Arriving in Grade 10

[KCT]

OK so we have decided to make the move to Oz, one thing our kids will start Grade 2, 9 and 10 if all goes well.

Question I have, anyone who has had experience is coming across to Oz with kids so far into high school, any issues with subjects choices (heard kids had to do a foreign languge like French as a 2nd Language, is this correct??)

[HFamily]

Hi KCT, my son will also be going into year 10 next year, so I also have the same question. My son didn't seem too concerned about it, but I am!

[Heymanse]

My daughter was in Yr 10 when we arrived in the middle of the year in 2008. She basically could choose which subjects she wanted to do, dependant on whether there were availability in those classes. There were so many to choose from and maybe a bit daunted at first with the choices but they get it right in the end. The only subject that was compulsory was English, the rest she was free to choose.

[TheFilanders]

My daughter was in Y10 last year when we arrived. She was overwhelmed in the beginning but they get into it straight away. A lot depends on your child and his/her personality. Some gets just get on with it and some like my daughter get on with it but struggle later on.

[Willa]

Usually if there is an elective language in that grade your child will be excused as he/she will not have any back ground in it. My son was in year 9 (Melbourne), the choice is still yours if you want them to do it. Be calm when you enrol them and take your time to go through the process of which subjects they want to take. There is no reason to jump into the subject selection without making sure he/she wants to take it. Remember also the subject selection for uni only happens at the end of year 10. It is most definitely not the same as in SA where all is about Maths, Languages and Science to ensure a place at uni. With your English background they might have an easier landing into the school system than what an Afrikaans speaking child would have.

[Eva]

We moved and my eldest started grade 12! Maths is very different to RSA, but having said that there are 3 different levels of maths to choose from. He found Biology, Physics and Science easier here than in RSA - it is 3 subjects not two, maths harder, English much the same, and for the life of me I cannot remember what other subject he took! And seeing as he is living the life and having fun in New York right now I can't even ask him. He didn't have to do a second language. They will be fine, the schools make an effort to accommodate the kids as best they can, there is support for kids that need it and if English is their second language the school gets funding for that too. My middle son battled because he should have gone into grade 8 and they insisted on putting him into grade 9 so he missed out on an entire year of work. He has been trying to catch up all of his schooling, and now he is at uni I think he is going to find himself still trying to catch up! In my opinion don't bump them up if the school wants to. I should have stood my ground! Also bear in mind different states work things very differently, so it may depend where you are headed. My experiences are with a state school in Qld.

[KCT]

Thanks all for you valuable comments.

[Tebbutts]

We arrived in January this year and my daughter is in Year 10. Subject selection is only for Year 11, so the only subjects she chose were the "fun" extra subjects they do at her school in Year 10 ie. Media, Graphic design, Dance etc. She doesn't do an extra language as she is too far behind to catch up, so she has a free lesson when the rest of her peers do their secondary language lesson. This means that in Year 12, she will only do 5 subjects instead of 6. This doesn't seem to be a problem here as the universities only look at your top 4 subjects for admission.

We looked at pushing her up a year so that she would be with kids her age (they are a bit younger than she is because they start school earlier), but we are so glad that we decided not to put her into Year 11. It is such an adjustment emotionally as well as getting used to the different ways of doing things at school - to have to catch up academically would have been too much to deal with. She has had no problem academically and although she might have missed a couple of sections, she was ahead in others, so it all evens out.

Good luck!

[Izzy]

Hi

FYI

Our son was in grade 12 in SA and he did the first term of matric in Durban this year. When we made enquiries from SA last year we were told he would have to go back to grade 11 as the work for grade 12 starts in the last term in grade 11.

He has gone into grade 11 and seems to have adjusted well. He has continued most of his subjects as he was doing in SA.All his subjects were chosen as being those that would comtribute the most to the marks needed for university.

Our daughter just continued in grade 9 and had some really interesting electives like forensic investigation,and a course on advertising called" Lie to Me". etc etc.

[Eva]

Hi

FYI

Our son was in grade 12 in SA and he did the first term of matric in Durban this year. When we made enquiries from SA last year we were told he would have to go back to grade 11 as the work for grade 12 starts in the last term in grade 11.

Interesting, perhaps a different state or perhaps because you inquired from RSA because my son arrived in Grade 12 and did grade 12 without any discussion about it or any problems adjusting - admittedly that was 5,5 years ago. He thought most of the work was easier here other than maths.

[Drought]

Interesting, perhaps a different state or perhaps because you inquired from RSA because my son arrived in Grade 12 and did grade 12 without any discussion about it or any problems adjusting - admittedly that was 5,5 years ago. He thought most of the work was easier here other than maths.

