Hang on to your hat...its going to be a bumpy wild ride!

It has been 5 weeks since we arrived in the United Kingdom. In this time, I have learned many things. Tea is a great example.  It is not just a drink. It is a meal.  I found this out this week when I signed my youngest up for tea during her after school activities.  I asked her how her snack was and she tells me that there is no snack, but that she could stay for dinner afterwards. She was starving. I will be sending snack from now on.

But, of all the things I have learned over the past month, nothing compares to driving in England. On the opposite side of the road. On double and triple lane roundabouts. In a right handed drive car.

The driving on the opposite side of the road was the easy part as was driving to/from work.  But, this past week, shit got real.

As some of you know, we got our start here with a bang.  One day after arriving in England from Calais, a teen driver rear ended us while we were stopped at a light.  Since we were flying home the following day for our home leave, we squared things away with our insurance to contact them when we returned.

Welcome to England...

Last week, they picked the car up from our house and left us with a rental. I had no plans of driving this right handed drive, semi-automatic vehicle. But, with my better half very busy at work and my youngest starting after school activities, I had no choice.

My first day was the most harrowing of all.  Driving a right hand drive car, when you have always driven a left hand drive, feels unnatural.  I had to try to focus not only on staying in my lane, but also staying on the road and not brushing up alongside the hedges and trees lining the road and risking falling into a ditch. But that was the least of my problems.

I had to get my youngest at her first horse riding lesson. Nothing gives you more confidence than an email with directions from the school that says "entering the post code into your Sat Nav (GPS) will take you past the location."  The Sat Nav is a way of life here.  Every car has one because post codes is how you find an address.  Google Maps and Waze that found the exact location without issue. The problem was getting there.

Why?  Because you may be plodding along a normal road and then the directions take you onto a single track road.  Read: off road. No I idea what I mean.  Take a look:

Beautiful and horrifying at once!

Looks nice with all the greenery.  But this is a two way road that is one lane.  This is one of the nicer ones.  There is no speed limit on these roads.  You would think this would mean people would drive slowly.  But no.  This is how they drive:

Did I mention that these roads have inclines and sharp turns?  If you are driving uphill, you have no idea if anyone is coming down the the other end until you get over the hump or hit someone head on.  We are in the middle of nowhere so there are no street lights. That said, I prefer driving at night because at least I can see if someone is coming via their headlights. Don't get me started on the one way stone bridges.

Then, we have the villages that dot the landscape.  Lovely little places where every house looks like this:

Some look even lovelier with red ivy on their stone walls.

But to get to this road, you have to make your way through this one:

A one lane road through the village.

To deal with these things, they have something called a traffic easing measure which comes in two forms.

Traffic frustrating measure #1.

When you see this on your side of the road, you have to stop and give way/yield to traffic from the opposite side.  The other one is a sign pictured here:

Give way to oncoming traffic.

This is a wonderful idea in principle considering that villages preceded roads and most roads are narrow one way roads.  The problem is that sometimes you have the right of way and can't see the other traffic and they can't see you.  It is a crapshoot that usually ends with one vehicle having to back up or pulling over if possible -  there may be nowhere to pull over when you are stuck between two stone buildings. The nice thing is that in these circumstances, drivers are very patient and more often than not, they let you pass and wave at you.

But it all leads to a muscle tensing wild ride.  I overheard my daughter telling my husband "You should have seen mom today when the Tesco truck kept driving at her on the one lane road.  She kept saying "Really Tesco, really?"  She thinks its real funny. 

But nothing is more horrifying than encountering a double or triple lane roundabout.  This infographic from Gov.uk says it all:

Take a look at the green and blue cars at your bottom left.

Sometimes the road you need to get on is listed in one of the lanes and you just queue and look right before entering. But sometimes there is no guidance.  Last week, after taking a deep breath and doing the sign of the cross, I went in and came out the other end.  Roundabouts are a blessing and a curse.  What I have realized is that because there are so few traffic lights, traffic keeps moving.  This is great, but exhausting.  If you are driving for an hour, for example, you have no breaks.  You are driving non stop which makes trips of more than a few hours pretty tiring.

I dread the day I come upon the Magic Roundabout pictured here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)

There is a reason why the Satanic cult symbol (and coincidentally, the Pentagon) is the pentagram.  Those are five circles of hell that I don't ever want to encounter.

In case you are wondering, the village and single track road pics were taken while I was a passenger in the vehicle since you are not allowed to eat, drink coffee, or anything else deemed to be distracting while driving.  And that is probably the best thing about driving here. 

Things that don't cease and crease

I am pretty sure I spent three years of my life in Vienna doing laundry incorrectly. 

So we arrive in England and I am thrilled to see timed washes like a 30 minute quick load and an hour daily load. This made me happy until last week when I had to wash all the kids uniforms.

