Education in non-SCE Schools Overseas
General Information
Education in Non-SCE Schools Overseas
In areas overseas where a SCE school is provided, parents whose children accompany them at post are expected to use that school. Link to SCE schools page.
In Extra Command Areas (ECAs) and Isolated Detachments (ISODETs) overseas, it is unlikely that there will be an SCE school provided. In such circumstances, it is important to obtain the best possible advice on the educational options available. Useful information may be obtained from the person who is being replaced at post or the Commanding Officer of the receiving unit, but in every case the advice of the Children’s Education Advisory Service (CEAS) should be sought.
Personnel posted to the United States should are advised to also contact the Community Liaison Officer (CLO) and Head of Defence Administration Personal Services at the British Embassy, Washington, BFPO 2.
Local non-SCE schools
One of the options available to parents is the use of local schools. These may be state schools, to which pupils are admitted free of charge, or they may be independent fee-paying schools where the teaching language is English. In the latter case, necessarily incurred school fees will be reimbursed, Link to JSP information.
Local provision will almost certainly not follow the National Curriculum taught in schools in the UK. Some subjects, such as religious education (which is a compulsory subject in the National Curriculum), will possibly not appear at all, whilst in others the syllabus, teaching approach or coverage may be very different. In addition, National Curriculum assessments and tests will not be carried out at the end of each Key Stage.
A further difference is that, in many locations, children do not begin formal schooling until they are six or seven years old. The extent to which these differences will prove to be disadvantageous will depend on a number of factors, not the least of which is the age of the child. Many parents of children in the primary school age group would take the view that the benefits of experiencing education and life in a foreign country outweigh any disadvantage that their sons and daughters might encounter on re-entering the British system of education.
Secondary Education
At the secondary stage the picture changes somewhat, as schools outside the UK work towards different examinations and qualifications. Parents who are about to be posted to an ECA or ISODET should always be prepared to consider the option of sending their older children to a boarding school in the UK, where they can be assured of following a curriculum leading to GCSEs and A Levels (or similar in Scotland and Northern Ireland).
The potential difficulties that await a child, who is in the middle of an examination course, transferring back to the UK from the education system of another country, cannot be overstated. For this reason, boarding (either in the UK or at an SCE school) should be seriously considered for children who would otherwise be returning to the British system aged fourteen or more. Even the parents of a thirteen-year-old in the final year of Key Stage 3 would be well advised to ensure that their child was settled in a UK (or SCE) school.
Children in Germany – including Antwerp - will be expected to make use of the boarding facilities that exist at SCE secondary schools.
In a number of ECAs and ISODETs there are no local schools where the language of instruction is English, in which case assistance is given towards the cost of learning the local language.
Updated: 6/06/07
