19 yr old Student in UK

[lcassey]

Hi there first post bit of an odd rambling one but here goes!

My half sister is an 18 yr old Filipina and was living in manila with my estranged father and her mother.

He died recently leaving them penniless and homeless. He had never applied for her british citizenship. SO my brother and I went over there, managed to get all the docs together, left her mother some money and managed to get her a British Passport (that was a drama, I have never known a more corrupt incompetant or slow organisation as the Philippine National Office where we had to get her birth certs etc!)

Anyway she is now in the UK spending her time living with my brother and I (we have her alternate weeks)

Her English is not great but passable and she obviously wants to do something with her life! We have tried to get her into local colleges to do the basics GCSE's but we are being told that because she is 19 in August she is too old to enrol on free courses for education unless she is claiming Jobseekers Allowance. Obviously once she claims that (and we really dont want to claim it as none of our family has ever claimed benfits and dont believe in 'scrounging off the state') then surely she would be obliged to look for work when really she needs a basic education first!

I just wondered if anyone had any useful advice as we are banging our head against a brick wall here with Citizens advice bureau and the colleges themselves all saying she has to wait until next year to enrol as registrations have to be in on 31st Aug and she is over 19 by then! and only then if she is on Jobseekers Allowance!

She doesnt want to sit around for a whole year here with no real friends over here apart from us a family she barely knows when really she should be mixing and being educated with people her own age to start to make friends over here and get a better grasp of the language and culture!

Obviously we are trying to help her integrate and improve her language but we both work full time and have young families ourself so is very difficult to be with her 24/7 so she ends up spending a lot of time just sat in her room being miserable when we are out at work etc!

Any suggestions welcome!

[grahamw48]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

You don't say what part of the country you're living in, but there are Filipino 'clubs' in most cities.
Perhaps you could contact someone there so that your half-sister can have a chat with some people from her own background, maybe meet up for coffee locally, etc.

I'm sure there will be female members on this forum who would be happy to do likewise.

I think a few social contacts like this at first, just to make her feel more at home here would be useful, before jumping straight into study or work amongst a lot of strangers in a strange environment. She is quite vulnerable too during these early days.

There may also be Filipinas in your area, close to her age who have lived here for many years, and have experienced this transition from one culture to another Some of the members on the forum here will have children and step-children who have come to the UK as dependants as a result of UK/Phils marriages
(such as myself).

[joebloggs]

Her English is not great but passable and she obviously wants to do something with her life! We have tried to get her ito local colleges to do the basics GCSE's but we are being told that because she is 19 in August she is too old to enrol on free courses for education unless she is claiming Jobseekers Allowance. Obviously once she claims that (and we really dont want to claim it as none of our family has ever claimed benfits and dont believe in 'scrounging off the state') then surely she would be obliged to look for work when really she needs a basic education first!

'scrounging off the state' many people who scrounge off the state were tax payers, if you can't claim it whats the point of paying taxes?, she will be a tax payer soon, so i dont see a problem with her claiming JA so she can get more qualifications..

many free intro courses (6wk ones) at colleges, or even try some http://www.bbc.co.uk/learning/onlinecourses/

[scott&ligaya]

good morning, where are you in the Uk? I may have an idea for you to consider

[worthingmale]

She could volunteer at a local charity, that way she would be going out and doing somethiing.

Interacting with good genuine people and practising her English.

[Arthur Little]

You've had some good advice here ... so, at present, there isn't really anything I can add to what's already been said. However, to the friendly, online filipino/uk community. I hope your half-sister will soon overcome her feelings of isolation. ... perhaps she might even consider joining you as a member of this site. In any event, we're here to help ... and if you feel we can be of further assistance, then please don't hesitate to contact us.