Schools for older kids - questions - please help!

[spid]

NOt sure if this is the right place to post this but here goes.

We are a family that is seriously looking at emigrating to New Zealand in a couple of years time. At that time our eldest daughter will have just completed her GCSE's and as she is gifted student will probably have done very well. I am interested in knowing where she would fit into the NZ school system. Would her GCSE's count for anything? Would she be able to have them assessed and converted into credits? Would it be best for her to start straight inot year 12 or to start from the beginning in year 11 even though this would be a year below her age? What level would you expect a very good student to be achieving by the end of year 13? How many subjects do the students study through out the 3 years? She wants to go to university and we expect she will do very well there so considering that is what she is aiming for what is the best course of action?

I hope that you are able to answer these questions for me.

[nickydwuk]

Hi Spid, sounds like you will be in the position I am this year. My son will take his GCSE's this May/June and we move to NZ in September. You could look on New Zealand Ministry of Education for info on curriculum & other things education related. If you are looking for schools then try this TKI - Schools for details of schools in your area (if you know where you will be). I also contacted NZQA and they suggested he complete years 12 & 13 to gain his NCEA or enrol him in college or Uni. I have contacted the various Uni's & colleges in our area (Christchurch) and they do a foundation course (6 months) which will then allow him to take further courses including degree courses. This is the road we will go down as instead of spending 2 years at schooll & then college/Uni he can start college/Uni straight away. Hope this helps.

[spid]

Okay, so let me get this straight - she doesn't need to do yr 11 to do the NCEA? ANd could go straight in to yr 12 without having 'missed out'? I shall have to see about polytechnic courses. SO he will basically be able to go to uni at 17?

Thanks for the respond

[nickydwuk]

The way I see it is that yr 11 in the UK gives the equivalent of yr 11 in NZ (NCEA level 1). Yrs 12 & 13 do NCEA levels 2 & 3. Level 2 is similar to AS level & level 3 is A level. However I have been informed that my son will not need to get NCEA 2 & 3 to get into college/Uni as long as he takes a foundation course. I will be doing more enquiries nearer the time and once we are there. So it seems he can go to Uni when he is 17 without having to study 2 years for his A levels. The only donwfall is that with PR yrs 12 & 13 are 'free' whereas further education is charged just like the UK. If she is gifted & talented it may be worth contacting the colleges/Uni's near where you will settle to ask their advice. If she gets top grades in her GCSE's they may suggest forgoing the foundation course or recommending yrs 12 &13. It is a mine field and you want to make sure you do the right thing for your kids. Good luck

[Glenda]

This subjects loses me everytime, even with two teenage kids, but I do know that around 10% of NZ schools are offering the Cambridge International Exams. Not absolutely sure about this but if your daughter took these in the UK there I would have thought there should be no problem continuing in NZ for uni entrance. You need to investigate and whizz off emails to schools in the area where you plan to settle.