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