This is not common practice, but is done by some, mainly private or independent schools- essentially students finish yr 11 coursework at the end of term 3 and then return for 6 or 7 weeks to start year 12 course work. Effectively gains the school/students 6 weeks of extra instruction time, theoretically leading to better results at the end of year 12. This is done mainly to benefit those would want to gain a university entrance rank- as for the other 60% of students........

[Bronwyn&Co]

I see from my kids that there is a certain way of doing things here in high school (nothing like I had back in the 80's, haha). Each subject has 2 or 3 assignments per term which the kids work towards completing. They get a bit of time in class too. They often have the opportunity to hand in a 'draft' which the teacher gives feedback on, before the final assignment is due. In our kids' school everything is done on their laptops which they get from the school. The Assignments are submitted via 'Turnitin' which is a program which checks for plagiarism. The kids also have to learn to reference their work using 'Australian Harvard'

It is all done very similar to the way uni is done. My son in year 11 has Assignments of about 800 words, next year will be around 1,000 words and 1st year uni around 1,500 words.

The teachers often help at lunchtime or if your child falls behind you can get a tutor at about $25ph. If your child knows nothing about referencing it might be a good idea to start looking at tutorials on Youtube, or get a few hours of tutoring when you get here.

By the way - it is far less stressful here at school. There is nowhere near the drama of matric exams (in my experience). They just need to learn the little Admin things and the work isn't too bad. In QLD for eg. We have a choice of Maths A, B or C. C is very difficult, B is mainstream & A I joke with my daughter is monkey-maths (she took it) It''s just like practical maths, working out interest & stuff, but actually very handy.

By year 11 you will want to try for at least Maths B in case it is a pre-requisite for your child's desired uni course. Have a meeting with the careers officer as soon as you get here. Keep your subject choices quite wide, if you want to get into certain uni courses you need a science (can be Biology) and Maths B.

Hope it helps

Edited May 7, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co

[Eva]

This is not common practice, but is done by some, mainly private or independent schools- essentially students finish yr 11 coursework at the end of term 3 and then return for 6 or 7 weeks to start year 12 course work. Effectively gains the school/students 6 weeks of extra instruction time, theoretically leading to better results at the end of year 12. This is done mainly to benefit those would want to gain a university entrance rank- as for the other 60% of students........

I do recall that they asked us for a transcript of his results from Grade 11 in RSA, we just e-mailed the principal and he posted something, which they used as his Grade 11 results. Which was not really beneficial for him because the marking in RSA was far stricter at Westville Boys High than his State School here!! He coped easily with the curriculum here and as I said found the sciences much easier as it was 3 subjects not two and got a pretty good OP.

I must just add that his Maths teacher very kindly tutored him before school to bring him up to speed on the work for the first few weeks of school. When I thanked her she said he was the one who deserved the thanks for being so willing to come in before school and learn. You get great teachers in the State system too!

[Drought]

You get great teachers in the State system too!

You certainly do- (and some not so good ones in the private/independent system as well). The biggest difference I think is in the type of cohorts that attend the different systems- socio- economic factors playing the biggest role. In the private system, almost all students aim to be university bound, that creates a particular feel and level of expectation, in low- fee independent it becomes more of a mix,( and in many cases therefore, there are more options for students to select from with the schools having to cater for the whole range of abilities). In the state system, to a large degree, geographical location and the associated draw area determines what happens. Probably one of the best schools in Perth is one that would never get a mention in any newspaper when looking at results- but this school does incredible things for and with their students in providing hope for a future. Sadly academic results, read how many kids get into university, seems to be the only criteria upon which schools are judged and hence this is what principals are pressured to work on- this applies to all sectors.

Pick the school that offers the best opportunities for your child, based on their abilities, not your dreams- as parents we've had our turn at school!!

[Bronwyn&Co]

Agreed Drought. If a child is definitely not planning to go on to uni, there are some interesting things they can do. There are school-based apprenticeships where you might go to school 3 days, Tafe 1 day, and work 1 day a week for eg. Some kids start this at 16 or even younger, if they really push it they can be fully qualified by 19 or so. One girl at my daughter's school did this to become a childcare teacher. She was already earning a salary in year 12 and she won awards from the school. So there is really something for everyone.

[Luke and Robs]

Can anyone tell me what form of assessment takes place at the end of Year 10. Do they write exams which determine whether they are promoted to year 11 or are they assessed on a continuous assessment result? My son will be starting year 10 in August, term 3.

[vaalrivier]

Hi Luke and Robs

They (Y11) get assessed throughout the year and then sit a small exam in June and Dec. My kids are in Y10 and Y11 and the work and pace pick-up big time in Y11. I don't think you need to worry too much about him passing Y10 here - the schools are very helpful and understanding. Rather focus on which subjects he wants to do in Y11.

