Guest ToPerth Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Hiya, We are hoping to move to Perth next year so whilst the folks busy about sorting visas etc... schools seem to be the most confusing thing. I'm 16 and completing my GCSE's next June. First someone says that GCSE's are useless, the next person is telling me they can be transferred. :err: Just wondered if anyone could give some basic advice on how the schooling system works and where i would be placed when i got there. Looked at some websites but it is almost as confusing as people :biglaugh: Taking the British system my choices would be History, Maths, Biology and I.T, however without the A Levels what is in it's place? I have been reading up about the IB however not many schools seem to be offering this, does that mean it is not a good option? Secondly i would like to do law and psychology at University, how would the grades i need for an Australian University compare to those of a British one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LojaChica Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Hi honey...........you GO GIRL and get your GCSE's they WILL count somewhere along the line..............You ARE doing the right thing!!!! I cannot express that enough and it's so refreshing to hear from someone your age, and I DON'T mean that in a degoratory way, that you care..............you can leave in Year 10 here OR stay until you are 18 with the HSC.........SO get those exams and then come over and do your HSC if you're that way inclined and then if you decide to stay in Oz OR Uk you are covered! Well done for having a great attitude towards this and GOOD LUCK with your future.......Take care Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Well they are useless in that they are UK exams and so no one knows what they mean here. However, should you ever decide to return to UK then they will be of use to you then. In order to get into law you usually need a university entrance score in the 98+ which is very high and so that you dont disadvantage yourself you should conisder doing the final two years of school here - years 11 @ 12 which will give you the best chance of a good score (you dont actually technically need to have completed year 10 in order to be enrolled in year 11 but your GCSEs would be considered year 10) - be careful about joining year 11 part way through as you could be disadvantaged and not have enough units to do well as most courses (all depending on which state you are going to) are either continuous assessment or a combination continuous assessment and end of course examination. Double degrees are very common in Aus so a Psych/Law would be quite acceptable - the double degree will take you longer to do though because you will have compulsory units from each degree. If you are not a citizen then you will have to pay your year's uni fees up front and law is one of the more expensive ones so start saving up now. You would generally choose more subjects than for A level - maybe 6 or even 7 all depending again on the state etc but you could choose the same ones that you would be picking for A levels plus most kids do English and Maths. Certainly if there is any chance that you will want to do further study out of Australia then the IB is a good option and you will find more schools are opting for it because of its international transferability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ToPerth Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Thank you for your posts they were amazing. That was the other problem, in order to complete GCSE's i would be joining it half way through. So would i have to go back a year? Meaning the place my birthday falls i could effectively be 1-2 years older? Haha, i would choose the more expensive one, To be honest the IB seems like a good idea but again only 3 schools in Perth appear to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 3, 2008 Share Posted November 3, 2008 Thank you for your posts they were amazing. That was the other problem, in order to complete GCSE's i would be joining it half way through. So would i have to go back a year? Meaning the place my birthday falls i could effectively be 1-2 years older? Haha, i would choose the more expensive one, To be honest the IB seems like a good idea but again only 3 schools in Perth appear to do it. I think I would talk to them before you enrol about where you were going to get the best option for getting good UAIs (university entrace scores or whatever they call them in WA). If not doing the whole course could jeopardise your hunt for good scores - because they would just give you credits or something - then bite the bullet and join up part way through year 10 and then get the full two year course starting 2010. Get their advice in writing though - there is one lad on here in Qld who has found out the hard way that not doing the whole course has screwed up his uni options - I dont know what WA are like. All depending on your birthday you could be a year or two older, yes, but you could also look at TAFE as an option to do your final two years rather than going into a school environment where you may be older. I am so impressed that you are taking charge of your own educational outcomes - I sense that you arent going to have the least trouble getting into law:biglaugh: Good luck! Edited to say, it looks as if the two non Montessori schools that do IB are the prestigious Scotch and PLC and they seem to be primary programs only! http://www.resaust.com.au/index.php?p=4_4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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