View Full Version : Help!!
Hi
Would like to here from anybody who has moved to Florida with teenage children. What do you think of the schools compared to UK? What is the education system like? etc....
:)
hi
we moved over here mid dec 03 my boys are 15 and 11.
once we got the boys in the schools we wanted its fine.
our boys go to clermont schools more info available if required.
the main diff between england and over here is the time they start and the way they teach.
the 15 year old starts at 7.20 only has 4 subjects but the times of each are longer than in the uk. the only break they get is at linch and thats only for 1/2hour.. so its very intense which for my boy (dyslexsic) is a better system than the uk..
the 11 year old starts at 9.00 has 5 subjects has no breaks only lunch as descibed above.
the boys found the system and the people very nice and have settled in very well.(thankfully)
the only problem we have is we are on orange tree which is mainly str and the friends the boys have made live in clermont..
florida4sun
12-03-2004, 17:16
Not that impressed with the education system, even by using the best schools the students are typically about 2 years behind Uk schools. Usually a UK teenager who is reasonably bright will sail through school here. As a resident alien you ahve to pay for college here, which in turn is very expensive.
My kids eventually settled into the schjooling system, they do not like outgoing children, which mione find hard (they are very bright and inquisistive), they schooling is very monotomous which my younger duaghter finds very boring. They treat the kids like children all the way through schooling, which is very frustrating.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Julie
Hi
Would like to here from anybody who has moved to Florida with teenage children. What do you think of the schools compared to UK? What is the education system like? etc....
:)
[/quote]
Do they have Private International Schools in Florida? My cousins husband has been offered a post out there but their daughter go to a private school in Singapore at the moment.
Julie R
Matt went to High School here in Celebration at 17, joining as a senior. From being a mediocre C grade student in the UK, he went straight to being an Honor Roll student here with a GPA of just below 3.5 ( 3 is good) The work is easier. Most of the exams are multi choice and there is less analysis and essay writing than in the UK. They operate a system of credits and to graduate you need 24. A UK teenager will be given the credits for the subjects he is considered to have studied in sufficient depth in the UK and will have to do courses here to get the credits in the rest. This meant my son was given credits for maths and sciences which he was doing AS in and has to do American History, Literarure, Government and Politics, economics. health and nutrition and PE all week. They sit at little desks even at 17 and the parents consent is needed for them to leave the school. So it is definitely like school not college even though they dont wear a uniform. Having said all this, my son is thriving here. He has settled in totally, much more easily than we have. What Jeff says is correct and I dont think he would have settled so well if we had lived on a STR estate. As it is, he lives close to his school mates.
Being a Brit works for you and against you, he says. Some kids love the Brits and the accent and others take the mick but it is good hearted. In Orlando, there are usually a few British kids in any year.
In case you dont know, they go to middle school up to 14 and then high school 14 to 18. The high school classes are freshman ( at 14-15), sophamore, junior ans senior. The second one got me, I had no idea!! Americans I apologise if that isnt how you spell it!!!
chrizzy100
15-03-2004, 06:52
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by esprit
Matt went to High School here in Celebration at 17, joining as a senior. From being a mediocre C grade student in the UK, he went straight to being an Honor Roll student here with a GPA of just below 3.5 ( 3 is good) The work is easier. Most of the exams are multi choice and there is less analysis and essay writing than in the UK. They operate a system of credits and to graduate you need 24. A UK teenager will be given the credits for the subjects he is considered to have studied in sufficient depth in the UK and will have to do courses here to get the credits in the rest. This meant my son was given credits for maths and sciences which he was doing AS in and has to do American History, Literarure, Government and Politics, economics. health and nutrition and PE all week. They sit at little desks even at 17 and the parents consent is needed for them to leave the school. So it is definitely like school not college even though they dont wear a uniform. Having said all this, my son is thriving here. He has settled in totally, much more easily than we have. What Jeff says is correct and I dont think he would have settled so well if we had lived on a STR estate. As it is, he lives close to his school mates.
Being a Brit works for you and against you, he says. Some kids love the Brits and the accent and others take the mick but it is good hearted. In Orlando, there are usually a few British kids in any year.
In case you dont know, they go to middle school up to 14 and then high school 14 to 18. The high school classes are freshman ( at 14-15), sophamore, junior ans senior. The second one got me, I had no idea!! Americans I apologise if that isnt how you spell it!!!
[/quote]
They wanted to put my son in High school at 12....but I said no....I wanted him to go to tech school...and they can't go there until they are 14..and I wanted him around kids his own age...but all his friends are a few years older now anyway....he played ice hockey in England.....so he fitted in straight away up here in Mass.....he is a great hit with the girls.....they all love him....and the boys like him cus he has all the girls.....LOL!