If you have school-aged children, when you get to England, you'll have to decide whether to put them in British or American schools. There are two DoD elementary schools here - one at RAF Lakenheath and one at RAF Feltwell (about 20 minutes from RAF Mildenhall). There is one middle school (Lakenheath Middle School) located on RAF Feltwell (I know, it's confusing) and one high school, located on RAF Lakenheath. There are no schools on RAF Mildenhall. But don't fret, buses run and will pick up your child if they attend one of these schools. Here are some links:
Both of my kids (ages 5 and 9) attend British school. We have really had a wonderfully positive experience with the British school system. If you want your child to attend British school, you will have to contact your local school council and apply for a spot in the school for your child.
Here are the county council websites:
If your child will be attending a British school, you can check out the school's Ofsted rating at http://www.ofsted.co.uk. (Again, thanks, Sam!)
Makse sure you check the schools Ofsted standing before sending your child. Go to www.ofsted.gov.uk click on inspection reports. In the Uk schools are ranked as Grade 1: Outstanding, Grade 2: Good, Grade 3: Satisfactory, Grade 4: Unsatisfactory. Make sure you read through the report as they are all very different. The only school I have found with a 4 grade so far has been Busy Bees (Health and safety!)Shoot me an e-mail if you want any info on schools, esp as applications for next September have to be in By Dec 4th Camridgeshire and january for Suffolk!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sam! I completely forgot about the Ofsted ratings.
ReplyDeleteThe latest Ofsted report for Busy Bees, dated 14 Sep 2009 gives them all 1s and 2s (Outstanding and Good)so any issues with health and safety seem to have been resolved now. My son attended Busy Bees and loved it!
ReplyDeleteTheir new report was much better, if you fail an inspection you have to be inspected within the year and thankfully they corrected all their issues. It was the Nov 2008 report that they failed. If you or anyone else are interested in a Montessori School Cherry Trees in Risby (20min from Mildenhall) is a really great school.
ReplyDeleteNice blog posting
ReplyDeleteBook online bus ticket from Redbus