Guest Aiken Drum Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hi, We are hoping to emigrate in the next year or so and have a daughter about to turn 15 (plus 3 younger boys!). She has just started her GCSE's and is in Year 10. Does anyone have any advice as to the best time to try for the move? Should we wait until July 2012 when she will have completed her GCSE's or would it be better to get there asap so she has more time in Australian education? Has anyone emigrated with similar aged children? Is the transition from the UK educational system to the Australian one easy at this time of their lives? Any help greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MaybeOz Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 Hello & Welcome to PIO :yes: It will be be interesting reading replies to your thread as I have a 14 year old son who will begin his GCSEs in September and we have to be out in Aus by Jan 2013, 6 months before he will have actually finished the GCSE course :err: All the best with your plans. Kari :wubclub: __________________________________ Need a CV/Resume? PM me or email: thewrittenproof(at)gmail(dot)com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diannewo Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 don't know if this is any help but here goes.we arrived in oz jan 2011 our daughter was 17 at christmas and started school feb after their summer hols.she had to repeat year 11 which means she is 12 months older than the rest of her class.she had to do this because she wants to go to uni and needs her marks from year 11 and 12 to get in uni.in oz you in school til your 18.oz does not teach french which my daughter was dissappointed.saying all that she is doing well at school and settling in really well.it has been a shock the cost of sending her to school though,books,uniform ect are expensive. hope some of this helps Dianne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted March 2, 2011 Share Posted March 2, 2011 All depending on the state you will be moving to, she would be best advised to start year 11 as she is just turned or just about to turn 16. If she misses that, then she would be better off waiting until she has finished A levels. The final two years of school are important and lead to a year 12 qualification which is needed for pretty much anything these days. Starting part way through that course can be a significant disadvantage The risk you run with a kid of that age is that if it all goes pear shaped and you/she wants to return to UK then she wont have GCSEs to fall back on and would be seriously disadvantaged. Personally I would delay a move until after A levels if you could but if you cant, then get her here by the Feb of the year she is turned or turning 16 (cut off dates vary from state to state so cant be exact there) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nohea Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Hi we are facing a similar problem. My son is currently in yr10 and will be 16 in November. We were hoping to make the move as soon he has finished his gcse's next year, but now he has announced that he wants to stay on at college and do his A levels! At his school they start their gcse courses in yr8, and do exams throughout yr 9,10 and 11. This means they can add more subjects (if they want to) and that if say for example they got a grade c in yr 9, they can retake and try and get a better grade later on. It also helps the higher ability students not to get held back and move onto other qualifications quicker and the less able can take longer if required. So i was hoping that he would finish earlier, but no, hes just decided to take on french half way through yr 10! To be honest for us i don't think there will ever be a right time to move, because we have younger children also. My 10 year old (yr 5) is due to sit his 11 plus this september ready for yr 7 but now i'm having second thoughts thinking he will be doing his SAT's anyway in yr 6 so why put him through the pressure and revision of another exam when we will hopefully be in Australia by yr 7 so wont need his 11 plus anyway. Its so hard to know what to do for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevsm Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 In Australia it is Year 11/12 that counts for university entrance. GCSE's will not get you into Uni and are not relevant here. If you are sure you will be staying in Australia then you should move to get your son settled into school ready for year 11 and 12. There are no similarities between the UK and Aus system and courses results will not translate unless they are a level results which will get you into uni. It is a difficult time to move children because of the differences in systems, but if you are moving prior to your son doing A levels it would be best to get him here to get him settled socially before Year 11 and 12 start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aiken Drum Posted March 10, 2011 Share Posted March 10, 2011 Thanks for the advice - looks like we'll have to get a hurry on and get over there before January 2011 then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chapmans Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Hey there, Just read your post and I feel I can give you quite a good insight into the dilema you are facing........ We were in the same situation as yourselves this time last year, our daughter was just finishing year 10 in the UK and we got offered this opportunity to come and work here in Melbourne. Obviously our daughter didn't want to move, but accepted that it was a great opportunity for us all and prepared herself for the move once she finished year 10. Fast forward 9 months which is how long we have been here and If I am honest, I think we have made the biggest mistake ever coming here! It has been far harder than I could have ever imagined, both for my daughter and myself and husband. Fortunately our son who is 11 loves it, but he is so easy and goes with the flow. Our daughter joined school half way through yr 10, which in itself was quite hard for her, coming into the year half way through and getting to grips with the different education system, but she did ok, or so we thought........ Around the end of September, she became very depressed, always crying, constantly tired and wouldn't talk to us at all, so we took her to the Dr, at her own request and was recommended to see a psychiatrist, as she had a lot of personal issues that she needed to talk through with someone. I of course thought, OMG what have we done, she was perfectly happy back in the UK and now she has to see a psychiatrist! If I could have gone home then and there I would have done, believe me! So now here we are, she has started year 11 and is still seeing the psychiatrist and still not really happy and all I can think about is how the hell are we going to get through the next two years, until she finishes school here! Like I said, if we could go home tomorrow I would do it, but all her friends are now just about to start their GCSE exams and I am not sure how she would be able to finish her education, other than making her drop a year and doing her GCSE's next year, which she would hate! So we are damned if we do and damned if we don't!! Arghhhh She has a boyfriend here, who is a lovely guy, but she herself admits that he is the only reason she can handle it here, so of course that makes us think, Oh my, what will happen if/when they break up? She will go into complete meltdown. Honestly sitting here, I could cry about it all, so please don't do anything hasty, try and wait until after your daughters GCSE's, but even then it may be too fragile an age for them, as you know what girls are like, or at least a lot of them! It takes a very strong person to be able to cope well with moving and that age, even my husband and I have found it incredibly hard and not the sort of lifestyle we are all lead to believe........ The cost of living here and the amount of hours my husband has to work with only 4 weeks holiday a year makes life not all that pleasurable and top it off with none of your real friends and family around for emotional support, it all just makes you look at what you had back in the UK and the grass definitely isn't greener for us, not that we had a bad life in the UK, we had a fantastic life, but moving here was always something we had wanted to do, to give the kids options in life when they are older, due to the way things are nowadays in the UK. Fortunately my OH only has to complete 12 months with the company he is with before we could leave and return home without having to repay them all the moving costs they paid, so at least that is something....... I am going to contact some schools back in the UK and find where we stand with our daughters education and then make a decision. I hope this hasn't scared you too much, but I just wanted to be brutally honest about how we have found it, of course not everyone is the same and some can cope much better than others. Good luck with your decision. Hi, We are hoping to emigrate in the next year or so and have a daughter about to turn 15 (plus 3 younger boys!). She has just started her GCSE's and is in Year 10. Does anyone have any advice as to the best time to try for the move? Should we wait until July 2012 when she will have completed her GCSE's or would it be better to get there asap so she has more time in Australian education? Has anyone emigrated with similar aged children? Is the transition from the UK educational system to the Australian one easy at this time of their lives? Any help greatly appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aiken Drum Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Hi Chapmans. Many thanks for your reply and for being so honest. Our daughter is a very mature and capable girl and she wants to make the move. I appreciate that that could all change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aiken Drum Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Hi Chapmans. Many thanks for your reply and for being so honest. Our daughter is a very mature and capable girl and she wants to make the move. I appreciate that that could all change ..oops, sorry - trying to type this on my phone and hit 'post reply' by accident! Meant to say that I realise that could all change when we get there but there's no real way of knowing. She is a popular and clever girl and has a wide circle of friends but she doesn't hang around in any particular clique or small group - she gets on with everyone. Obviously it's a worry though and my wife and I will talk to her at length again, spelling out the pitfalls. If either our daughter or our 11 year old son feel uneasy about the move then we won't do it but, at the moment, they are both being very positive about the prospect. You've got us worried though! Hope everything works out well for you and your family - especially your daughter. The perils of being a parent eh! You never really know what to do for the best for them do you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aiken Drum Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Whilst I've been sat on the train replying, my wife's been talking to our daughter again at home and asked her if she thinks the move might get her down. She just sent me a text saying that our daughter laughed at her and said given 100% choice she would still go! Fingers crossed then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 You never can tell who is going to have difficulties settling - the issue here is that if you move a child once they are on the GCSE merry go round then you are effectively consigning them and you to a future in Australia at least until they have finished year 12 but more likely until they have finished uni. It is possible to go back and just do A levels (and I hope that works for you, Chapmans), but with year 12 results only, a kid would not be likely to get into a good uni doing a good course unless they were in the 99.9% range and more likely than not they would have to do a foundation year for uni and pay international student fees into the bargain. If one or more of you doesnt like it here, then that is a hell of a long time to have to put up with it! Personally, I would wait, if at all possible, until they had finished A levels as A levels travel better to Australia than year 12 results do to UK. That way they then have a world of choice for further study. I would seriously consider leaving a child with family or