The Wall

September, 2017

It has been a long time.  It has been a really, really long time since I've posted on this blog.  That little thing called "Life" has gotten in the way.  So if any of you are still out there, and still reading..... here's a post.  (I do hope that you haven't been holding your breath since the last post!!!)

It's September, time of new beginnings, sharpened pencils, and of school resuming.  This being especially true for our clan.  When we first moved to the UK, obviously all three children started a new school.  Two years later, we moved the younger two out of the state C of E schools, into better independent schools.  (J had been in an independent school since the beginning.)  Last year, W made the move to secondary school.  This year, J made the move to Sixth Form, and N made the move to senior school.  I'll go into these a little bit more, as the whole school system organization is different than what I am used to, and we've learned it as we went along.  Kind of a rough school system overview.  I'll post the annual back to school photos throughout. 

Starting off with our eldest, dear J.  When we moved here, he was going into UK Year 7 (or US sixth grade).  Secondary schooling/Senior schools start here at Year 7, so it was a good entry point for him, and there were other new-to-the-school kids.  Therefore, J went right into his senior school.  I'll just put it out there, that people change schools a LOT more here.  They'll pull kids out in the middle of the year, middle of the week, whatever.  Not due to a move, or change in circumstances.  Just because, for whatever reason, that school over there will be better for Junior at this point.  I can think of five kids at the top of my head, that switched just like that.  They haven't moved house, or anything.  One day I was asking N about one of his classmates, and he says, "Oh, they don't go to school by us anymore.  They're going to (School x) now.  Kinda crazy.  We only voluntarily moved our kids school once-and we waited to complete the school year.  All the other changes in school have been because they've reached the end of that school.  I feel bad and feel like our kids have less continuity of schooling, as they've moved about a bit, not to mention that compared to their US counterparts, their schooling/education is coming at them from a very different angle-which is good in some instances, not so good in others.  By and large, I do think that it is probably comparable to US education-just very different, and the focus is much different.  Perhaps more on that later... 

Back to J  (I do get sidetracked, don't I?  Though Education is a rather large topic.)  He entered school here into Year 7.  He was called a "Remove" at his school.  Only his school, and I think some other independent schools, though none in our area, call Yr 7's Removes.  Year 7's are called Removes, and Year 8's are called Shells.  Year 9, 10, and 11 are called by their respective year group.  I have absolutely no idea why.  Just the way it is.  Don't ask questions.

J's school is an independent (called private by the US, public by the UK; I just call it independent-much easier).  You need to be at a certain "level" to attend--there's an admission test, interview, references, etc.  There is an associated infant and junior school with J's school.  You could have had your child attending from infant and juniors, but if they didn't pass the entrance exam, you are not into senior school.  Find a different school.  I can not even imagine if I'd been paying money from age 3, and my child takes the entrance exam and doesn't get in.  (Do I get my money back, as they obviously failed at teaching my child??)   Once you are "in", if you are not performing/getting the grades, you will be asked to leave.  There are nation-wide exams, and schools post their results.  If you are not performing, you may skew the test results, and hence the school's standings in the tables.  Perhaps this is how it is at all fee-paying secondary schools, US and UK?  I don't know.




