Finish High School in UK or Oz?

[wildbriz]

Hi,

 

Sorry if some of these questions have been asked before regarding GCSE's etc.

 

We are currently based in the UK with Australian citizenships, left Oz after 15 years for the UK primary schooling for our high functioning autistic son.

He is now 14 and starting his GCSE's.

From what we can roughly estimate based on his current performance he is likely to achieve grade 3's in Science, English and Maths possibly with a number of other subjects as well.

 

Does anyone know if his GCSE's could be converted / translated in to Australian equivalents?

If so, would these be recognised by potential employers?

Would having GCSE's as opposed to the equivalent Australian qualification be a significant disadvantage?

 

Alternatively we could return to Australia and let him complete his schooling in Oz.

This is not the easiest of decisions to make because of the difference between the UK and Oz in their support systems but we have come across a few high schools that look promising.

In some high schools he would get some shared aide time in mainstream classrooms and access to a support unit continuing through year 11 and 12.

We have been told that some special needs students leave after year 10 and go on to TAFE but the subjects they seem to study are more vocational in nature.

 

I guess one of the questions we are trying to find an answer as to is whether Grade 3's in GCSE's would be equivalent to the completion of year 12 and, if so, would they equate to low or medium level passes?

If any one has any experience with these conversions and can help we would be very grateful.

 

Thanks

wildbriz

[Guest The Ropey HOFF]

My son is taking his GCSE's now in the uk and we have been told they are not recognised at all in Australia, but if he passes his A levels they can get you into a better university in Australia than here in the uk, if the results aren't A's and B's. Also Uni fees are at least half the cost in Australia than the uk, if you have residency or citizenship.

[newjez]

Hi Jim - do you have any links on this? I did look into this but I couldn't find anything. My kids are still young, but they have Aussie citizenship by descent, so Uni in Aus is an option. Do you know how A levels translate into the Aussie scoring system? (Can't remember its name). Any info would be appreciated.

[Quoll]

Hi Jim - do you have any links on this? I did look into this but I couldn't find anything. My kids are still young, but they have Aussie citizenship by descent, so Uni in Aus is an option. Do you know how A levels translate into the Aussie scoring system? (Can't remember its name). Any info would be appreciated.

 

http://www.britishcouncil.org/au-education-uk-study-in-the-uk-school-system.htm#au-education-uk-study-in-the-uk-school-qualifications-anchor-uk-school-qualifications for A levels to UAI

 

GCSEs are not year 12 and employers wouldnt have a clue. Victoria apparently accepts GCSEs at certain levels as "satisfactory completion of year 11" but AFAIK other states dont. You can get RPL for AS levels in some states as being year 11 equivalent. It's all such a mess with states all doing their own thing. TAFE might be the way to go as you can do year 12 there along with some vocational courses. Remember that the school leaving age now is 17 pretty much across the board

[PontePom]

We came over to Oz so our daughter could start school in year 11 rather than doing her GCSE's in UK.

If not we'd have had to wait for her to do her A levels and then have to start to learn how they teach over here starting at Uni rather than at school and it is very different so both our kids tell us.

Howard

[LukeM]

What do you mean by grade 3's OP?

 

It's difficult to know without speaking to the individual school you choose how much support you'll get for your son here. If you're seriously considering returning to Aus, your best bet would be a reccie to where you're wanting to go and to take a look at schools in the local area and try and see which you feel most comfortable with?

 

At the end of the day it also comes down in part to what he wants to do when he leaves school. In Queensland at least, GCSE's can be added to your application for University study... however, they overlooked these when they processed my application anyway. I asked QTAC what they looked at when generating my OP/rank, and they said they didn't look at the GCSE's. Completion of A Levels (even if you didn't study English as a subject) should satisfy the English requirements for most courses. Lots of Universities are using a system of "Assumed Knowledge" now where they "assume" you've studied English, Maths A/B/C and/or one or more Sciences (which will usually be specified in the course admissions information) for 4 semesters and have a Sound Achievement in those. For example it would say "English 4,SA"

 

Year 11/12, I hear from very reliable sources, in Queensland at least, is a big step up from GCSE. A Levels in more "academic" subjects can be a big step up too, though.

 

So much for you to consider if he wants to study at University later on, with the steep rise in tuition fees in the UK (tripling - crazy!)

 

I've been through all these processes, hit all the walls and taken down all the obstacles here in order to gain entry to University after having just completed my A Levels... it's tough to understand what it all means sometimes. :wideeyed:

 

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

[wildbriz]

What do you mean by grade 3's OP?

 

It's difficult to know without speaking to the individual school you choose how much support you'll get for your son here. If you're seriously considering returning to Aus, your best bet would be a reccie to where you're wanting to go and to take a look at schools in the local area and try and see which you feel most comfortable with?

 

At the end of the day it also comes down in part to what he wants to do when he leaves school. In Queensland at least, GCSE's can be added to your application for University study... however, they overlooked these when they processed my application anyway. I asked QTAC what they looked at when generating my OP/rank, and they said they didn't look at the GCSE's. Completion of A Levels (even if you didn't study English as a subject) should satisfy the English requirements for most courses. Lots of Universities are using a system of "Assumed Knowledge" now where they "assume" you've studied English, Maths A/B/C and/or one or more Sciences (which will usually be specified in the course admissions information) for 4 semesters and have a Sound Achievement in those. For example it would say "English 4,SA"

 

Year 11/12, I hear from very reliable sources, in Queensland at least, is a big step up from GCSE. A Levels in more "academic" subjects can be a big step up too, though.

 

So much for you to consider if he wants to study at University later on, with the steep rise in tuition fees in the UK (tripling - crazy!)

 

I've been through all these processes, hit all the walls and taken down all the obstacles here in order to gain entry to University after having just completed my A Levels... it's tough to understand what it all means sometimes. :wideeyed:

 

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

 

Hi,

 

 

Thank you for all the excellent advice, I have been in contact with some high schools with very encouraging results. We are looking at either Freemantle or north Brisbane at this point. We are also looking into support levels at TAFE for him incase he doesn't make it through to years 11 and 12.

Lived in Queensland for 15 years but always found it easier to earn money in other States / Territories. With all the hype about mining it seems retail is having a hard time. My wife would run a Bridal shop (WA or Qld) on return but I'm not sure that it's such a good idea for now.

I think we will either have to move soon or also wait until after A levels ( if he can achieve that level) although I'm not sure the family could handle the UK climate ( weather and economy) for much longer.