Heading back to the UK ...

[In Two Minds]

We've been in Singapore for 6 years and had our 2 kids here.
We're thinking of heading back in the next year or so.
What is the deal with kids and schooling?  I have no idea as we left as newly weds !
Can't afford private schools, but hear grammar schools are good alternative.  Do you have to live in a particular catchment area?  Any advice would be much appreciated.
Is there a central source of information at all?
Thanks

[Going back too]

There's a site - the 'good schools guide'.  You have to pay a small amount but not much (couple of pounds a month I believe).   It has info about schools and catchment areas and all that kind of thing.

There are also some sites which give you info about the area you're thinking of living - up my street - is one and there was a police one that went live about a year ago but I can't remember what it is called - gave info on recent crimes and that kind of thing.  A bit freaky for some by all accounts, but interesting 

Grammar schools are alright (I went to one), but not great if your kids aren't particularly academic -  they're very university geared (or at least mine was when I was there and I imagine it still is).  Don't rule out the local secondary school if it's got a decent ofsted report.  Grammar schools usually have an entrance test (even if your children are too old for the 11+ exam) - you can check out 11+ questions online - I did that a while back and was surprised at how hard some of them were..........I must have been smarter back when I was 10   

Most schools have websites now - you can find more info about applying from there and sites like the good schools guide.  I'll be joining that site myself in the next 6 months or so.

Also rightmove dot co dot uk is useful for checking out house prices and also which schools are in which area - then you can narrow it down using ofsted and the other site I mentioned.

[Keepacoolhead]

Excellent advice from previous poster. Just want to add - we moved from UK 18 months ago, with 2 kids (older than yours, 13 and 15.) Both came from reasonably good state schools in UK, and both find their current school here (a well-known British curriculum school) to be in many ways less academic, less challenging, worse sports-wise  and less fun (!) than back home.

Don't write off the UK state education system, there are plenty of fantastic schools back there, whether your children are academic or not. Good Luck!

[ditto]

Hi there
We are heading back too in 2013 (hopefully). I have started to look at the school system. It is a bit complicated. A good way to start is to work out where you want to live. Once you have worked out an area, or a few areas you can then search the schools and see how they fair by looking at the Offstead reports. You should look at schools which have an outstanding or good grade. Obviously outstanding sounds better, however a good friend told me not to write off good as upon a visit you may find them more friendly, a better environment, they may just not have ticked all the boxes.

Private schooling - yes expensive but possibly worth it. For example, will you be working full time? Well if you send your child to state school, you may have to pay someone to take your child to school and pick them up which may equate to not much less than paying for your child to go to a private school! I know a few people for which this is true.

Despite what people say, is you can find a nice school in a nice area with a good off stead report then you will receive good schooling for your children. The primary years schooling in the UK is quite rigorous and academic.

Good luck with your move. We are aiming to move then too and are looking forward to going home and making a "home" for ourselves.

[ditto]

Yes, Keepacool..

I agree with you. I was talking to someone whose opinion I value very highly yesterday and she told me that her 14 year old is doing work that she wasn't even doing at A'Level back in the day. She did say that the only thing she can see that has been "dumbed" down is that the kids do have a good idea of what is going to be on an exam, whereas we often turned over the page and had a panic attack and looked for the other questions (think Mr. Bean in his exam!)

One of the reasons why I want to leave SP is because I think the private schools here are wonderful at talking themselves up, but sadly lack a lot of things mentioned by the above poster.

[But...]

The private schools here are not private!!

They are just international schools that the majority of expats sign up for because thay don't want their kids to go to a local school.

There is nothing wrong with local schools, apart from they teach the kids in a very different way to what the majority of expats and expat kids are used to....

Private schools (from your instance) in the uk are for the wealthy elite ...
Unless you are unlucky and live in a bad area, the majority of public schools in the uk are pretty good.

[hahahaha]

The primary years schooling in the UK is quite rigorous and academic.

*pauses to take breath*

hahahahahhaahhahaHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!   

that could translate into why many recent British grads can hardly spell or count.

hahahahahhaahhahaHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[ditto]

*pauses to take breath*

Yawwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 

[mixed messages]

The primary years schooling in the UK is quite rigorous and academic.

*pauses to take breath*

hahahahahhaahhahaHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!   

that could translate into why many recent British grads can hardly spell or count.

hahahahahhaahhahaHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

I actually think that using computers and spellchecks and all that kind of thing has made people worse at spelling.  I was excellent at spelling when I was younger and since using computers at work all the time, my spelling has deteriorated............and I get confused because spellchecks are usually US English and in my country we were taught UK English - half the time I can't remember which is the UK spelling and which is the US - so you end up with a document that has both mixed together and it can look a little sloppy.

Happens at my children's school here too.

[UK teacher]

I think the UK primary curriculum is rigorous and academic.  Unfortunately the majority of children in the UK can't or don't meet the benchmarks.  Well they do, because they spend most of their final year practising SATS past papers so they know exactly how to get the marks to pass.  In reality, most can't read well, spell, or do basic maths.  This problem is then transferred to the Secondary schools who are told the children have reached a good standard (proven by their good SAT scores - ha ha) and they have to do their best to remediate.  If you look at the National Curriculum, it looks quite good on paper, but the standards the children achieve are not good.

[missyboo]

Perhaps a bit premature but you might like to google eleven plus forum., if you are thinking of grammar schools and such like.  The more important thing is looking at a good secondary school - most primary schools are quite adequate.

[Edna]

A genuine question from me is how to really chose a school in the UK when private tuitoring is a booming business because so many schools are falling short?  Looking at school results and tables therefore isn't giving a proper result of what the school is producing.  The results are being boosted by all the additional help students are receiving (at a huge cost too), privately.

[tutor in Singapore]

A genuine question from me is how to really chose a school in the UK when private tuitoring is a booming business because so many schools are falling short?  Looking at school results and tables therefore isn't giving a proper result of what the school is producing.  The results are being boosted by all the additional help students are receiving (at a huge cost too), privately.

Impossible to guage what effect tutoring is having.  You could say the same about the international schools here - and local schools for that matter.  It's an issue in private schools in the UK too.