Moving to the U.K From America and still in grade 12 (apartment, to rent)

[notlikeus]

Hi all! I am 18 years of age and in December i am moving from the United States to the United Kingdom to be with family. The problem i have is, i am still enrolled in grade 12 and as smart as my family is they have no idea how to transfer schools from the U.S to the U.k or if it is at all even possible. Can some one PLEASEEEEE help me asap. That would mean the world to me! thank you sooo much!

- notlikeus

[Minnehahapolitan]

The schools in Britain should be public, I can't imagine it being much different than here. If you are lucky, you may have the credits required to graduate already. Talk to your school counselor in the US, and see if someone in Britain can shed more light on that side. you are 18 also, it may not be completely crazy to rent an apartment for 6 months and meet your family in the summer. Wish you the best.

[chilaili]

Originally Posted by notlikeus

Hi all! I am 18 years of age and in December i am moving from the United States to the United Kingdom to be with family. The problem i have is, i am still enrolled in grade 12 and as smart as my family is they have no idea how to transfer schools from the U.S to the U.k or if it is at all even possible. Can some one PLEASEEEEE help me asap. That would mean the world to me! thank you sooo much!

- notlikeus

Most schools in the UK are public BUT let me just clarify one thing: in the UK a "public" school is actually a private one, whilst a "state" school or a "comprehensive" would be the equivalent to a US public one. Hope that's not too confusing.

Attending school is similar to here as it depends on where you live and what "catchment" or district you are in. Are you going to be living in the UK permanently or for a couple of years? As an 18-year old you might actually be eligible to graduate or be considered as graduated already as British kids leave school at 18 and graduation is usually in the Summer. So, depending on your grades, you might even be able to consider going to college/university.

One site that MAY help is the Dept of Education at Department for Children, Schools and Families. They have phone, fax, email and mailing address details posted. Being a government dept tho, I couldn't guarantee how long it'd take for a response but worth a try.

[peamom]

Hmm, i think you might have a bit of trouble. I'm originally from the UK, i moved to the US age 25.

The school system in the UK is different to the US. In the last two years of UK school, age 17-18 are not compulsory, and you study only 2-4 subjects for 2 years, then at age 18 you take exams on those called A-levels. So if you would really have to commit for 2 years if you wanted to make studying worthwhile, and you'll be the oldest in your class, and to be totally honest with you, people at school will probably think you are a bit weird to want to do that (I think it's great you are so keen to continue your education, but not everyone might think that in the UK...) The grades from the A-levels are used when applying for university. I think it would be easiest to graduate in the US and then apply for university or college courses in the UK with your American grades, I knew several american students at universtity who did the same thing.

If you need any more info, you can email me if you like

Good luck!