wouldn't gave PR and so the university fees would be at the higher rate charged for an international student, I think this over $30,000 per year in most cases. 

 

Edit:  You could of course enrol her into Year 11 for next January.  She'd be a bit older than the other kids, but that's no big deal and it may make it easier for her to adapt to a different syllabus.

Edited February 7, 2023 by FirstWorldProblems

[Marisawright]

56 minutes ago, Pompeyfletch said:

My family and I are UK residents looking into emigrating to Australia within the next couple of years.

As others have said, GCSE's do not translate to Australia at all.  Either she'll have to do Years 11 and 12 so she can get the Australian HSC, or she stays in the UK until she's got her A levels. There's no middle ground.

I would also say that if you're thinking of migrating in the next couple of years, then I hope you are working with a migration agent to get your application in right now.  The process of getting a skilled visa can take well over a year, so even if you apply now, you may not get to Australia in time to get her into school at the start of the 2024 school year (remember, the school year starts in January, so if you wait for her to do her GCSE's and then she wants to do Year 11, she won't be able to start till January 2025). 

There's no downside to applying as soon as possible, because even if a miracle happens and you get the visa earlier, all you need do is take a short holiday in Australia to activate the visa. Then you'll have almost 5 years to make the permanent move. 

Edited February 7, 2023 by Marisawright

[Nemesis]

4 hours ago, FirstWorldProblems said:

 

This next bit I am not at all sure about but if I recall correctly, skilled migrant visa's don't come with PR which means your daughter wouldn't gave PR and so the university fees would be at the higher rate charged for an international student, I think this over $30,000 per year in most cases. 

 

189 and 190 are Skilled Permanent Residency Visas, you get PR at once.  From the sound of the first post they would be coming as permanent residents. 

[Quoll]

Either wait until she has finished A levels (best option, keeps all her avenues open inc Uni in either country which is a huge bonus ) or get her here before she turns 16 or just as she turns 16 then she can start year 11 in the January (note, we have different term dates - the school year goes from Jan - December here - foreign country totally different system/s).  As she doesnt turn 16 until October, she wouldnt start year 11 until 2024 anyway so if you can get her here before next January you should be OK however if you are looking at the end of 2024 it'll be too late.

She cant just go  into year 12 and expect a good ATAR - that's like going into A levels half way through, it just doesnt work. If you leave it until start 2025 then she is going to be about 18 months older than her cohort which might be uncomfortable for her.  There are other alternatives like TAFE or VSV (Virtual School Victoria) which is a distance ed program.

If your time frame isnt working - you can get the visa, she can activate it with a quick trip to Aus and then go back to finish A levels and maybe board with family or friends if you are staying in Australia then come out within the next 5 years to join you.  You said she is your step daughter - does her father approve of her moving countries - I think under 16 they still need to give permission to leave the jurisdiction.

GCSEs are only important if you decide that Australia isnt for you - and that does happen - and if she needed to return to the UK system, it would be significantly more difficult with ATAR scores not equating as well back for Uni entrance as A levels do in the opposite direction and if a student hasn't done the 3 years before Uni actually resident in UK, then they are up for international student fees which are eye watering.

 

[Pompeyfletch]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Some really useful information there. We are right at the beginning of our visa Journey, and whilst we have made the initial approach to our local migration agent with some preliminary information, we are still waiting on a response with visa options that will lead to our first engagement. I'm kind of on an information gathering mission prior to our first consultation with them and obviously get an idea if it is something which we could realistically persue.

 I guess my follow up question to this would be

My wife is 45 in Nov 2024. I would assume we need our skilled visa granted before that. If we get the visa granted by then how long do we have to make the move?. I reference @Marisawright's interesting response that suggests that once the visa is activated we have up to 5 years to make the permanent move
So that leads me into thinking that if we were to get the visa by Nov 2024 we could aim to move once Mimi has finished her A levels in mid 2026 as that appears to be the more realistic route to university in Oz for her. Am I understanding that correctly?

Thanks again!!.

[Quoll]

15 minutes ago, Pompeyfletch said:

Thanks for the responses everyone. Some really useful information there. We are right at the beginning of our visa Journey, and whilst we have made the initial approach to our local migration agent with some preliminary information, we are still waiting on a response with visa options that will lead to our first engagement. I'm kind of on an information gathering mission prior to our first consultation with them and obviously get an idea if it is something which we could realistically persue.

 I guess my follow up question to this would be

My wife is 45 in Nov 2024. I would assume we need our skilled visa granted before that. If we get the visa granted by then how long do we have to make the move?. I reference @Marisawright's interesting response that suggests that once the visa is activated we have up to 5 years to make the permanent move
So that leads me into thinking that if we were to get the visa by Nov 2024 we could aim to move once Mimi has finished her A levels in mid 2026 as that appears to be the more realistic route to university in Oz for her. Am I understanding that correctly?

Thanks again!!.

Yes, essentially that.  You would have to visit Australia to validate your visa within the time frame for first entry - usually 12 months - but then, once validated you have 5 years from date of issue to actually make the move.  You dont even need to stay in Australia, just arrive, validate visa and depart - you could do it in a long weekend if you didnt mind the jet lag.