Start year 11 again???

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

Hi everyone, its chris again.

Just wondering if i would have to start year 11 again. Im currently doing my GCSEs at the moment, (got 5 left wooo) and will be starting year 12 (sixth form) at my current school.

If all goes to plan, we'll be off to Adelaide around December 2008 / January 2009 so i will be half way through my first year.

Will i have to start year 11 again?

What are the positives and minuses of starting again if i have the choice?

 

Thanks

Chris

[Guest Libby1971]

In SA, you are awarded at the end of Year 12 a South Australian Certificate of Education or SACE for short.

 

The SACE is split into 2 stages...Stage 1 is completed in Year 11 and Stage 2 in Year 12. You do not have to complete either but if planning to go to uni you need your SACE. To get the SACE you need to pass units. Some units at school are worth 1 SACE unit, others are worth 2.

 

You would need to find out if there is any credit given on your SACE for the work you have done already - I will ask some questions at school for you, if you don't mind. If not, then the chances are, you would have to start there anyway.

 

I personally think it would be a good thing to go back to the start of year 11.

1. because you get a bit of a chance to complete the final stages of your education and therefore aren't stressing about things and having to cope with exams at the same time - yes, they are done here!
   
2. I think that anything that you can do to delay the inevitable of having to actually leave school, well, don't think, just do it.
   

However there are changes being brought into the SACE programme, as of next year, I think and this may really be your advantage - bring examples of any coursework you have done as well as any mock exam papers you may have sat. You would have done year 10 exams and GCSE exam papers. Once the GCSEs are over, your school will be able to keep copies of the exam papers sat - ask the Head of Dept for copies of these so the school you are moving to can see what you have done and can award credit where necessary.

 

Good luck.

 

Libby

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

That would be great if you could ask around at school. thank you.

 

Wouldnt the GCSEs get me into University then?

 

Also, is year 11 in SA the same as in the UK?

 

Thanks,

Chris

[orrelljet]

Hey Chris,

 

The school year you would fall into may also be governed by your age or, more specifically, your date of birth. With a school year over here starting at the beginning of the year (end of Jan at any rate), and being split into 4 shorter terms (say goodbye to half terms my friend), you would need to have spent a minimum number of terms in reception. Bear in mind that I'm basing this on the experiences we've had with our kids (7 and 10).

 

Justin.

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

Thanks Justin

I see they finish in year 12, which would be ages 17 - 18.

Which means i would probably have to start in year 11, a year behind.

But then wouldnt I have GCSEs and SACEs if they are literally the same thing??

[Guest sarahsmartiepants]

Gcses would not get you into Uni here as they woukd not in the UK.

You can have your GCSEs converted to Sace points. But your GCSEs would not convert into enough points, they would probably cover yr11 points.

When we came here our son had done his GCSEs and 6 mths of Alevels at college. We arrived in the May so it was too late for him to join yr12 as he had missed too much all ready. he was willing to go back to yr11 and start again so to speak. With hindsight he would still recommend anyone doing this and so would I. It gave him a chance to make a good friend network and a chance to settle into oz life and school and the chance to learn to drive, as yr 12 for him was school work packed, but he did pick 5 harder subjects with a large work load, phys,chem, maths,legal cant remember the other one! There is no stigma here about going back a year, he has a friend who has just turned 17 at uni, he is almost 19 and his friends vary in age. The 17yr old was accelerated through school.

sarah

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

Thats brilliant thanks

 

I've got no problem starting a year back, which probably means i'll be in the same year as my sister, who is the year below me.

 

Just one more question, would it be a good idea to do completely different subjects to what i have done for my GCSEs so i will then have a wider range of subjects to put on my CV etc???

 

Thanks for your help sarah

[Guest sarahsmartiepants]

Thats brilliant thanks

 

I've got no problem starting a year back, which probably means i'll be in the same year as my sister, who is the year below me.

 

Just one more question, would it be a good idea to do completely different subjects to what i have done for my GCSEs so i will then have a wider range of subjects to put on my CV etc???

 

Thanks for your help sarah

I am not positive about that one, but will find out for you.

The thing you will notice is here you get a far wider range of subject choices in yrs 11&12, this will lead you to a far wider range of subject choices at uni.

IE> my son had decided at the age of 10 he wanted to do Meteorology, when he got to secondry school there was no choice to do physics as a separate subject, so he had to do combined science, which he got a double A in. when he went to college for his A levels, he had to choose subjects that would put him on the path for meteorology at uni, phys,maths,geog and he choose geology as the 4th as they insisted on it. He was struggling with phys because he had no background from school in it, so if he had fialed which was very possible he wouldnt have been able to follow the metorology path...what would he have choosen.

