Left: ACS Cobham International School Right: ACS Hillingdon International School
The UK, along with many other EU member countries, has restructured its own qualifications framework in line with the EQF. As a general guide, those taking GCSEs with passes at grades D–G would sit within Level 1, Level 2 would include GCSE grades A*–C, AS and A Level, and the International Baccalaureate would be classified as Level 3. Level 6 would take in a bachelor’s degree, and Level 8 would represent those with a doctorate. UNESCO’s detailed breakdowns of international education systems and qualifications benchmarked against a similar structure to the EQF can be found at www.uis.unesco.org/Education/ISCEDMappings
While there are many resources to help guide families to a better understanding of what they may face when choosing a state education system in their overseas destination, there really is no substitute for discussing the specifics of the learning options with the schools and colleges themselves. “It is vitally important for families to discuss the specifics of curricular content with possible schools of choice,” says Elizabeth Sawyer. “And they should do this while also thinking about eventual repatriation or next relocation, so that their children may have some degree of continuity and as much ease as possible with transitions.”
