[Ziggy]

Hi everyone
Just registerd after browsing for a few months, I've got loads & loads of questions but this one depends on when we go so this is my first. We (me & the hubby) would like to be in New Zealand within 12 months but I'm confused about our son George who has just turned 14 his birthday is 8th Feb. Here in the UK he would be starting year 10 in September and his two year GCSE courses. When I looked into it in New Zealand it looks like he would be starting the similar 2 years in February 2009 which works out spot on but with his birthday been so early in February should he have started this month (confused, I am) nothing confirms this. Basically do they have a cut off point? Here the school year starts on September 1st so the cut off is 31st August so he would either be one of the oldest in his year or one of the youngest please can any one help
Thanks
Julia

[Mels]

Hi Ziggy,
This is a conumdrum I've been battling with recently. My son is 13 this month and in year 8 now.

The general consensus from some very knowledgable and helpful formites is that he will be in yr 9 when we hopefully get there in May.

However I think the bottom line is see when you get there and talk to the teachers of the school you want him to attend as there is some flexibility.

I have e-mailed a couple of schools about this but neither have replied so we'll have to wait 'till we get there.

There is a thread about this in 'Education' section but I can't get the link working? sorry

good luck

Mels

[Ziggy]

Hi mels
I have emailed schools to with no reply so I think your right we'll just have to wait & see, worst case scenario He'll just have to go back a year which isn't the end of the world & thats better than putting igoing off until he finishes his GCSE's but thanks for the info about the education thread I'll have a look
Julia x

[swissmissdesigner]

We emailed to many schools in Auckland area last year and we never got any replies either.
Although we decided to stay in the States for the moment so my daughter can finish the high school here.

[IanW99]

...
I'm confused about our son George who has just turned 14 his birthday is 8th Feb. Here in the UK he would be starting year 10 in September and his two year GCSE courses. When I looked into it in New Zealand it looks like he would be starting the similar 2 years in February 2009 which works out spot on but with his birthday been so early in February should he have started this month (confused, I am) nothing confirms this. Basically do they have a cut off point? Here the school year starts on September 1st so the cut off is 31st August so he would either be one of the oldest in his year or one of the youngest please can any one help
Thanks
Julia

School years start from the 1st January (even though they don't start back until February).

If you came over to NZ now then George should be in year 9 and as you say next year he will be in year 10.

So, officially he would be one of the oldest in the year. There does seem to be some flexibility at the school as to which year they will actually start him in.

Ian

[gil]

Key thing to remember is that instead of the 2 year course in UK, IGCSE courses are 1 year, so don't start till Year 11. I believe it's the same with NCEA too.

Gil

[Destiny]

Just read this thread and wondered if you could clarify the fact that GCSE courses are only one year in NZ? My son is now 15 but will be 16 in September. He is now in year 10 here (UK)and is nearly half way through his two yesr GCSE course work (two years here). We hope to move to Auckland in June and are trying to find out how this will effect his GCSE's. How can it be possible that they only take one year to do GCSE's in NZ. Do they include any course work as they do in the UK?

Hope that someone can help me as this is a real worry for us as are son does not want to come to NZ and we are trying to reassure him. My other children aged 13 and 11 are really excited about the move.

Thanks

Destiny

[JandM]

People in NZ aren't going to be doing GCSE exams as they do in British schools. Here are two websites which talks a bit about NZ school exams. http://www.newzealandeducated.com/int/guide/applying/qualifications_and_exams http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_education_in_New_Zealand

[gil]

Just to be clear, in NZ you can opt for either:


the New Zealand NCEA (whcih I believe all schools offer)
or Cambridge International GCSEs
or the Internatiponal Baccalaureate DiplomaYou will need to check with the schools you are interested in what they offer. We had replies from all the schools we emailed in 2006.

Our 16 year old did Cambridge IGCSE last year which is a one year course. She is now studying Cambridge International AS Levels.

Useful websites:
To find a school in any area: http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/index.php
List of schools offering Cambridge Internaional Exams: http://www.acsnz.org.nz/
Forum thread on Cambridge Exams: http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14469
Cambridge International Exams website: http://www.cie.org.uk/

Gil

[Destiny]

Just to be clear, in NZ you can opt for either:


the New Zealand NCEA (whcih I believe all schools offer)
or Cambridge International GCSEs
or the Internatiponal Baccalaureate DiplomaYou will need to check with the schools you are interested in what they offer. We had replies from all the schools we emailed in 2006.

Our 16 year old did Cambridge IGCSE last year which is a one year course. She is now studying Cambridge International AS Levels.

Useful websites:
To find a school in any area: http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/index.php
List of schools offering Cambridge Internaional Exams: http://www.acsnz.org.nz/
Forum thread on Cambridge Exams: http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14469
Cambridge International Exams website: http://www.cie.org.uk/

Gil

Thanks so much for your really useful website links. The school which we are looking at for our three children offers CIE qualifications. I now understand a lot more about this option but I would love to hear from anyone who has experience of these particular qualifications.

Thanks again for all your help. I no longer feel as if I am searching around in the dark.

Destiny

[gil]

Hi Destiny, which school are you thinking of? Our experience is limited to Macleans College, full IGCSE and start of AS level. We have a lot of friends with experience here too and also of Pinehurst College in Albany.

Broadly speaking, our daughter really found the courses interesting. For IGCSE she took English Lit, Maths (both compulsory at Macleans at IGCSE), Art, French and History. She was utterly amazed to find that here they only do 5 subjects at that level. In UK Year 10, she'd been doing 13 subjects!!

She achieved well and is now doing Eng Lit, French, History and Classical Studies. English (Lit or Lang is complsory at AS too.)

Gil

[Destiny]

Hi Gil.

We are considering Parnell College for our children. My husband is going to be doing a post grad course so our children will also have to be on student visas. Do you know anything about the school? I'm not sure which schools accept international students so trying to check them out at the moment.

If anybody has any advice on this matter would love to hear it.

Thanks again,

Destiny

[gil]

Hi Destiny,
I have a friend whose children (both boys) go to Parnell College and she is VERY pleased with it. As a private school it is obviously more expensive than a state school like Macleans, but as I said, my friend is delighted with it.

If you want a fee-paying school, have you looked at St Kentigerns?

In a survey that was published in Japanese Newsweek magazine end of last year, the top 10 schools for international students globally included both Macleans College http://www.macleans.school.nz/ and St Kentigern College http://www.saintkentigern.com/default.asp. The others were places like Millfield in UK and a couple in US and Switzerland.

With your children on student visas, I don't think you have to worry about a school accepting them as international students as they will be classed as domestic.

Let me know how you get on,

Gil