friends or even a boarding school to do A levels once they have started with GCSEs. Mucking around with a kid's education is not an ideal scenario. Sometimes kids settle well and sometimes they dont (and walking into a bear pit of year 9/10 girls can daunt even the strongest spirit - the kids will know what b*tches their age cohort can be!). Moving into an established cohort is a really difficult proposition and whilst it might be fine if you are a rugger playing jock, for a regular nerdy type kid it can be a nightmare - bullying is rife in Aus schools. Sometimes the adults settle well and sometimes they dont - it can come as quite a surprise to some who figured they had it all sussed and then discover that they dont have it sussed at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PontePom Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 We've been here for over 6 months and all is great now. We came here August last year and both our Kids started school in January this year so they started a new year and didn't start part way through. We thought it was easier for them to settle in this way. Daughter started year 11 and son started his first year at high school year 8. After a few ups and downs they've settled in and doing really well. For me you've got to decide and do what you as a family think is best for you all, that's what we did and a few people told us that keeping the kids out of school would make it harder for them but we know our kids more than what others do and we did it our way and it's worked out great. Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoanneP Posted March 15, 2011 Share Posted March 15, 2011 Hi We moved to Sydney in Feb 2010, my daughter was in the middle of year 10 back in Altrincham and had completed alot of her GCSE coursework, she started the beginning of year 10 here so went back 6 months but completed her school certificate and did really well, she applied to got to a selective school for years 11 and 12 and got in and started there in Jan this year. My daughter did find it hard to begin with but is loving her new school and is playing basket ball every week, she never did any sports in England at weekends she justr hung out with here friends in Manchester. I asked her if she is happy here and she said she wouldn't move back to the UK now !!! I'm not saying its all roses here I have found it difficult but have just started to make some nice friends, one of which I met on PIO. It is different for everybody and you just have to bite the bullet and do what is best for you and your family. Good luck in whatever you decide to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aiken Drum Posted March 16, 2011 Share Posted March 16, 2011 Thanks to everyone for your feedback. Providing I can find a job and get the magic visa we intend to get there by the end of the year or not at all. Unfortunately it's not really an option waiting until my daughter's finished A levels as that won't be for just over 3 years from now and, by then, our eldest son will be doing his GCSE's and we'll have the same problem again. We've got 4 kids so there's never going to be a perfect time for all of them but we believe it's better to get there as soon as we can and give them as much time to settle as possible. We're a close family so I'm confident that if any of us find it hard to settle the rest of the family will get us through. In addition, my sister and her family already live in Sydney plus we already have a small network of friends there who have already moved out. Really appreciate all the advice though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Baker Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 I would personally wait, if possible until she has completed her GCSEs. We came after my daughter had, she didn't want to go to Uni, is doing a musical theatre course instead. She was the most enthusiastic out of the 4 children but still sruggled. Good luck in whatever you do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Baker Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Chapmans, really feel for you after reading that! Have to say we have been here 6 mths and it hasn't been easy but having read about your daughter I feel we have had it easy. good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chapmans Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I guess it's not all bad all of the time, she does have good days/weeks, but I never realised nor did she, just how much she would miss her friends, family and school from back home and certainly didn't think we would have to go down the professional route to help her deal with all her emotions! I guess it's like they say, what doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger......... right?? Aiken Drum... Good luck with your decision, I guess if you don't do it, you will always wonder what if, which is why we all decided to give it a go. I now tell our daughter to look at it as a big adventure and if when she finishes school in a couple of years, she or all of us want to go home, then we can do so, but who knows how we will feel then........ and hopefully we won't have problems getting her a place at UNI with her VCE results, but that's a whole other worry and one I try not to think about now, as like I said who knows where we will be then.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aiken Drum Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I think we'll regret it if we don't give it a try. Don't get me wrong, we don't have a rose tinted view of Oz at all, we've visited my sister and friends there last year and the thought of emigrating ourselves never appealed. The decision has come about purely because of the job and university situation here. One in five 18-24 year olds unemployed, universities over subscribed and the students that do get in having to take on massive debt. Now that our daughter is turning fifteen we've started to really think about these things and have decided to make the move for them. To give them the opportunity to live in a country with a good economic climate and a healthy, outdoor lifestyle. You only get one shot at life and, by doing this, we feel that we setting a good example to all 4 kids - if you don't like something then make a positive change. Don't get stuck in a rut or simply accept your lot in life. If moving to Sydney proves a mistake for any of us we will simply deal with that when it happens, even if it means coming back. I really feel for you Chapmans - my wife and I really hope your daughter settles and that your family manage to get some happiness back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
