Schools in England

[DDJ_US_UK]

My husband is having doubts about moving to England (he is from England and we currantly live in US). Of course he remembers high taxes and the terribly high cost of houses, the weather, etc. But he's also concerned about the schools there. Everyone has a different experience with school. I loved it but my sister hated it and even dropped out. My husband had a horrible time in school. Said it was very boring and had not much to offer in the way of sports and other extra-curricular activites. Here in the US, school is fun and exciting (in his opinion) with so much more to offer beyond academics. He's concerned that our son will miss out on things like joining the drama club or playing on the school football team, not to mention prom and school dances and other social activities.

My thoughts are, you can't miss something you've never had, and since our son is only two, he'd be starting school in the UK, rather than having to change and feel like he's giving anything up.

There is one thing I know he'll miss out on, and I'm very happy about, he'll miss out on being in fear for his life because of all the gun violence that seems to be getting out of control here in the US. I talk to school kids all the time where I work and they are terrified to go to school. They are under so much stress, and that in itsef cannot be good.

I don't want to turn this post into a debate about guns in school, I'm really just looking for other points of view about the British school sysytems. Like I said, he had a bad experience in school so his view may be a little distorted because of that.

Sorry this was so long winded. I really appreciate all input.

[kaz101]

Hi DDJ_US_UK,

I don't have kids myself but my friends have kids in the UK (in the South East London and Gravesend areas). Their kids do seem to go to school with after school clubs with drama and sports. As far as I'm aware there are school proms although there may be the occasional school disco. And even if the school doesn't do drama, dance etc there are usually private clubs that the kids can join although these can be quite expensive.

Regards,
Karen

[yummymummy150]

Dont know about England but scottish schools are doing more fun stuff proms cheerleading dance drama. sport Things have moved on in the last 15years i think schools have a lot to offer. but as i said i live in Scotland and we do not have a gun or knife problem (this may be more in london).

[Hurricane]

Originally Posted by yummymummy150

Dont know about England but scottish schools are doing more fun stuff proms cheerleading dance drama. sport Things have moved on in the last 15years i think schools have a lot to offer. but as i said i live in Scotland and we do not have a gun or knife problem (this may be more in london).

have to say, Scotland seems to be striding ahead in terms of looking after its pupils.

[DDJ_US_UK]

Thanks everyone for the replies. It really makes me feel a lot better and I know my husband will be happy. He needs to take into consideration, he is 40 and things have probably progressed considerably since he was in school.

[yummymummy150]

I Was not sure how old your hubby was but now you say 40 he will find big changes (we have moved on since the work house)LOL

[izzysmum04]

I can't speak for myself as my daughter is only 2 1/2, and was born over here, but my best friend (fellow Amer. expat) moved over here with her children when they were 5 and 8. Her daughters had trouble with schooling at first because they were behind the British children in their studies. It took them a good year or so to catch up to them, so it was a little difficult for them at first. They are now 13 and 16, and doing wonderfully. They have school proms and discos here. Bobbie's oldest daughter just finished school and had her prom this past spring. She attended quite a few discos, as well. They also do extracurricular activities as well. Some schools are even starting to have cheerleading squads. Here in Plymouth they even have an American football team (the Blitz) for the children. As you said though, your son is only 2 so he should be fine. They do start school over here at 4. We are already looking to get Bell enrolled within the next year. I am not liking that a whole lot, as I feel 4 is too young, but there isn't much we can do about it. We were told they need to know all their A,B,C's, numbers, shapes and colors by the time they start, too. We have been working with her on this basically from day one, so she is ready when it comes time for her to start.

My hubby is 43, and said things have changed over here drastically from when he was a young boy. That is why we are repatriating back to the States after he retires from the Royal Marines (25 years) in 2009. Taxes are high, lack of space, most people can't afford to buy their own house. We are one of the lucky ones in that we do own ours, but most of our friends have to rent. The weather is pure crap!! If you are used to sunny, warm, glorious weather than England is definitely not for you...LOL As a matter of fact, this past summer was the worst Summer recorded since records began over here. I wore sweats quite often because it was not a bit warm, and there was continuous rain...which caused major flooding in the center of England.

On the other hand, it is wonderful living around so many old historic buildings. The people (at least here in South Devon and Pimlico - the area of London we are moving to) have been friendly and very welcoming. It is a beautiful country, and I do feel very privileged to have the experience of living here.

[Nomad_Girl]

Honestly, as a teenager myself - i strongly suggest you check out private schools. If you can't afford it - try out for a scholarshipship or something..

There are 6 schools in my town. 3 private and 3 'free'. Mine was supposedly the best free school and i thought it was pretty awful.

People do not want to learn. The teachers are constantly harrassed by students, a lot do not know how to control the class - quite a few teachers left whilst i was there.

I've lost count of how many supply teachers we had. Most of which had no idea what they were doing. And a great deal of my lessons were pretty much just copying stuff from books.

I'm actually repeating subjects at home because when i got to sixth form - i just didn't have a clue what i was doing.. ('free' sixth forms are quite good by the way).

=/

And sports? Again - very few want to do it. And you don't get to choose what sport you do, so you barely get enough time to actually learn it before you're onto another sport. Oh, and girls were never allowed to shower afterwards

There were a few teams, but they weren't a big deal. Just a few games at lunch break on the playing fields, which barely anybody watched. Not even close to what it's like in America.


On the other hand - i have a lot of friends in private schools who absolutely LOVE it. Education and athletics are of a much higher standard..

Whatever happens.. Good luck!

Edit: I didn't read your question properly . Primary schools are okay. From what i remember anyway! But they are getting worse =/ . Just make sure you do your research beforehand.