New kids on the block....

[Neels]

Hi all..

Just something maybe completely off the bat:

Me and the missus was talking about schooling and the kids etc. Now during my last visit to hopefully our new home town, I went to the school our kids might be attending next year. But I never thought about asking regarding our youngest. He is 6 now and in grade 1 here in South Africa. He only turns 7 mid November.

Now he is a bright kid and all, ( a little too bright some times.. ) but is currently in an Afrikaans government school. He was in an English medium preschool and grade R from age 3. My question is whether we should hold him back in grade 1 in Australia, or let him go on to the next grade? Or rather, will we have a choice?

Any opinions out there..?

It seems I placed this topic in the wrong forum, and I have no idea how to change it...

Edited August 27, 2014 by Neels

[Sunnyskies]

I would suspect he would be put into grade 2 and you won't have a choice. Don't worry he will be fluent in no time.

[DXB2OZ]

A big factor seems to be the average class age, so he will be put in the class with his age peers unless there is a good reason to do otherwise. This will be a big help for settling in and making friends

[Heymanse]

My son's birthday is in November too and we held him back a year in South Africa. So when we came to Aus a couple of years ago, at that point he was then in Year 6 in South Africa and still in Primary School (Afrikaans). When I went to the local school here to enroll him in the primary school in Year 6 (we arrived in the middle of the year), I was told that my son is too old and that he would have to move up one year to Year 7 which then also meant he had to attend High School. It was a huge jump for him but the teachers was so helpful that he made the change without too much hassle and integrated into the new setting pretty quickly. We sometime tend to forget that our kids are tougher than we give them credit for....

[Neels]

My son's birthday is in November too and we held him back a year in South Africa. So when we came to Aus a couple of years ago, at that point he was then in Year 6 in South Africa and still in Primary School (Afrikaans). When I went to the local school here to enroll him in the primary school in Year 6 (we arrived in the middle of the year), I was told that my son is too old and that he would have to move up one year to Year 7 which then also meant he had to attend High School. It was a huge jump for him but the teachers was so helpful that he made the change without too much hassle and integrated into the new setting pretty quickly. We sometime tend to forget that our kids are tougher than we give them credit for....

Thanks, yes it makes sense. I heard something like that during a discussion we had with another couple in Sydney. I am sure they will be fine. At this stage my boy's biggest worry is having to leave his German Shepard behind...

[qwerty]

I chatted to the principal at the primary school my daughter will be going to (she's starting Kindy) and she said that they have a dedicated second language English teacher that helps the kids from different language backgrounds. She was confident that my daughter would be fluent in no time. So don't think you need to worry too much - they are geared for these things.