High School Education - UK to US (Hunter, Stuyvesant: estate, work)

[pinklily2167]

We are planning to move to NY/Connecticut this summer. My eldest son will have just completed his GCSEs in UK, hoping to continue his education. We are considering enrolling him in the IB. My second son, on the other hand, is two years younger and will be about to commence his GCSE coursework.

I am very concerned about 'where we go from here', especially as our time in the States is not guaranteed beyond 2 years. I fear my second son returning to the UK in two years time with no GCSEs when all his peers will have completed them. I am shocked that there is not a British High School in the whole of NY State or Connecticut!

[biggyboy]

by IB do you mean International Baccalaureate program? There are several schools which prep their students to achieve IB diplomas. There is one school I know of located in Astoria, Queens, which is public so cost wouldn't be a problem and you don't need to be an Astoria resident to be admitted. It is called the Baccalaureate School for Global Education. Another popular choice is the United Nations International School (located in Manhattan, while they have an additional middle school branch located in the Briarwood/Jamaica Estates section of Queens). This school is private, however, so you'll have to pay tuition fees. There must be more schools here that offer IB diplomas. Most students in the U.S. work with AP (Advanced Placement) classes, rather than IB. The best (magnet schools) in NYC do not offer IB, but rather AP, and those include Hunter College High School, Stuyvesant, Townsend Harris, Bronx Science. I do not know much about Connecticut schools.

[Viralmd]

GSCE isn't a bac, that's different.

[pinklily2167]

Many thanks! Any schools which offer GCSEs (UK exams) that you know of?

[Sharka]

Hi I can't say I am a definitive source (since I am not an education professional), but I do know what you are talking about. I took the GCSEs and A Levels around 10 years ago (abroad) and came to US for college and stayed here since. I really have never heard of any schools in NYC (whether public or private) that offers GCSEs/A-Levels. In fact when I go to college here, nobody except the international students' dean have heard of them. If your children are so old already (and you mentioned your new position may not be longer than 2 years) why don't you put your children up in boarding school in UK while you work here? It's probably the best thing to not to pull them into another system. I can personally attest that the US vs UK high school -> college system is very different