Moving to online school mid-year: Top tips from parents who’ve been there

The flexible enrolment we offer at King’s InterHigh means families can make the change and start a new online learning journey at any time of year. That being said, you’re not alone if you’re wondering what a mid-year move looks like — or if you’re curious about what you and your child’s new school can do to make that transition smooth and happy.

In our recent King’s InterHigh Voices: Parent Edition webinar, we shared insights from two parents who know the experience first-hand. Kalinka Petrova (whose daughter is in Year 4) and Dean Louw (whose son is in Year 9) both had completely different reasons for moving to online school mid-year, but each saw their children thrive through the transition. Fiona Henderson, our school’s Head of Administration, also joined the session to offer an inside look at how King’s InterHigh makes each family’s move a success.

Why move schools mid-year?

While the start of a new academic year may seem like the most logical time to move schools, there’s no reason why you can’t make a change at any other time.

In fact, in many cases, changing schools mid-year may be the best (or only) option for your child. From challenges at school to impromptu relocations, moving to a new school after September can be the key to support, stability, and success.

Kalinka’s story

In Kalinka’s case, the catalyst was an international move from South Africa to Bulgaria in January last year. With a sudden new language barrier to contend with, Kalinka knew that her daughter wouldn’t be able to join a local school. “Although she understands the language, she still cannot write or speak it,” Kalinka explained in the webinar, “and that would have put a stop to her education.”

So, a few months before the family’s relocation, Kalinka began considering online school — a pathway some of her daughter’s friends in South Africa were already pursuing. With flexible learning options and a supportive environment, Kalinka said, “I looked up a few options and just King’s InterHigh stood out.”

Dean’s story

Dean’s experience, meanwhile, highlights just how important the right school can be for students who need a personalised and supportive place to learn. His son, Roland, has ADHD, and he simply wasn’t thriving in mainstream education.

As Dean explained, “[Mainstream] senior school is quite a busy place. They haven’t always necessarily got the resources and time to put aside to understand kids who have got slightly different needs.” When Roland began experiencing persistent bullying at school and the situation became critical, the family decided they had to take control.

The support team in place had suggested a school for special educational needs, but the family didn’t feel it was the right environment for Roland’s requirements. After learning about online education through other family members’ experiences, Dean made the decision to join our King’s InterHigh community in early 2024.

What’s it like moving to King’s InterHigh?

Even when changing schools mid-year is the best decision, it can still feel daunting for parents and students alike. That’s why we’ve developed a comprehensive suite of support to help families through the transition, which Head of Administration Fiona Henderson explained more about in our webinar.

“We have to start with recognising that each family is going to come to us with a really unique set of reasons,” says Fiona. That’s why we make sure families can begin their online school journey with an in-depth conversation, where they can share all the information they need to about their circumstances and what they want to see their children gain at King’s InterHigh.

Our carefully designed induction process then makes sure each new student gets a warm welcome to our community — as well as our parents and caregivers. During your first few weeks with us, new families can expect tools and opportunities like:

• Walkthroughs for our school platforms and key apps
• The chance to ask any questions in mind before classes start
• A check-in with your child’s head of year
• A buddy system to match new students with a helpful friend
• Family liasion teams available for contact at any time
• Coffees with heads and lunchtime drop-ins

The same support goes for the academic side of joining a new school mid-year too — a particularly key consideration for students gearing up for their IGCSEs, A Levels, or IB Diploma.

New learners can catch up as and when they need to with access to all lesson recordings and learning materials from the year so far, available from the moment you join us. Students also get their own personalised learning pathway, and our team is always on hand to offer specific guidance to mid-year joiners. As Fiona emphasises to parents, “Don’t worry about knowledge gaps. Once your child settles in and they’re happy, they will rapidly begin to address those gaps and have the support to complete that.”

Tips and advice for mid-year moves

If you want to make the most of your child’s mid-year school move, who better to get advice from than the parents who’ve been in your shoes before? Here are three of Kalinka and Dean’s top insights on how they managed the transition smoothly.

1. Communicate openly

As the mother of a primary school student, Kalinka says the key to a successful transition is communication. “Keep communication open with your child,” she advises. “Explain to them exactly why you’re moving and what the benefits of online learning are.” This can be invaluable for young children, who may be nervous about new classes, teachers, and friends.

Kalinka also emphasises that social communication is crucial too, advising parents to keep in touch with their child’s in-person friends as well as their new online school buddies.

2. Set up environment and routine

For Kalinka’s family, creating the right environment was also a huge help on their new online school journey. This included setting up a routine, along with a balanced schedule that includes activities like hip-hop and gymnastics alongside classes.

Kalinka advises setting up a learning space in the house that’s dedicated to studying too. Fiona agrees, explaining that “making sure there’s a quiet space that’s maybe separate from other things” can help students get ‘in the zone’ when it’s time for class.

Dean also found that a new routine was helpful for his son Roland — in his case, swimming in the mornings before school. Alongside waking up his body, going outside made Roland feel like he was “going to school,” which helped ease the transition to a new way of learning.

3. Organise your way

Staying organised can be particularly helpful for students like Roland, as ADHD can make task management difficult. The key to keep in mind here is that every young person is different. Our King’s InterHigh platforms have built-in time management features, like a clear timetable and a list of pending assignments. Learn more about how we teach. For Dean and Roland, however, printing out a timetable and making a physical list of homework due dates also helped with structure.

Thriving at a new school

With the right support and strategies during the mid-year transition, both Kalinka and Dean’s children have flourished since joining King’s InterHigh.

In Roland’s case, the transformation was powerful: after struggling with anxiety and concentration in his previous school, he’s now thriving in the calm, inclusive school environment online learning brings him. “He’s able to sit through his cycle tests,” Dean says, “and he’s not only passing them, he’s actually doing really well in them. That in itself is motivating, seeing that he’s actually able to access his learning.”

Outside of academics, from Dean’s perspective, the impact on his wellbeing has been profound. Once a “ball of anxiety” going into school each day, Roland is now “calm, chilled, and relaxed.”

For Kalinka’s daughter, learning online has helped foster remarkable self-confidence and motivation. “She’ll sometimes come to me and say, ‘Mum, I completed this myself,’” Kalinka shares proudly. “The more she feels like she’s growing up and having that responsibility, she feels better about herself.” At the same time, alongside her learning, Kalinka’s daughter has become more tech-savvy and organised, already developing the skills that will one day take her to a bright future.