Ready for school in his Sixth Form uniform

Back to J.  He attended his school in Yr7, 8, and 9.  In Year 10, and 11, you begin studying only 10 subjects (called lessons here), in addition to PE and Enrichment.  (In Yr 7-8, they are studying 17 subjects.  Year 9 it drops a little bit, can't remember just now how many subjects are studied that year.)   At the end of Year 11, there are national tests, called GCSE's.  (I never knew what the heck those were when I'd hear people talking about them when we first moved here. Stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education.)  They are a BIG DEAL over here.  Huge.  You are expected to be examined on everything you've learned in those 10 lessons for the last 2 years.  Like final exams, only they cover more in-depth.  Around January of Year 11 (sophomore year of US HS), J's school did mock exams, so predictive grades could be determined, and you would know where you need to concentrate your studying (called revising here) efforts.  I'm not sure if state schools do mocks or not.  Starting in May of Yr 11, the kids are put on study leave.  Exams start mid-May.  J had 22 (!!!!) exams.  Spanish speaking, Spanish listening, Spanish reading, Spanish writing, English Lit (drama), and English Lit unseen, and 2 more English Language, 2 each for Biology, Chemistry, Physics, History, Maths and Further Maths (don't ask me what Further Maths is, I don't know. Not all kids do it is all that I know), and one exam each in Economics, and Computing.  He came home with his exam schedule, and I thought another kid's schedule was printed on it with J's.  The exams are all serious exams-most being 120 minutes, though some were up to 150 minutes, and some were only 60 minutes.  If you chose Economics (or whatever subject) for your GCSE's, everyone in the country was sitting that Economics exam at that exact time.  The courses with more than one exam in them, they are weighted differently, and put together to get one grade.  Really just insane, the amount of pressure on these kids at this age.  Most days J went in to school, as one exam or another was happening, but as in a typical exam schedule, when you didn't have an exam you didn't HAVE to be at school, though you could be.  When the Manchester Arena bombing happened, I think they relaxed the exam schedule a wee bit in Manchester for a brief time.  All of J's exams were done by the 19th of June.  At that point, he didn't have to go to school anymore.  W/N had school until 7th of July, which is 2 weeks before state schools concluded.

Then, on the 24th of August, everyone across the nation goes in to school to get the results from these GCSE exams.  Every school is different, but if J wanted to stay on at his school, he needed to get A's in the lessons he wanted to study for A levels, and minimally 3 A's and a B. (If he wanted to study computers for A levels, and got a C in it for GCSE's, he could not study computers.  He could stay on at the school if he got his 3 A's and B, just couldn't study what he wanted, unless he got an A in that subject for GCSE's.)  If he did not get the 3As and B, he would have to find a new school.  On the 24th of August!!!!  I assume every independent school sets criterion on what you need to get to attend A levels (the last two years of your schooling).  I don't know what they do in state schools.  Between 9 and 930 am, you report to school.  All the kids file in, and get an envelope, which holds the results from your exams.  How mortifying if you don't get in!!  You open that envelope in front of all your peers, parents, teachers, headmaster, etc.  And there are the school photographers on hand, and the press, all snapping away.  Their grading system is different, too.  A*, A, B, C, D, E, F, G,and U, I think is how it goes.  We've never gotten on the lower end, so I'm really not sure, but I do hear people talking about all those grades (called marks over here), so you must be able to get them.  Just weird.

Luckily for J, he got in, and will be studying his chosen subjects for A levels. (Big, big sigh of relief from Mom and Dad!!!!)   G took a vacation day on Aug 24, as it is such a big day.  We saw some of his friends.  Then, when the group photos were being taken, all of a sudden, H was missing.  Hmmm.  And so was another lad.  H did not get in, and sounds like he knew he wasn't going to get in-he'd picked up his results, and left.  Another of J's friends didn't get the "Welcome to Sixth Form!!" letter with his results, but a letter saying that he needed to have a sit down with the Headmaster.  He ended up getting a provisional space at the school, after his meeting w Headmaster.  Another of J's friends, C, got in, but chose to continue his studies at a different school that offers Geology for A levels.  A lot of changing schools at the bigger junctions (between infant and primary school, and primary and secondary, and secondary and Sixth Form), as well as a lot of moving around at any point in time in a child's education.  Very different from the US version of education, where you may go for 13 years in the same school district.  J went into Sixth Form at the same school he has been attending here.  But they keep the Sixth Formers rather separate from the rest of the school, they have their own café and common room, lecture rooms, etc.  Lockers in different area.  And they are privileged to purchase at the school shop, a Sixth Form blazer and tie.  One further note on A levels/Sixth Form:  You further narrow your field of study, going from 10 lessons, down to three or four that you will study for your two years in Sixth Form.  (Sixth Form are the last two years of your education in England-the first year is Lower 6th Form, and the final year is Upper 6th Form.  Actually, mandatory  education ends with your GCSE's.  You can then go into an apprenticeship, or go to (what they call) college, which I think is to obtain some type of specialized diploma-but less than an associate's degree, or you go on to Sixth Form.  Although mandatory education is complete at 16, you can not just loaf.  You need to be enrolled in one of the education types listed above, or be working.)

