ohippy

n those areas the state schools would be Mandurah and North Mandurah - not great schools I'm afraid

sunny side

Thanks for that.

Also the suburbs Lakelands and Meadow Springs in Mandurah? Are these good areas? Schools in these areas - are they good?

thanks

Mari

Jacqui

Lakelands & Meadow Springs are both good suburbs, many new streets popping up all the time. Good for access to Perth (being north of Mandurah). Good for access to college, high school & university. Brilliant location for private schools - walking distance or short car/bus ride to the new Mandurah Baptist school or Frederick Irwin Anglican school, primary and secondary levels at both schools. Primary schools not brilliant wherever you live in Mandurah compared to good rated schools in UK, doesn't help that they remain "primary" kids until year 7.

We lived in Halls Head at first as that seems to be where all the Poms are advised to go, for low crime reasons etc. There was crime in our street, hoons driving up and down at all hours, nuisance neighbours, break-ins etc even with the local detective living opposite us. In our 6 years living here, some of the nicest people I've met come from Greenfields and Dudley Park, so I'm loathe to say you should definitely live in some areas, or definitely avoid others.

telpen

Hi we lived in Falcon for a year but came back.just about to ping pong to Mandurah again.
Our kids went to Falcon primary one of the nicests schools kids could go to with an excellent reputation.
Our eldest went to Halls Heads midddle school not brilliant but ok.
The private schools are great but the waiting lists can be long ours havr been down for Freddies for ever (frederick irwin)
Greenfields just looks a bit run down in places not bad but i would not want to live there Lakelands,meadowsprings is nice But i do like Halls Head which has a good primary aswell
hope this helps a bit.

Jacqui

If your kids have been to a half-decent school in UK, I seriously suggest you consider private here. The fees are subsidised by the government so not quite so scary but we find discipline & uniform lacking in state schools here, and standards lower. The state schools always have much lower results in the league tables and it's a subject of much debate each year when they are published. If you can't afford private, look first at Mandurah Senior College which is situated on the university campus in Greenfields. As for private schools, they're all much the same, there are two in Greenfields but none have been built yet in Lakelands/Meadow Springs area - but the socio-economics of this area are such that many kids here attend the newly-built private school or other private schools in the area. Schooling to year 12 is compulsory from 2009 onwards, by the way, unless the child has a job leading to a significant career path or an apprenticeship. Yet in Halls Head they go and build a secondary school which only goes up to year 10! Halls Head is densely populated and the schools are overcrowded so it's good to see you're not following the herd and heading there.

You asked about "leafy suburbs" on one thread. In Greenfields there is an area referred to by the locals as "Country Roads". There are lots of properties on half acre blocks but all blocks have been built on so it's an established area (how important is shiny & new to you?). It's well located for all facilities, shops, schools, uni, hospital & other medical, plus bus route & only 10 minutes to CBD and train station. If you're willing to look a bit further out, 5 acre properties at Parklands and Stake Hill are just another 5 minutes up the road. Rural living without being miles from anywhere. Lovely and peaceful, with easy access to new freeway being built. This is where we live, only drawback is having to drive the kids everywhere, but my eldest is now driving so that makes life easier. All our visitors comment on how lovely and quiet it is around here. We've enough distance from the freeway for it not to cause a sound nuisance, I hope! Looking even further out (20 or 30 minutes drive from Mandurah CBD) are new suburbs springing up in the Murray shire, such as Ravenswood and Pinjarra. There is a new shopping centre in Pinjarra and industrial areas in development and because of new freeway access, this is an area many people are looking at - especially those who have already lived on the coast and are fed up of the wind, salt and sand!

Don't rush to buy your first place when you get here. Rent first and get a feel for the place. Difficult to spend too much time being choosy with having kids that need to get in to school I know, but don't forget the school year doesn't start until 2nd February 2009, so if you arrive in January you have some time to look around and get settled before thinking about school. Do you have relatives you could stay with? You may need to start looking now for temporary accommodation upon first arrival if you are planning on staying in a hotel or holiday home, because this will be peak holiday season.

