| According to the latest
industry data, and even with the current strength of
the British pound against the US dollar, hundreds of
US families will take an international assignment in
the UK this year. The majority of these families will
relocate with accompanying school-aged children.
Assuming appropriate planning and educational advisement
that is au currant, American families will find a number
of excellent choices among American international schools
in London and its suburbs – boarding and day schools.
These schools may offer the International Baccalaureate
(IB) diploma and/or Advanced Placement (AP) classes
on the high school level, and will have a sizable number
of international students as well as Americans in the
student-body. And overall, these schools will “feel”
like American private schools.
For many families, this is exactly what they are seeking
– a minimum of disruption and the most seamless
transition for their children while on international
assignment. They want schools that will “feel
like home”, knowing that at the end of their assignment,
they will return to the US, or elsewhere overseas, where
they can enrol their children in one of the more than
600 American international schools.
However, some American families will want their international
experience to include more immersion into the UK, and
that includes enrolment of the children in state or
private British schools. Such educational decisions
are personal to the family and, of course, must take
into account the age and personality of the student,
the previous school experience and record, and educational
goals. These factors may then be balanced against the
financial realities of the international assignee’s
“package” which may provide – as is
increasingly common – a lump sum payment for all
of the family’s relocation costs, including housing
and school tuition, and so on.
If children are young – preschool or elementary-aged
– enrolment in a British school may be a good
option, particularly if a family expects a long assignment
in the UK. The obvious appeal for placement in state
schools relates to low or no cost, proximity to the
residence, and the perception that children’s
adjustment to the move will be hastened by developing
new friendships with schoolmates from the neighbourhood,
and quickly fitting into their new environment.
Placement into British private schools would provide
options of school type, for example, parochial, single
gender, curricular focus, and so on. However, as with
the American international schools, the location and
commute, the tuition costs, and waiting lists that may
exist at particular levels can be issues for private
school placement.
The British National Curriculum is mandated in all
British state schools, but is not required in British
private or independent schools. Thus, for American families
interested in state school placement, it will be important
to recognise and understand the structural differences
between British state and American public schools.
For example, the age at which formal education begins
in the UK is at least one year earlier than in the US.
Children begin Reception at the age of four, followed
by Year 1 at the age of five. Reception is roughly equivalent
to US Kindergarten, although starting at least one full
year earlier than in the US. An American family could
anticipate that if their child is placed with his or
her academic peers in the UK, they would be placed with
children at least one full year younger. If a British
school places an American child with age peers, the
American child (depending upon their academic ability)
will be as much as one full academic year behind their
British classmates.
The British National Curriculum provides a structured
and standardised curriculum, including standardised
testing of all children every two to three years. Compulsory
testing occurs at the end of Key Stage 1 (age six-seven),
at the end of Key Stage 2 (age 10-11), and at the end
of Key Stage 3 (age 13-14). Detailed descriptive information
on the British National Curriculum covering each Year
(or grade) including goals, objectives, and syllabi,
is available online at: www.nc.uk.net
In most cases, the easiest fit for an American child
enrolling in a British school would be at the age of
four, at the Reception level. Beyond that level, the
adaptation of an American child in a British curriculum
school depends as much on the child’s previous
educational record and the family’s schooling
goals, as on the child’s personality and ability
to adapt. For example, an introverted child may not
adapt as readily as an extroverted child.
Families are advised to consider employing the services
of an education consultant who will review the education
records and goals of each child, and work with the family
to determine the best school placement for each child’s
needs. Quite often, school placement needs will differ
within the same family when a child-centric approach
is utilised, which considers age, school record, special
needs, language differences, and so on.
If children are enrolled in British schools, expect
that they will be required to wear uniforms and the
school to have a more structured approach to discipline
than children are accustomed to in the US. In general,
children must adapt to the school, its curriculum, and
its rules rather than the school accommodating to the
children.
Some other differences that American parents can anticipate
in British schools are detailed below:
Educational programme:
- A somewhat longer instructional year, with less
vacation time during the academic year and a shorter
summer vacation holiday than in the US
- Strong emphasis on the language arts, with skill
areas broken into listening, speaking, reading and
writing – much greater attention is paid to
listening and speaking than is found in American schools.
US curriculum objectives often do not require children
to be active listeners, whereas the British National
Curriculum has such requirements
- Very strong emphasis on the dramatic arts –
this positive bias is tied into the learning objectives
of listening and speaking at every level. Thus, even
at the Year 1 (age five) level, British National Curriculum
objectives include writing and performing in classroom
dramatic productions. By Year 4 (age eight), students
are writing and critiquing their own and each other’s
plays
- Emphasis on the system of metric measurement throughout.
Thus, an American child coming from an American school
may be caught unaware as the metric system is sometimes
not introduced in US schools until the fifth grade
- Computers and computer-assisted instruction fall
into ICT or the Information and Communication Technology
part of the British National Curriculum. However,
Americans may not see the same level of emphasis on
computers or as much hardware as in American schools,
particularly at the lower elementary levels
- Extra-curricular activities and sports are available,
but generally are community-based and outside of the
school framework
Teachers and administrators
- A more formal relationship between teachers and
students and teachers and parents in British classrooms
than would be true in the US
- Teachers will address parents as Mr and Mrs (Surname)
and expect to be addressed in the same way by parents
Mary Rabbitt is Senior International
Consultant for
Bennett Educational Resources, Inc,
West Chester, Pennsylvania
Website: www.schoolplacement.com
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