I also saw you were looking at various gov schools in my area - I'm happy with Duncraig SHS and my friend is really happy with Woodvale. With renting, just make sure you are truly in the catchment area, because they are really strict about that, especially from 2015 because all Year Sevens also move to senior schools and space is a problem everywhere. (Proof of living in catchment: owning residential property or then rental agreement for 12 months)

Padbury is an area that is developing fast with people buying investment properties and sub-dividing or building granny flats - plenty of nice, large blocks as seen in the older suburbs. So really getting a facelift! Close to good schools and beaches. Whole of Padbury is in the Duncraig SHS catchment area. I don't know much about the primary schools but I have not heard anything negative. It is also much easier to get rentals these days compared to two years ago - I've even heard people say that they were the only people to view a house and they negotiated on a price!

Good luck with the move

Karin

[Drought]

It depends very much on the school and their assessment policy. Essentially kids cannot "fail" year 10. Based on their assessments, which can be continuous and/or exams they may be restricted in terms of the Yr 11 courses that they are allowed to select, but no matter what marks they get, they go on to Year 11.

(This relates to WA- systems are not the same across Australia).

What your son will have to do in Year 10 is the Online Literacy and Numeracy test- this is a new requirement which has been introduced this year. Students have to meet this standard ( which is not a particularly high one) at some stage before the end of Year 12 in order to meet WACE certificate requirements. This could get very technical, so I'll stop here, but if you require more info go to www.scsa.wa.edu.au and click on the WACE 2015-2016 tab. Happy to answer any other questions, just pm me- will save people having to read irrelevant stuff!

[Luke and Robs]

Thanks Karin and 'Drought'. That has answered my questions.

Robs

[Pell]

My daughter will be Year 11 next year when we arrive in Australia.... hoping she won't struggle. There is so much to consider...

[Parks]

Hi Pell,

My daughter will also be going into Year 11 next year. We were hoping to be able to arrive in September to at least give her the last term of Year 10 to adjust.

Still waiting for our Visa we got a case officer 2 weeks ago.

Hopefully it all happens soon.

Best of luck

[Luke and Robs]

We were going to come over at the end of the year too and my son would then go into Year 11 next year but we have decided to come over a little earlier to allow him to do some of year 10 in Perth before going into Year 11. I'm a little unsure of how schools work in Perth so I hope that we have made the right decision. The advice on this forum is truly awesome. Thank you so much.

Robs

[Pell]

Hi PARKS and Luke & Robs,

What made you decide to arrive earlier to give them time to adjust? I am now worried that I might be making a mistake by shoving my daughter straight into grade 11....

[Parks]

Hi Pell,

Do not doubt your decisions. You can only do what you think is right at the present time. None of us know which decision is the right.

We will only put our house and business on the market once we have our visa grant. Those have slowed right down so we may only get it after June which leaves us little time to sell and get to Oz by September, so as you can see my daughter may very well start Year 11 next year.

Trust your instincts.

[Bronwyn&Co]

Don't stress too much guys. My son is in year 11 in Brisbane. It is a bit tough to move at that age (we have been here 7,5 years but we moved interstate when kids started years 8 and 10), but it is easier to start uni from an Australian high school. So they will have it a bit hard in year 11 but easier in the loooong term, if you know what I mean.

Our school does their major subject selections from Year 11. The only reason the schools don't want you to change after that, is due to timetabling issues. If they can accommodate changes, they will. Our daughter chose the IB stream in year 11 (compulsory 2nd language btw), and by Easter holidays we realised she was not coping. We let her change to the State curriculum. It was fine. She's now in 1st year Uni.

I suggest you get the schools to email you the choices so you have an idea what your child would like to take in year 11.

My son is very keen on IT so for eg he is taking:-

English (they do Great Gatsby, 12 Angry men, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Truman Show movie)

Maths B (middle stream)

Science (nice, basic, interesting stuff)

Accountancy (we are having 1hr tutor a week to catch up, first time he is taking it)

IT

IPT (programming)

Religion (Lutheran school so compulsory)

PE/Lifeskills (compulsory unless you are doing IB - they play handball half the time).

Hope it helps ? I know how we love our kids and stress about them.

Ps. You will see when you get here that it is VERY common for families to move between states as and where the parents get transfers or new jobs. Because the country is so vast, it feels like emigration. My kids' friends are from China, Melbourne, Dalby, Canberra, Sydney, you name it. It is common for many new kids to start new each year.

Edited May 27, 2014 by Bronwyn&Co