Switching curriculum: good moments and pitfalls

This article is for parents who are weighing a change of curriculum for their child because of a move or a change of school. It mainly covers moves between IB, British-style and American-style schools. One point up front: the notes behind this article give no official rule for the single best moment to switch. So instead of naming a date, we list what to check before you decide. Rules at schools and universities change often and differ from place to place, so confirm everything with the school and the official body.

Each programme has its own age band

Start with the IB bands. The PYP is for ages 3 to 12, the MYP for ages 11 to 16 and the CP for ages 16 to 19. Some ages overlap, so ask each school which programme it runs in which year.

The British side works differently. England's EYFS covers birth to 5, and many British-curriculum international schools use it for nursery and Reception. The national curriculum is organised into blocks of school years called key stages. Academies and private schools are not required to follow it. A school may use a British label and still differ in content. The GOV.UK page shows no publication date, so check it against current guidance.

Match the grade numbers first

The first problem in a switch is usually the year group. British schools count Reception and then Year 1. American schools count kindergarten and then Grade 1. So the same child is one number higher in the British system. UK Year 7 equals US Grade 6, which is Korean middle school year 1 by age.

Korea groups children by calendar year, January to December, and starts the school year in March. Children born September to December therefore often sit one grade apart from the UK or US. In the example from the notes, a child born January to August 2019 is in UK Year 2 from September 2025. In a US district with a 1 September cut-off the child is in Grade 1, and in Korea starts primary year 1 in March 2026. A child born in October 2019 is in UK Year 1, kindergarten in the same US district, and Korean primary year 1 in March 2026. Schools decide placement from birth date and prior schooling, so always confirm with the school.

For older students, look at course continuity

The IB Diploma (DP) draws subjects from six groups. Three or four are taken at Higher Level (HL) and the rest at Standard Level (SL). The IB gives 150 teaching hours for SL and 240 for HL. A required core is added: Theory of Knowledge, a 4,000-word Extended Essay and CAS. Knowing this structure helps you see what might not carry over in a mid-course move. The MYP has eight subject groups with at least 50 hours each per year. The CP, for ages 16 to 19, combines at least two DP courses with a four-part core and career-related study.

The American Foreign Service Association's journal (articles from 2015 and 2022) gives families some advice. This is guidance, not official rules.

• Check whether IB and AP are offered and the order of maths courses. The journal sees integrated maths as something that can complicate transfers.
• It says asking the overseas school to make course titles and descriptions match standard grade-level courses is the family's job.
• It reports that some districts read IB transcripts unfavourably and placed students below the expected grade.
• It notes that some districts treat passing British GCSEs as equivalent to a high school diploma, and advises investigating the consequences before graduation.

When the move falls mid-year

A posting or move often does not line up with the school calendar. The AFSA article says online or home-school programmes with rolling starts are an option in that case. Some high-school students consider boarding for continuity. International schools set their own admissions policies, so contact each school directly and complete its application. If your child needs learning support, ask whether it is offered, whether there is space and whether it will continue next year. Services can change when staff rotate.

The link to university admissions

Changing programme can change the records you have to submit. Here are two examples. Each is one university in one year, so do not assume they apply elsewhere.

• Korea University, 2027 admissions (Seoul campus): it recruited through an overseas-Korean track and a full-curriculum-abroad track. Online applications ran from 6 to 8 July 2026. Applicants could submit up to five certified scores, including language tests and standardised results such as AP, IB and SAT. Predicted scores were excluded.
• UBC, Canada: initial decisions for IB students are made on interim grades reported by the school, then confirmed with final IB results. First-year credit requires official results sent electronically from the IBO.

Checklist

• Have you confirmed the year-group system (British Year or American Grade) at both the current and the new school?
• Have you converted your child's birth date to the expected year group at the new school?
• Have you compared the subject lists of the current and new programmes side by side?
• Have you checked the order of maths courses and whether IB or AP is offered?
• Are you keeping report cards, textbook lists and syllabi at every move?
• Have you counted the time needed for application deadlines and paperwork, and started early?
• Have you checked the latest admissions guide of your target university for accepted records?
• Have you learned the conditions of any employer education allowance?

Ask the school

• Ask which year group our child would join based on birth date and prior schooling, and on what basis.
• Ask how previous courses and grades are recognised and which documents are needed.
• Ask whether the courses needed for graduation and university applications can be completed in the time left.
• If learning support is needed, ask whether it is offered, whether there is space and whether it will continue next year.
• Ask whether mid-year entry is possible and whether rolling-start options exist.