A levels and uni in NZ

[Bryars2011]

We are looking at emigrating to NZ within the next few years after our daughter,Chloe, has finished her A levels.She will then be hoping to go on to university to continue her education but in NZ.
The questions we really need to ask are will her A level qualifications from the Uk be acceptable for her to apply for a place at university in NZ and how would we go about applying??????
Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated .....

[ShineyPeople]

We are in that position right now. One daughter has just finished her A levels and one is half way through having just completed her AS levels, we are moving in about six weeks. As I understand it from careful reading of the admission requirements, A levels are an acceptable qualification for university, AS levels may also be sufficient if the total number of UCAS points is high enough. Each university also offers an entrance course (one trimester) which allows students without NZ qualifications to apply for a place as long as they achieve good grades. The opening date for applications is October 1st and from what I can gather (please tell me if I have this wrong) these are made directly to the university. Students don't qualify for a loan until they have been resident in the country for two years or more. We thought about sending our younger daughter to school in NZ for one last year, but the curriculum and the qualifications are so different from A levels that it would not have been worth it, so she will apply for a university preparation course as soon as we are settled. Watch this space, and I'll let you know how we get on!

[Millieandme]

We thought about sending our younger daughter to school in NZ for one last year, but the curriculum and the qualifications are so different from A levels that it would not have been worth it, so she will apply for a university preparation course as soon as we are settled.

Your daughter might be able to go to a Cambridge school here in NZ. A number of high schools in New Zealand use the Cambridge exam system and the associated curriculum with the AS and A levels. I am not sure how it compares with the regular UK courses but the web site seems to say it is similar. And the students from those schools go directly to University without a university preparation course so that might not be necessary either.

More information on the Cambridge based schools can be found here http://www.acsnz.org.nz

[Bryars2011]

Hi ya....thank you so much for all of your advise it is greatly appreciated!! Everything is sooooo daunting at the mo not only trying to sort our employment out and applying but getting the timing of the move right... which part of NZ are you heading for?? and have you found employment??

We are in that position right now. One daughter has just finished her A levels and one is half way through having just completed her AS levels, we are moving in about six weeks. As I understand it from careful reading of the admission requirements, A levels are an acceptable qualification for university, AS levels may also be sufficient if the total number of UCAS points is high enough. Each university also offers an entrance course (one trimester) which allows students without NZ qualifications to apply for a place as long as they achieve good grades. The opening date for applications is October 1st and from what I can gather (please tell me if I have this wrong) these are made directly to the university. Students don't qualify for a loan until they have been resident in the country for two years or more. We thought about sending our younger daughter to school in NZ for one last year, but the curriculum and the qualifications are so different from A levels that it would not have been worth it, so she will apply for a university preparation course as soon as we are settled. Watch this space, and I'll let you know how we get on!

[Bryars2011]

Thank you so much for your advise....it is greatly appreciated...we will look through the website you posted.....looking at your location your not in NZ??

Your daughter might be able to go to a Cambridge school here in NZ. A number of high schools in New Zealand use the Cambridge exam system and the associated curriculum with the AS and A levels. I am not sure how it compares with the regular UK courses but the web site seems to say it is similar. And the students from those schools go directly to University without a university preparation course so that might not be necessary either.

More information on the Cambridge based schools can be found here http://www.acsnz.org.nz

[melack]

I am not sure how it compares with the regular UK courses but the web site seems to say it is similar. http://www.acsnz.org.nz

Hopefully I can shed some light on this...

I'm a UK based teacher who has taught GCSE and iGCSE, A level and iA level - the "i" basically denotes it is an international exam, therefore can be taught at schools internationally (whereas the GCSE and A level is confined to the UK).

There are currently two main examining bodies for the iGCSE:
Edexcel - http://www.edexcel.com/quals/igcse/i...s/default.aspx
Cambridge - http://www.cie.org.uk/qualifications...igcse/overview

There is currently one main examining body for the iA:
Cambridge - http://www.cie.org.uk/qualifications...ppersec/alevel

Cambridge also run a Pre-University course, which can also be taken internationally - http://www.cie.org.uk/qualifications.../uppersec/preu
Plus the international AICE diploma - http://www.cie.org.uk/qualifications.../uppersec/aice

Now I don't want to comment on the Pre-U or AICE, simply because I haven't taught them.