On to W's education:  When we arrived in the UK, he was entering Year 3 (US equivalent to 2nd grade).  He went to a local village school for Yrs 3 and 4.  He had about 35 kids in his class.  When we made the decision to move to an independent school, we thought that the school J attended would perhaps fit him.  We had him take the entrance exam for the Jr school linked to J's school, and for Yr 5 and Yr 6 (his last two years of primary), he attended the Jr school of J's school. (Same campus, just different region.)   He and J wore similar uniforms-Jr school wore same blazer, but different jumper.   Yr 7, W entered Senior school, and we chose to keep him at the same school (but the senior part), and he is still there, now in Yr 8/Shells.




Ready to enter Year 8/Shells-with a happy smile!!

 

 

 



Still smiling the next day, with all of his gear:  book bag, sports bag, and trumpet

Finally, N's education history.  N also has a new uniform this year, as he is in a new school.

Ready to go to Senior school.  Year 7, here I come!

When we arrived in the UK, he and W were both in primary school, and they both attended the same local village school.  N entered Yr 2 (US grade 1) our first year here.  He also had about 35 classmates.  After a time, we knew we wanted to go to an independent school, but also knew that the school that J attended, and had in mind for W, would not be a good fit for N.  Lots of school shopping ensued.  We found a wonderful school in Chester that fit him so well.  In some ways, it reminded me of the school the kids had attended in the US.  The first year N went to the new school, when he was in Yr 4, he was one of 12 pupils.  The following two years, when he was in Yrs 5 and 6, he was one of 15.  It was a good school for both N, and me.  The parents were really tight knit, and kids and mums alike all got along so well, both in N's yr group, as well as other yr groups.  The final day of primary school for N was heart breaking.  The final assembly saw about half of the kids crying.  In the evening, the texting started.  Kids not wanting to take off their uniform, not letting the uniform be washed, sleeping with the uniform, etc.  I said they were very close.  I've never seen anything like it.  Since school has resumed, there has already been one reunion with all of the kids.  (That poor restaurant!!)  Kids and parents all were able to catch up after the summer holidays.  Those are the mums I mainly associate with, and we've had a few outings (mums only!) since school resumed, as well. 

Lots of room in that book bag at the moment-what will it look like at the end of the day?

There is no associated secondary school with N's primary school (there are more primary schools here than secondary schools), so the 15 students that he attended primary with ended up going to eight different secondary schools.  The secondary school we had in mind for N is where seven of his classmates went.  There was an entrance exam in January, as well as interview and references.  All of N's classmates took entrance exams for entry to secondary school, some kids taking more than one entrance exam to ensure entry into a preferred school.  I'm not sure if state schools require entrance exams as well, as a marker of performance level, or not.  His school is what you probably envision what an English school looks like. (Beautiful old stone.)  But its not what the school looks like-it's what goes on inside the walls.  Too soon to tell, but hoping it goes well.  N seems really "settled", and confident.  It helps that he has several classmates in his school, as well as older children from his primary school who also attend his school.  

Maybe another entry I can try to explain about forms, tutor groups, teaching groups, houses, etc.  All common terms in the English education system.  I think I've read just one, maybe two, of the Harry Potter books, but many, many years ago-when we were still in the US.  It's very much like that, how the education system is-with the houses and forms, etc.

And now......  one final photo!

Ready for the new year

I hope you've enjoyed.  And hope to hear from you soon!!  Let me know what you think in comments.  I need the feedback to encourage me to do more posts!