SalSa

I really like the Country Roads part of Greenfields and also Lakes Road. If we win the lotto, we'll move over there or Stakehill
We were told be a lady in a realestate agents to 'avoid' Greenfields and Dudley Park and go to Halls Head instead but our eldest two would have struggled for school so we ended up at Secret Harbour.
As it turned out, my 15 yr old got into the Soccer Academy at Safety Bay Senior High and that would have been a long bus ride home to Halls Head!
As from Feb 2009, Comet Bay College will be open for yrs 11 & 12

bluekipper

Really! mmmm

thankyou but no thanks

northernbird

There you go then. Help was offered, you have cut your nose off to spite your face. Hope you find what you are looking for elsewhere bluekipper.

SalSa

Don't know why you jumped on bluekipper's back like that....i found your previous post below the belt too

northernbird

I don't care what you think. Your opinion and mine are different, thats life.

ohippy

I have friends who live in both those suburbs and love it there. If you work north of Mandurah they are especially good as it takes me about 10/15 mins to cross Mandurah. The state schools are the same though - Mandurah and North Mandurah. North of Mandurah these are the only state schools until you get to Secret Harbour. South of Mandurah you have (state schools) 3 primary in Halls Head, none of which are overcrowded due to the new school, then Falcon, Ocean Road etc

As I have said before, the state primary schools south of Mandurah and Secret Harbour have all got good reps but state high schools are not great.

The other thing you need to watch out for are the mossies, round the estuary (eg Erskine, Pleasant Grove, canal homes) they are really bad and Stakehill and Parklands are also bad.

sunny side

Hi,

thank you all so much. I heard that State schools dont have waiting lists like private schools. We would prefer areas with good reputations.

What are the Primary & High schools in S. mandurah? Any websites to contact them? I hope its not too early!!!!

i looked up the real estate pages and most of the houses are to let from July 08 - couldnt really find any from jan 09. May i should just email them and ask. I have not had time to look through all the pages though, will do so this weekend.

Thank you again for the very useful info.

Mari

PS: I have tried to send and reply PMs but couldn't send - anyone else facing the same problem?

ohippy

The three primary schools in Halls Head are : Glencoe, Halls Head Primary and South Halls Head, in Falcon/ Bouvard/Dawesville you have Falcon and Ocean Road. You can't register until you actually get here as they are all very hot on catchment areas and require a copy of a utilities bill or lease showing your current address.

The state high schools are Coodanup (very bad rep) and Halls Head Community (mixed rep).

There is a high turn over of rentals and you won't find many real estate agents willing to help until you are actually here, there are generally quite a few available though, you just have to be quick !

As for the private schools, I registered my two shortly after arriving to keep our options open and my eldest got a place at Frederick Urwins from Feb when she'll be in year 8, they go by school reports and an interview for places although once you get one in the others automatically get places. So it's never to late to register.

SalSa

I keep meaning to put my daughter's name down for freddie's and i pass the school everyday

How are you anyway H? Haven't seen you in ages!

bigmac31

Hi we used to live in the Mandurah area for a year but moved north as we couldn't stand the mozzies. They drove us crazy. That wasn't the only reason though.
Anyway we lived in the Halls Head area and we did like it but wasn't too keen on the school there. We do have friends there who swear by the school but everyones different.
We wouldn't of moved to greenfields though as at the time there was a lot of bad publicity about it, probably on what it looked like.
I do find mandurah to be very dated and we just wanted to go somewhere were it was more modern. Also with mandurah if you wanted to go to the city it would take you about a good hours drive but the train would get you there a lot faster. We did find there to be a few more older people (sorry) and it was a little bit more expensive as it is a tourist area where people come there for a holiday. The foreshore can get quite rough with the teenagers on public holiday and special events. As for jobs there probably would be some jobs for brickies building houses in mandurah but that was over a year ago now and they would most likely have to travel a lot further for work.
Overall it is an okay place but i'm just glad we moved further afield. Hope this has helped anyone who's reading this.