Regarding the iGCSE and iA - they can actually be taught in the UK too. Many independent (private) schools here prefer to follow these courses for 2 reasons:
1) They believe these courses are more rigorous than the standard GCSE and A level courses.
2) They can be taken with a coursework option or non-coursework option, i.e. if a student is going to take the non-coursework option they take more exams in that subject instead of submitting coursework to the exam board (this is similar to the old 'O' level system).

(To confuse matters futher, Cambridge still offer 'O' levels to the international market; Edexcel are in the process of phasing theirs out)

Also the new UK government are now in the process of authorising Cambridge iGCSEs to be taught in state schools (though I'm led to believe not the Edexcel ones at this stage). Whether state schools choose to take them up or not depends on funding and, naturally, the courses themselves.

Now...the rest of this post is IMHO so please bear that in mind when reading this.....

From teaching both GCSE and iGCSE, A level and iA level I've made the following observations:

1) The 'international' courses are just that - they have a more international flavour to them - therefore course content has more international case studies to learn.

2) The international courses have far more units to learn, study and understand, in some cases several times the amount needed for UK standard courses.

3) The international courses are more complex, thus harder to pass and get good grades at (thus my comment earlier that they are seen as 'more rigorous'). Internationally this isn't an issue, as international education systems cannot offer the standard UK courses, so they will appreciate how difficult it is for a student to get a top grade. However, students who are only used to the standard GCSE courses *may* find the amount of knowledge they have to acquire to pass an iGCSE quite daunting - in other words, the iGCSE is definitely more difficult to pass (same for A level compared to iA level). However bright students seem to relish the challenging nature of the international exams - only you know if this sounds like your child.

4) The international exams give students more knowledge! Yes, following on from my point above, students who have followed the international exams are usually more prepared for University.

5) It is unlikely that UK state schools will choose to offer the international exams for anything other than the top sets, if at all. In my experience UK state schools are moving away from GCSEs in some subjects to offer 'easier' courses, which are officially recognised as 'equivalent' to GCSEs (but teachers know otherwise).

6) If you're planning to transfer your child to a school offering the international courses when you get to NZ then make sure you buy the books from Amazon before you go. Not only can your child begin their studies immediately but the books are much cheaper to buy here too!

Hope this helps and if you need any further info feel free to PM me

[ShineyPeople]

Hi ya....thank you so much for all of your advise it is greatly appreciated!! Everything is sooooo daunting at the mo not only trying to sort our employment out and applying but getting the timing of the move right... which part of NZ are you heading for?? and have you found employment??

Hi there, we will be heading either to Wellington or Nelson, we can live either side of the water as Matt has a job offer working on the Interislander Ferry. We are also very interested in Blenheim and rural Marlborough, but might have to wait until the kids have all grown up before we move out into the sticks! A year ago I felt just like you do, but it has all seemed to come together, the house selling, the job offer and the girls finishing their exams. Although there is suddenly a huge lot of stuff to do, in a way it is less stressful than the long wait and periods of doubt and uncertainty. I just kept looking at the forum, reading other people's experiences and thinking, "well if they can do it ..." Keep going - it will be worth it in the end!

[ShineyPeople]

Thanks Millieandme, I had a look at the Cambridge Schools in NZ, there doesn't seem to be one in the areas where we are looking to settle, but for other people this might be a good solution to the problem of moving older teens. Lara seems happy to go straight for Uni entrance, she is quite mature and did exceptionally well in her GCSEs and AS levels so I am not too worried (yet!)

[Super_BQ]

Interesting info Melack, does the Cambridge and Edexcel have any realtion to the course work done at Uni say in NZ and UK? All my schooling was done in Canada and while at uni, the coursework and requirements to finish a degree was nothing comparable to the uni studies here in NZ. For eg. All commerce degrees at my uni were 4 years while in NZ, 3 years is the common time frame to finish a degree.

I also found that uni professors from the US were a lot easier to score higher grades than the local Canadian profs. The level of demand was quite significant and i'm not sure if it was the local profs just wanted to drill us hard.

[Super_BQ]

Oh I should also add that I am totally unaware of any post uni-graduate school that would accept students direct from the highschool level in Canada. I found it odd how some of my cousins were able to go direct to medical school (like in Otago or Auckland) 1 or 2 years after finishing highschool. Whereas in Canada (or in the USA), entrance to medical and law school happens after finishing the undergrad degree at uni.