For one, clothing labels here give you temperature readings for what temperature you should wash something. In Celsius. Fair enough since this is not new to me and the temp is 40* for most items. But, the uniforms have special instructions like "do not use fabric softener" or "tumble dry at low heat" or not at all. The first one is easy, but that second one is tough. You see dryers in Europe have instructions that look like this:

Does it say "low heat" anywhere? WTF is bone dry and cupboard dry? In Vienna, it was the same but it was German and laundry would take 8 hours to finish because even on the extra dry setting, it would not be dry. I just want plain dry. 

I hate laundry (and most things domestic) because they never cease. No matter how much laundry you do, there is more waiting hours later.  Now, I am being forced to break my (bad) procrastination habit of leaving laundry in the dryer because ironing school shirts is worse than folding laundry. So I wait for the beep and run to hang them up ASAP. 

Then, we have the kilt and trousers which are wool so you can wash them but can't dry them in a dryer. Wool finish doesn't dry them but makes you feel better because you tried. 

Yesterday, I washed the boy's trousers (not pants because that means underwear here - although I did wash those too) and hung them on my laundry tripod. Tonight, I go to gather uniforms so he can take them upstairs and they were still damp almost 24 hours later. 

They are hanging on the radiator now and will be forever after.

British School Life

The kids started school last week.  The learning curve has been steep for all of us. When the kids attended international schools in Warsaw and Vienna, the curriculum and school day was very similar to that of the US schools.  It was not too difficult to get oriented.  But, this is not an international school.  While some international students board here, the majority of the school is British and the system is a bit different than in the US.

Junior School (Elementary School)

My youngest has it the easiest although she may say otherwise.  Her school has a Junior School that runs until Year 6 which is 5th grade.  Her school is similar to her previous school in that there is a similar routine. However, despite the common language, there are many different words they use which has her (and me) confused most of the time. 

There are also at least three clothing changes per day.  She leaves here in her uniform - a tartan kilt, blue blouse and cardigan - then she changes into her sports kit which they use for Games.  Games seems to be like PE here.  She is learning to play Rounders and Netball.  I wish I could explain it to you, but I have no idea what these games are.  They are definitely not basketball.  Then, there is a change into her swimming "costume" as they call it which includes her swimsuit and swim cap.  

The school day is much longer here.  She starts at 8:30 and is not finished until 4:30.  But there are some great perks to this Junior school. Students who are interested in music get to choose an instrument and have lessons within the school day.  She decided not to continue violin and opted to resume piano lessons and join the school choir. Further, all after school activities are free of charge except horse riding and tea (afternoon snack).  She signed up for horse riding and dance. Twice per week she stays for prep. Prep is what they refer to as homework.  You are "prepping" for the next days lesson. The activities extend her day further to either 5:30 or 6:15 depending on the activity. 

Senior School (Middle and High School)

Entering the Senior School is a big leap.  Some schools,like the one my youngest attends, have a senior school as well.  Kids just transition over.  

My oldest started the equivalent of 8th grade (Year 9) at a different school. His is only a Senior School and we chose it because we were impressed by what they offered and it is very close to our house which helps with those late nights. One of the big changes for him is the addition of Saturday lessons.  But as he is realizing, he has more free time for homework and activities because of Saturday school.  

He starts school at 8:30 as well, but his school day does not end until 6pm or 9pm depending on whether he stays at school to complete prep. He leaves for school in his charcoal trousers, white shirt, house tie, black blazer and dress shoes with his backpack and computer briefcase.  He looks like he is going to work rather than school.  In my opinion, he looks amazing and handsome. Here's hoping that we break the athletic short habit!

His day starts with a check in at his house.  Every student, day pupil or boarder, is assigned a house. This is very similar to Hogwarts, but without the sorting hat.  Houses compete against each other similar to Hogwarts as well.

He is a day pupil, but he has the option to board during the week if he wants to.  He has a captains bed assigned to him with drawers where he can unpack the plethora of clothing he has to change in and out of during the week.  There are rugby shirts, rugby shorts, tennis shorts, polo shirts, at least 4 pairs of shoes and a track suit. He brings everything to school on Monday and brings it home Saturday for laundry.  

The biggest shock to me when I saw his schedule were the classes he was taking.  I don't know about you, but when I was in high school, I took biology in 10th grade, chemistry in 11th and physics in 12th.  My son is taking all three of these subjects at the same time.  He is also taking Spanish, French, Theology, Textiles, cooking, digital literacy, history, geography, along with the usual English, Maths (that is how they refer to math which is more anxiety inducing when in plural) and PE. His school has a rotating schedule with alternate weeks A and B.  He typically has 3-4 lessons per day and then he has his saxophone lesson, wind orchestra or jazz band, rugby, and a rotating activity.  This week, it was Shakespeare on film.  He watched Henry V. Saturdays he has 3 lessons and then spends the afternoon playing rugby games until 4pm.

While his day is long and he was very overwhelmed last week with all the information and changes, this week has been smooth sailing.  He likes that free time is built in to his schedule for him to chill at his house or complete homework in the library or anywhere on campus.  His schedule resembles a college schedule.

