School Nightmare

In March, my 18 year old daughter and I moved to Greenwich.
Since Day 1, I have been trying to get her into school.
It is a complete nightmare.
Question 1: What GCSEs does she have? None. We just moved here.
Question 2: What qualifying exams did she take in Canada? None. She completed grade 11.
Question 3: How old is she? 18
Ultimate Response: She needs GCSEs to get into *any* program (short of English as a Second Language). She is too old to take her GCSEs.

Essentially what they have told me is this - she needs to be younger when she moved here. Really helpful. Correspondence courses are not feasible because she has learning disabilities and cannot function under those conditions.
Every conversation I have with these bureaucrats boils down to 'I can't believe that Canada doesn't have standardized exams at the age of 16. I can't help you.'
I have been hearing this same speech for 3 months.
Someone suggested putting her in a private American high school here. That would be great if someone wants to pay the $40,000 annual tuition they are charging.

I am soooo frustrated. I have had a teenager languishing in my flat for months with zero to do and sinking deeper and deeper into depression, isolation and frustration.
She wants to go to vocational college and take photography, but they are so mired in administration they can't see past their tables of GCSE scores.

I have actually had a college administrator tell me that she has never seen a case where someone emigrated here at her age!! We didn't move here from a treehouse deep in the Amazon! We are from Toronto, for God's sake!!

I tried to get information before we moved and we hit a wall. No one would talk to us because we hadn't immigrated yet.
And now we are here and we still can't get any answers.

I have no idea where to turn.

Hi,
This sounds very frustrating, I can only imagine how you must feel. The amont of job worthies in this country, who are so unhelpful, is one of the things I do not like about England.

I have to things to suggest, hopefully one of them will help.

Have you tried contacting http://www.naric.org.uk/ they are "the
the National Agency responsible for providing information, advice and expert opinion on vocational, academic and professional skills and qualifications from over 180 countries worldwide."

The other suggestion is to try to contact the american families in London on meetup.com in the hopes that someone there may have run into what you have.

Hope something gets sorted soon for you!
Michelle
Http://bluenosegirl.com

So, they won't even allow her to enter an adult education program? That's shocking.

Even if she does get back into school there, it sounds like their system is so different they're going to make her do a few years of catch-up classes, which would likely be very demoralizing

How many credits is she missing? If you moved in March and she's in grade 12, she presumably has less than a year remaining? Is it possible for her to just go back and do remedial summer classes to complete the credits necessary for graduation? Or to live alone or with family/friends in Canada for a few months in order to finish her diploma? There are many people who take in international students, and although she isn't one, maybe she can find a safe room and board in one of those homes.

Or perhaps she can do Canadian correspondence courses and have a UK tutor specialized in learning disabilities assist her with the work. Not cheap, but better than nothing.

Maybe while your family gets things figured out, she can apprentice with a local photographer or work at a photography store to at least motivate her and get her some real experience that will benefit her in her future career. I can only imagine the photography talent pool that must exist there.

I can only imagine how frustrating this must be for you and your daughter.

I don't understand why you did not research these things prior to your arrival here because the differences are so great and your daughter came at a time where it is very hard to integrate into the education system.

Have a look at the local colleges around you (Colleges here are not like in Canada). If she is 18 years old she will be able to register at a local college into an A-level programme. Although as you have not been here a year yet (what is required for residency) there may be a possibility that she will have to pay international student fees. Children here start school 1 year earlier than children in Canada and there are far more exams. In what would be equivilent to Grade 10 in Canada children in the UK write their GCSE exams. Then in what would be equivilent to Grade 11/12/13 (depending on province) they can go on to write their A-level exams. If one wants to go to University here they need to study (and get good grades in) A-levels. Although there are University programmes that accept people on a mature student basis.

Hi bliss3333,

Wondering how you got on with all of this. I cannot imagine the logistical nightmare. I have been researching for my own children and I would be having a fit if I landed there and couldn't find a way into the system...

MLH