Teenagers and schooling

Ok. I thought I had it all planned out. Being a kind mother, I planned on waiting until AFTER I had completed my nursing degree to move to UK, so as not to interrupt my teenage daughter's senior year in high school (she is 16, and a junior right now). My daughter, on the other hand, has recently come to me asking if there is any reason why I can't complete my nursing degree in the UK, so that we can both go together this summer.    Not exactly something I was expecting, but it got me to thinking.... I'm going to be heavily relying on grants/scholarships/student loans ANYWAY to go through nursing classes here, I could probably do the same in the UK, right? From what I've seen, US college financing covers me even if I am going to college in the UK. So...here's my list of questions (sorry!!!):

If, for either schooling or a job possibility that kinda landed in my lap, I decided to go this summer (BIG timetable change!!)....

1. What is the schooling situation for my daughter, who would be turning 17 this summer?

2. Would she go straight to college? Would it be of more benefit to take her GED before she goes? Or not?

3. If I am on a student visa, is she allowed to work part time while in school also?

I'm sure there are more questions, but that is the first "wave" of them. Thanks  

I'm not sure if I can be of help but I'll try. I think at your daughter's age they go to 6th form or college to prepare for University. (college here seems to mean something different than the American meaning) They take A-Levels which help determine which University they can get into. It might be good to have a look at the colleges & univeristies site, which is...
www.ucas.ac.uk

My daughter is almost 15 and I am trying to get her to think about her future studies. It's all new to me too. Hope that helped.

Joanne

Well, my kids are still too young to worry of such things, however I do know that at 16 your daughter would be taking what is called GCSEs. This is a pretty big deal and often parents hire tutors in prepartion. Somewhat similar to SATs in the U.S. After the GCSEs students move onto thier "A-levels". By the time they;re finished they end up with one more year of schooling than they would in the U.S. before going on to College. You can get more info here:
http://www.daycourses.com/uk/school_system.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/uk_systems/115872.stm

Another option is to enroll her in one of the many American Schools. My wife has a cousin who has attended the American School in Surrey (very good reputation), however it is costly. More info on American Schools here:
http://www.fulbright.co.uk/eas/school/schoolabroad.html

I think she may be better off finishing off school there and then look to enroll in college here. Not sure how fast she could prepare herself for the U.K. tests, and then she would be judged by those results when applying for a place in a University. This assumes this is the next step for her of course which it may not be.

What I know for sure is that the UK is desperate for nurses so who knows they might just hand her a diploma in turn for you signing your life over  

Good luck to the both of you and keep us posted!

Well, this whole decision making process has gone round and round. Hate it when I finally think I have it figured out and something else pops up. I actually posted the original message on this thread about a month ago. After doing more research (and to some extent, getting nowhere) on the whole high school vs college thing for my daughter, I had decided to have her finish high school here rather than uproot her and possibly jeopardize her college testing and eventual college career. Then, I had the opportunity of a job in the UK (through a family friend), and had to mentally review this all AGAIN. But eventually came to the same conclusion...have daughter finish school here before contemplating the move. The job really didn't have any opportunity for advancement and would have meant putting off the remainder of my nursing training, which I really don't want to do. So....I do appreciate the info regarding the high school issues that has been posted the last couple days, as it just confirms to me that it was the right decision to have her finish her senior year of high school here (she's a junior now). I hate waiting, but I'd hate even more to mess up things for her by uprooting her. As soon as she graduates, then I can go ahead with plans to move. And she'll be safely in the US going to college and can come visit me at holidays. She is agreeable to this plan as well, so I'm thinking (at this point)...this will be "the plan"....unless of course, I win the lottery.