Prom Season

OK so it's nto quite Prom season yet, but it will be upon us soon.
Did you know that Prom is something that now happens over here in the UK?  It's true.

My son is in his last year of compulsory school and will be attending Prom this summer.  Choosing the right outfit is important for these events.



We're blessed in that my son actually wears the same size clothes as my dad, who happens to have a tuxedo! Smart black trousers, white tux jacket, awesome white shirt AND he'll sort out some cufflinks to go with the shirt.  My son wants to personalise his look just a little bit and we can easily do that with some new shoes AND an awesome bowtie!  Will he choose a tie that grabs attention or one that lets him sink into the background a bit?  Who knows, but I doubt it will take him as long to decide as some of the girls going to Prom will spend over their outfits.

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Growing up - Moving on

When did I get this old?  Huh?  When did I get old enough to have a child leaving home?

Yes, I am now of that age.  Our eldest left last weekend to start a 12 month internship at a church that is about 2 1/2 hours drive away.  Now I know that to my American that isn't a long journey at all, but it's a big deal for us in our little country.

As we were getting ready for him to go, people were asking me how I was, how I was feeling.  I'll be honest.  I was actually looking forward to this!  It was quite simply time!  Time for him to take this step, time for me to therefore get a bit of space back, both physically and mentally.   Do I worry about him?  Worry is the wrong word.  I have concerns about him but I know that he is in God's hands and that he is safe there.  I know that he needed to do this that he needed to step onward into the great future that God has for him.

I've always considered him to be a bit of a shy young man but my husband (who took him down) says that when he was dropping son off he watched as son walked up to the other intern, introduced himself and asked where she was from.  I've never seen him do anything like that before and I truly believe that being away from here, and his history here and any issues with here, in a new place is a good thing.  He can be the person he was always meant to be, not the person that those around him are expecting him to be!  Onward and upward son, but I do miss you!

Be blessed, you are an awesome young man!

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English Schooling

Here we go, seems I confused people with my description of schooling and college, etc yesterday.

Children start school the September or January just before they turn 5 years old.
Their first class will be a RECEPTION CLASS.

After this the school year finishes in the middle of July and re starts at the beginning of September.
Many children will have attended play groups and nurseries before they start school but these are not considered compulsory education.

Reception, Year 1 and year 2 are considered to be Key Stage 1 (so from the school year in which they become 5 to the school year in which they become 7).
Years, 3 through 6 are Key Stage 2 (so from the school year in which they become 8 to the school year in which they become 11).

In some areas Key Stage 1 is done at an INFANT school and Key Stage 2 at a JUNIOR school, but in most areas these days the two are combined in a PRIMARY school.

At the age of 11 they begin Key Stage 3, which is done at a SECONDARY school. Secondary school has 5 years (7 to 11) split into 2 Key Stages.
Key Stage 3 is years 7 to 9, (so from the school year in which they become 12 to the school year in which they become 14).
Key Stage 4 is years 10 and 11, (so from the school year in which they become 15 to the school year in which they become 16).

Key Stage 4 is when you study for the first level of qualifications, called GCSE's ( in my time they were GCE's and CSE's, but that's another story). There are now a number of different courses offered alongside GCSE's for the less academically minded students.

Compulsory education ends on the last Friday in June, of the school year in which s/he reaches the age of 16. This means that some children do indeed legally leave school without ever finishing their courses and gaining any qualifications.

Any education after this is OPTIONAL
Some SECONDARY schools have 6th form units, in other areas 6th form is done at a separate site, known as a 6th form college.
There are two years of 6th form, lower 6th and upper 6th. Most students at 6th form will be taking A-Levels, although again there are less academic courses such as B-Tecs. 6th form can also be used to retake any GCSE's etc that you didn't do well in. You can spend more than 2 years at 6th form if you need to and can find yourself in a odd situation like my eldest where because he did well in two of his subjects but not so well in the other two and decided to retake the first year of one and start a different subject from the start instead of the other, he is an upper 6th for half and a lower 6th for half.

After A levels if you wish to continue on in education you would attempt to get into a UNIVERSITY, where you would study for a degree in your chosen subject.

To make matters a little more confusing, many 6th form colleges are actually community colleges and offer many many different courses as well as the A levels, from cake decorating to part time degrees (which are issued through a relevant university).

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