Here, you pick a far wider range of subjects, which gives you a far wider range of uni choice....when his time came to choose he was stuck as he almost had too much choice!!!

sarah

[Guest Blackcat]

Hi Chris

 

We arrived last November, my son Adam being sixteen and done his GCSE's. He then started year 11 at the end of January, there new school year. He has found it fine and think he would have found it too difficult to go straight into year 12 without doing the first year of sace. He goes to Blackwood High School, good luck, Gina

[Guest sarahsmartiepants]

Thats brilliant thanks

 

 

 

Just one more question, would it be a good idea to do completely different subjects to what i have done for my GCSEs so i will then have a wider range of subjects to put on my CV etc???

 

Thanks for your help sarah

Probably best to do subject in yr11 that will give you grounding for your yr12 subject choices. Its the yr 12 grades that people look at, rather than yr 11. So look at yr11 as a bonus and a chance to settle, bearing in mind you still have to pass. My sons converted GCSEs points covered him for the first semester, which he missed (due to house sale) he didnt start yr 11 till may instead of January.

I have asked him the question and got this answer for you. If you have any others, ask away its no trouble!

sarah

[Rachiegarlo]

Also the subjects in yr 12 follow on from the yr 11 subjects, so what you choose to do might limit what you can do at year 12 level. For example year 12 physics requires strong passes at yr 11 maths and physics. English can be either English studies(literature) or English Communications. There are some compulsory subjects that you have to have done at some stage like yr 11 english and some sort of yr 11 maths but also Australian studies, which a lot of schools get out of the way in yr 10 to allow more subject choice in the senior years.

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

I am not positive about that one, but will find out for you.

The thing you will notice is here you get a far wider range of subject choices in yrs 11&12, this will lead you to a far wider range of subject choices at uni.

IE> my son had decided at the age of 10 he wanted to do Meteorology, when he got to secondry school there was no choice to do physics as a separate subject, so he had to do combined science, which he got a double A in. when he went to college for his A levels, he had to choose subjects that would put him on the path for meteorology at uni, phys,maths,geog and he choose geology as the 4th as they insisted on it. He was struggling with phys because he had no background from school in it, so if he had fialed which was very possible he wouldnt have been able to follow the metorology path...what would he have choosen.

Here, you pick a far wider range of subjects, which gives you a far wider range of uni choice....when his time came to choose he was stuck as he almost had too much choice!!!

sarah

 

Yeah i can see what you mean.

I understand now that SACEs is equivalent to A-Levels. Thats where i was confused . So i take it year 10 in oz is the equivalent to our year 11 which means their year 11 is the first year of the SACEs? Is that correct?

[Guest Libby1971]

Here you are awarded points for the units of work you do. Some courses might award 1 unit for SACE, other courses might award 2 units. You have 2 timetables a year - one for Semester 1 (terms 1 and 2) and the other for Semester 2 (terms 3 and 4). This allows you access to a greater number of courses than in the UK although for shorter periods of time.

 

Your GCSEs are used to get you either into college or onto A level courses. You can't go directly to uni with them. And quite rightly they are not accepted here for entry into uni as they not a high enough standard. You need something more which is where A levels come into it. Or Stage 2 of the SACE - year 12.

 

Look at your career options and choose subjects that can be helpful in more than one area.

 

Good luck

 

Libby

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

Ahh i see now. Thanks Gina, Sarah, Rachiegarlo and Libby for your help Its made me unconfused about things now.

 

Do they complete year 11 and 12 at a high school like we do in England?

[Guest Libby1971]

Yes Stage 1 and 2 can be done at High School. And are usually done at high school.

 

TAFE (college to you and me) also run courses that can provide SACE points. Some schools do day release type things so you can go to the college and do a course there if it is nearby. You could see an Academic COunsellor about this though...someone who will give you advice about the courses available to you and what your options are. Most schools have one I think.

 

Good luck

 

Libby

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

That sounds quite good.

So my sister is in year 10 now and will be half way through year 11 if everything goes to plan. What would you recommend on her doing?

[Guest sarahsmartiepants]

If she has done her GCSEs, then she could start yr11, if not, depending on what she wants to do with her life, I would say start yr 10 again. It might be hard with no exam knowledge to join yr11.

sarah

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

Yeah, she'll probably have to redo year 10 then as she would have only done a few of her GCSEs and she hasnt got a clue what she wants to do. But that could all change in 6 to 12 months.

Thanks everyone for your help

[Guest andylynnchriskirst]

How many subjects do you take?

 

Thanks, Chris

[Rachiegarlo]

Most schools here only do an exam in yr 10 in maths, maybe science, sometimes English. They are not full on and only cover the semesters work, not the whole year