Enrolling US Children in UK Schools

Hello everyone:

I am a US citizen married to a UK citizen and we are in the process of obtaining my spousal visa with one dependent, my 10 yr old son. I would like to hear from anyone who has gone through the process of enrolling their children in a UK school from a US based school. How long did it take to locate a good school and how did your children do with the transition? Any words of advice?

Kind Regards,

Freespirit02

I have not personally done this as my daughter was born here, but as it happens a good friend of hers came over from the US about this age. I think it works best if you can manage it so he starts in Year 7, where there is a lot of moving and mixing anyway, rather than in Year 6, where people may be less interested in making new friends. I can't really comment on how the transition has gone for them, although I know the friend was quite homesick. But she has made plenty of new friends and to the outsider it looks like she has adapted very well. And kids find it quite interesting that she is American. Of course everybody's experience will be different, but I would recommend trying to time things just right.

Good luck to all of you.

After sending my previous post, I remembered that there is one potentially quite large issue with waiting until Year 7 – in some areas, you will have difficulty getting enrolled in the local high school if you're not already in one one of the local primary schools. In that case you are better off moving when he is in year six, but only if you can be there before the application date in October, otherwise probably no point. You will have to look into the application and enrolment issues in the particular area that you want to move to.

The process is fairly easy.  It will depend on your catchment area.  The council of where you will live will tell you where and what school is available.  You will have a choice of non-religious/religious to help them decide where to place your child.  Most likely the council will need you to have an address in the UK to help prove which catchment you belong in for placement.  We called the school that we were interested in as well and talked to the Headteacher for available spots.  I hope that makes sense.  Good luck!

Thanks to everyone who replied. Since the original post we approached our counsel in Hampshire, filled out the online application and got our son enrolled in a very friendly school in Alton. The acceptance letter from the school was included in our bundles to UKVI in support of our applications for settlement.

Kind regards,

Freespirit02

Thanks to everyone who replied. Since the original post we approached our counsel in Hampshire, filled out the online application and got our son enrolled in a very friendly school in Alton. The acceptance letter from the school was included in our bundles to UKVI in support of our applications for settlement.

Kind regards,

Freespirit02

Glad it has been sorted pretty easily. We moved when my daughter was 14 she transitioned very well and the novelty of her being an american made it very easy for her to get to know people quickly...although she did quickly get tired of questions like "did you live in a Wooden House?!"

Yes, I was thankful the process was not complicated and the school administration was understanding of the visa process.

Our son is ten years old and looks forward to meeting girls to show off his half Yankee accent lol!!

Hi Freespirit02 - Could you confirm for me one thing.  Did you have to rent a house in the school district before applying to the school?  I've read in a few places that you can't apply to a school unless you 'live' in the school catchment area.  Which means it's difficult to do before you get your visa approved.

Many thanks,
jo1631615

Jo,

I just saw this post. I hope you get my reply.

We had to show proof of accommodation and be up to date on our counsel tax bill before we could enroll our son in junior school in Hampshire. The acceptance letter was included with our initial visa application and in the end all turned out fine.

All the best. x