dougierh Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Hi all, is there anyone out there who has moved over to Australia with teenagers who are half way through their A levels. Our predicament is that we have to be in Australia before the end of January before our visas expire. Our daughter is in her last year of A levels, having done her AS level and so will have her final exams in May/June next year. Does anyone know if there is the facility for sitting A levels in Australia? Any info from anyone who has gone through a similar dilema would be very much appreciated.:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Hi, are you right at the end of your 5 year period for the visa or are you having to just validate it, we might be in a similar position. Can't you all go to Australia in the holidays and your daughter come back and stay with family or friends and finish her exams and then joln you. I don't know if she can do this and hopefully someone on POI will know, or try contacting a migration agent. surely Australian immigration would think that in these circumstances that your daughter finishing her A-levels would eventually benefit Australia in the long term and let her join her family later as long as you are there, best of luck, jim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougierh Posted October 26, 2009 Author Share Posted October 26, 2009 Hi Jim, yes we are at the end of our 5 year visa so we think immigration will not allow us an extension to this. Thanks for your info though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Ropey HOFF Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Hi, it must be common people going to OZ and there kids joining later you need to contact immigration and see what they say, i am certain you will have to go but your daughter could join you after her exams, thats if you can leave her with family or freinds, best of luck jim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Granada Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Hi There My son is an the same year as your daughter but we do have the luxury of being able to wait for him to finish (although we have to validate by April and then go back in July so its an expensive option). I dont think you can take A levels from OZ but some Unis admit on good AS grades (sadly not Sydney where my son is applying). If she is happy to go with AS's then its an option worth looking at ! Jen xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cazi Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 This is a really tough one. What does your daughter want to do after A levels? Does she plan on going to Uni? If she just wants to go to TAFE or out to work then her AS levels may well be enough if she really can't complete her A levels. However if she wants to go to Uni I really think she will either need her A levels or she will need to do her VCE/HSC when she arrives. It is possible if she wants to do a course with a low ENTER score (Uni jargon, ranking score for uni places!) at one of the smaller uni's she may get in but places are highly competetive here so if thats not the case she will need these qualifications. I don't know of any way of doing A levels from here, it may be possible but I think it would be a real long shot, she has to be able to sit the exams and do the orals/practicals for one thing. I really don't think that is an option. What subjects is she doing? It's not the best solution but with some VCE courses you can just do the final year and not the whole two. Our middle son had completed GCSE's when we came and he chose to do both years at VCE so that he could get the best ENTER score but the school (private) did give him the option of just doing the last year although they encouraged him to do both. But he was only 16. Depending on her subjects and if you get the right school then she may be able to start the second year of VCE/HSC in February and that would mean she would complete with her peers in November. Many will take a gap year though, so if she was prepared to go back into the first year of VCE and do both years, especially after having done GCSE's and AS levels she stands the chance of getting a really good ENTER score for uni. Where abouts are you thinking of heading for? Someone on here is sure to be able to give you some good advice re schools to consider. Good luck with your decision, it is a tough one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougierh Posted October 27, 2009 Author Share Posted October 27, 2009 Hi Cazi and thanks for your reply, our daughter wants to do a degree in physcology after her A levels, but the courses in Australia dont seem to offer what she wants. We are looking at the Melbourne area, we have lived on the Mornington Peninsula previously but my mother was diagnosed with parkinsons disease 7 months after our arrival and we returned to the UK. The door is starting to close for us now and i feel its such a waste if we dont give it one last chance, but with the difficulty of our daughters education we are in such a dilema, especially as she will only be a few months away from her final A level exams. We dont really have anyone who she could stay with and we dont want to leave her behind at such a vulnerable age, so we have some soul searching to do. But hey ho if life was so simple!!!! Many thanks again for taking the time to reply. Doug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cazi Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Hi Cazi and thanks for your reply, our daughter wants to do a degree in physcology after her A levels, but the courses in Australia dont seem to offer what she wants. We are looking at the Melbourne area, we have lived on the Mornington Peninsula previously but my mother was diagnosed with parkinsons disease 7 months after our arrival and we returned to the UK. The door is starting to close for us now and i feel its such a waste if we dont give it one last chance, but with the difficulty of our daughters education we are in such a dilema, especially as she will only be a few months away from her final A level exams. We dont really have anyone who she could stay with and we dont want to leave her behind at such a vulnerable age, so we have some soul searching to do. But hey ho if life was so simple!!!!Many thanks again for taking the time to reply. Doug. Hi Doug, I don't envy you this decision but she is young (although she won't see it that way!!) and although she may have to come and repeat some of her A level equivalent qualification I'm sure that would be better than never being able to come at all. Kids get very hung up on doing things as early as they can but I used to lecture in the UK and we had MANY kids come through that had retaken subjects, changed their minds over the degree and started again and it was never a really big deal once the decision was made. She may feel that she has "wasted" a year or two studying but believe me its never wasted. All that she will find is that the courses she does here will be that much simpler for her and she'll sail through. But I do understand what you are going through. We were so lucky when we came it all fitted so nicely, one had finished A levels and one GCSE's. Straightforward, so simple, we would have been as hesitant as you if one of them had been in the middle. Other than that could she stay with a best friends family?? I'm suprised that she can't find a Psychology course she likes most of the Uni's in Melbourne do them (and there are quite a few). Which ones has she looked at? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cazi Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Hi Doug, Just a thought, how bright and dedicated is your daughter to doing her A levels? Would she be prepared for example to do "home study" and just take the exams. It is a slim possibility, probably depending on subjects that she may be able to do this, the down side being that she would probably have to return to the UK or possibily go to somewhere in Singapore (they have international schools) to sit the exams. I think I may remember someone saying this may be a possibility. Get in touch with the Btitish Council in Australia at enquires@britishcouncil.org.au and see what they say. They don't do them here but they may be able to arrange something. Its worth an email! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest North of perth Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Hi, Google this place: National Extension College, they are distance learning provider for GCSE and A levels. Its a UK company that has been going for years. They will send you huge file with all the work in and you get a teacher to hand in assignments, email, phone etc. Then you would sit the exams here in Australia. Cost for course is around 300 uk pounds, but they are very good and have above average exam results. This is the only option I can think of. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I firmly believe that she would be better finishing her A levels - if her visa expires then you could probably get her another as you will likely be able to prove that she will still be your dependent while she does uni. Dont muck about with her education at this late point. Not sure if distance ed will take on someone who has already begun a course - her board (with its curriculum) may not be one that offers international study - some of the bigger boards like Cambridge do have an external facility not sure that they all do though. Good A level results should get her into psych - bear in mind that it is a very popular course here but I dont think the entry level scores are that high unless perhaps with a combined degree. I would have thought there would have been loads of options with the Melbourne unis for a psych degree - they are usually very general in the first 3 years then after honours - a thesis year or post grad diplomas or masters then they get into specialisations. Remember too that Aus degrees are usually more generalistic unlike a UK BScPsych which would be totally psychology - she could end up doing a unit in underwater macrame or ancient civilizations or something to bolster her unit load. Really bad timing huh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddysMum Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Not sure if I heve missed tnis, but what does your daughter want to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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