He was also very happy to report that the other kids tell him that he is "clever" because he knew things like cell biology, energy, and more Spanish than they initially thought.  In fact, they put him in beginner Spanish and they noticed the first day when he was responding to questions in Spanish that he belonged in the advanced class.  

First day jitters aside, they both did very well considering all the changes and are settling into their routines.

The British Education System

I know some of your are curious about the British education system.  Below are some observations and things I learned this past week.

Key Stages and Forms

Grade levels go from Reception (pre-school) to Year 13.  These grade levels fit into Key Stages I-V. Within each Key Stage, there are Forms.   For example, my youngest is Year 5, which is Key Stage II, Third Form.  The oldest is in Year 9, which is Key Stage III, Third Form.

GCSE's and A Levels

When students get to the equivalent of 10th grade (Year 11), they are required to take the GCSE Exam.  GCSE stand for General Certificate of Secondary Education.  Think the Owl exams that Harry Potter and friends had to take for future prospects at the Ministry of Magic.  If you pass the 5 core subjects on the GCSE, you can continue on to Sixth Form and the eventual GCSE Advanced or A-Level Exams required for entrance into university (like a the SATs in the U.S.).  If you do not pass your GCSE's, you can retake them or you can accept the results and look into other options like technical college, an apprenticeship or a trainee program. Of note, employers here look at potential employees GCSE scores.  This is a very big deal here.  It is on par with the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma.

Quality of Education

All I can say is that the curriculum here is rigorous and far more advanced than in the U.S.  These kids focus on their studies.  It's not cool to flunk tests and not turn in assignments.  I joke with my oldest that if we return to the U.S. for his last two years of high school he will have it very easy.

Character Education/Religious Education.

Schools have lessons called Personal and Social Health Education and Citizenship Programme. These lessons are like health class in that it teaches students to make healthy choices in life.  

The majority of schools in the UK are Church of England schools.  However, there are other protestant denominations here as well as Catholic schools.  My oldest attends a Church of England school.  He attends chapel on Friday evenings.  He also takes Theology.  My youngest attends a Quaker school.  They have Meetings of Worship at the start of the week and at the end of the week.  I knew nothing about any of these religions, but I like what I have read thus far. 

Parental Involvement

There is a hands off approach for parents in the UK.  There are equivalents to PTA or PTOs here, but they take on more of a fundraising role.  Parent teacher conferences are rare, but when they do happen, you get to chat with the teacher over a glass of wine. There is no volunteering in the classroom. 

Uniforms

There is a uniform and shoe for everything and these kids spend at least an hour of their free time dressing themselves in/out proper attire for lessons, sports, swimming etc.  In my son's senior school, laundry is done once per week and the House Matron sends a reminder to students to bring clothes to her for laundering.  It is wonderful in the sense that we do not spend time every morning figuring out what they should wear, but there is a lot of laundry and, even worse, ironing. Whether public or private, all kids here where uniforms unless they are in sixth form where business attire is expected. They all look sharp and smart at the bus stops throughout our area.

Social Life

There is no tolerance for bullying here.  I am not saying that it doesn't happen, but it is not acceptable. Cyberbullying in particular is against the law and can be prosecuted.  My oldest noticed that the popular kids were very welcoming and inclusive to him.  He reports feeling very at ease not just with Third Form students, but even with the Sixth Form (11th-12th grade) students. 

Sports and Activities

While these are optional in the Junior School, sports and activities are compulsory in the Senior School.  There are activity options to choose from, but sports are offered by season.  They play rugby in the fall, field hockey in the winter/spring and cricket in the summer.  There are activities like clay shooting and fencing, music ensembles, and clubs to join. With the exception of music lessons, horse riding and afternoon tea (snack), activities and sports are free of charge.

Since some schools like ours are also boarding schools, activities are planned on Sundays too.  Day pupils are allowed to participate if they wish.  

Half Terms and End of Term

School days are long and therefore, there is more vacation time than what many of us are used to.  As I previously mentioned in another post, schools here have three terms.  Public schools tend to refer to these as Autumn, Spring, and Summer Terms while Independent (i.e. private schools) tend to refer to them with a more religious connotation: Michaelmas term (derived from the Feast of St. Michael on 29 September) runs until December, Lent term runs from January to the end of March, and Trinity term runs from mid April to July.  

In between these terms, they have half term holidays.  These occur three times per year and range from one week off to up to four weeks off. My kids will have nearly three weeks off for October's half term, almost four weeks for Christmas end of term, a week off in February for ski week half term, almost 4 weeks off for the Lent end of term, another week off for the Trinity/Summer Term in May and two months of summer vacation.  It is very challenging for working parents to juggle all the school holidays here.

That's the British Education System in a nutshell based on my experience so far.  Hope it answers any questions you may have.  If not, please ask your questions in the comment section.