an1ta Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Hi, We are hoping to emigrate in the next year or so and have a daughter about to turn 15 (plus 3 younger boys!). She has just started her GCSE's and is in Year 10. Does anyone have any advice as to the best time to try for the move? Should we wait until July 2012 when she will have completed her GCSE's or would it be better to get there asap so she has more time in Australian education? Has anyone emigrated with similar aged children? Is the transition from the UK educational system to the Australian one easy at this time of their lives? Any help greatly appreciated! Hi and welcome; We have been in Sydney 2 and half years, and I have 3 kids. My eldest who is now 18 went into year 11 at the start of year 11, it didnt take her long to settle at all, she did well at school is now at college and loves it, she will be there for a year b4 going on to uni. She didnt want to come to Oz with us had all her friends back in the UK, she now doesnt want to go back to the UK she says she loves Australia and classes herself a Aussie. I have also have another daughter who was 15 now 17 she went into year 10 passed her exams, GCSE took her a bit longer to settle missed frinds a lot, but she said she would go back to the Uk but only for a holiday, she still misses her best friend, but her boyfriend of 11 months makes up for her. She loves Australia. Now in year 12 and doing well in school and made some lovely friends just took her a while to find the right friends. Then theres my son he was 13 went into year 9, they wanted to put him back a year buit I wouldnt let them, he is the youngest kid in his year. Took him a few weeks to settle but once he made friends he was fine, passed his GCSE with flying colours (not bad for the yougest kid in his year) hes now in year 11 and his school work is getting better and better, so was glad I stuck to my guns and kept him in year 9. I never see him now days, saying that I never see any of them, they are down the beach, playing sport , or round a friends having a good time. So u can see from me its been great for the kids, I have found it hard to make friends but Im getting there and now have some good friends. I would say go for it, u will never know if you dont try, but do it sooner rather than later. If I can help in anyway just ask Aniat :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aiken Drum Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Thanks Anita (or is it Aniat?) We're sure we're doing the right thing for them but you always have doubts. Your positive experience has given us some more confidence - it's great to know that some kids flourish! I simply cannot see our kids not settling and not embracing it. They are so eager and positive to go - I realise things may change but you can only what you think is best for them. Now I just have to keep working on my company and my friends in Sydney to get me a 457 visa....! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Thanks Anita (or is it Aniat?)We're sure we're doing the right thing for them but you always have doubts. Your positive experience has given us some more confidence - it's great to know that some kids flourish! I simply cannot see our kids not settling and not embracing it. They are so eager and positive to go - I realise things may change but you can only what you think is best for them. Now I just have to keep working on my company and my friends in Sydney to get me a 457 visa....! Ah, couple of words in there that are a bit of a worry - Sydney and 457 visa. You do know that you are going to have to pay $4.5k pa per child for their education? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
an1ta Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Ah, couple of words in there that are a bit of a worry - Sydney and 457 visa. You do know that you are going to have to pay $4.5k pa per child for their education? I dont know why anyone would have to pay that kinda of money for schools. My kids go to state schools here and I dont pay over a $1000 for all 3 of my kids. And my daughter has just passed her A levels here. You only pay that kinda of money for private schools. There are lot of things u can claim back from the tax man, but I wont bore u with that at the mo. Anita :biggrin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aiken Drum Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Hi Quoll, yes I'd heard that but my mate is friends with the head of education for NSW (or something!) and he has said fees are negotiable, especially if you have more than one child at the school.... Anita - thanks again, keep coming with the positive posts!! I know all about the tax breaks - you will actually be better off in Oz, even after school fees.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mandi1971 Posted June 2, 2011 Share Posted June 2, 2011 Hi Quoll, yes I'd heard that but my mate is friends with the head of education for NSW (or something!) and he has said fees are negotiable, especially if you have more than one child at the school.... Anita - thanks again, keep coming with the positive posts!! I know all about the tax breaks - you will actually be better off in Oz, even after school fees.... Please Tell my OH all about these tax breaks coz after reading half the things on here he has aged 10 years lol. Ive been keeping up with all your posts because my daughter is at the same age (16) and we have been debating on what to do about her education etc. So far, she is staying to do her GCSE's but is refusing to go and do any more school in OZ, so now we have to think about A levels, which means putting our move off for 2 years or letting her live between UK and OZ till shes sorted.:confused: Good luck to you all Mandi xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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