Guest SCJ6162 Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Hi I'm moving to Sydney, fly in 2 weeks time, on a Spouse Visa - other half is Aussie. I have 16 year-old son, who is remaining in UK till he does his GCSEs next Summer and will then join us. He's a good student and is at a very good Grammar School in Northern Ireland. What I'd like to know thow is what the easiest or best processes are to get him in to resume his secondary education before hopping off ti Uni. What are best options for him to resume his A-level (or equivalent) or 6th-form studies etc in our new location? Is it easy to arrange academic transfer to good schools? Id rather not go private, but may consider if no options, and will examine the selective route first - any one experience or know of similar at all ? All advice gratefully received! Best wishes S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kdal Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Hi, Unfortunately as far as I am aware the GCSE's do not account for anything in Australia, my son has just done his GCSE this year here but will go back and repeat year 11 in Australia, my other son starts yr 10 which is suppose to be a good year to start. Hopefully someone else in Australia will help u on here Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Oh dear, difficult age to move. There is no "transfer" as such, just come, roll up to your local school and start. There are selective High Schools in Sydney (James Ruse is one that springs to mind but there are others) which are HIGHLY selective from year 7 and I dont know what chance a kid would have of getting in at year 11. At 16 he would be starting year 11 in the normal course of events at the beginning of Feb next year and he would do a 2 year HSC course. If he isnt proposing to join year 11 until over half way through, then he could be disadvantaged because it is a course work/final exam process and he would have missed 25% of the course work by not starting at the beginning of the year. here is the list of selective high schools and OC classes. Otherwise the private Grammars (Sydney Boys, Scotch etc) are going to cost you about $15k - $20k pa) His GCSEs are not going to count for much anyway, other than being an indication that he had completed year 10 and no one really cares about that anyway. Personally I would say his best option is to finish A levels in Ireland and then come here to uni. A levels travel well internationally and if he is an Aussie by descent then he would be OK for HECS help. However, you probably dont want your 16 year old on the other side of the world for 2 years! Good luck with it! Edited to say, the top schools are listed on the link here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SCJ6162 Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 Many thanks for the great advice folks - I kinda guessed it wouldn't be easy - but then again nothing ever is! We'll still probably progress with the plan of him coming over but he may need to repeat year 10, or at least part of, to then join Year 11 in Feb 2010 (I guess that'd be feasible) in order to set himslef up for the last stretch. Leaving him back in UK for 2 years isn't something we'd want to do. I'll look at the links/info you've passed me too - appreciate the help all. Many thanks S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cob Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Hi there we are going to Melbourne in January with our 15 year old son. We have decided that the best option was for him to follow the curriculum from the beginning to study for his VCE, which begins in year 10 and ends in year 12, which would then give him the qualifications to go onto uni there. But have you considered finding a college that offers the international baccalaureate? cath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SCJ6162 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Thanks Cath - hadn't thought about the baccalaurete option, but will do now! Thanks for the steer. Good luck in Melbourne too. Best wishes SCJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest herts1 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 you should look at Study in Australia - NSW Government Schools - Your unique Australian study experience and How to enrol at a Public School for more detailed info for Sydney and New South Wales. I found it very useful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SCJ6162 Posted December 7, 2008 Share Posted December 7, 2008 Thanks very much I'll def look at those links too. Much appreciated! S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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