My husband came in February 2006. He said there were spots for our two kids in a school and they had to take placement tests. In the US, a placement test means a test to place you in the correct level-honor level, basic level, etc. Our residency visas were finalized in late July, we arrived in mid-August. Well, apparently it turns out that in Britain a placement test is an entrance test. Neither of our kids passed the exam and were told to shove off. So there we sat, thinking everything was all set up only to find ourselves on the curb. After a desperate week of phone calls, we got them into a school but only by the grace of God.

The search for schools must really begin in earnest by February.