smvh

can anyone give me any info on public versus private schools.... fees etc.

old.sparkles

Hi smvh - I've moved this to the main forum as it's not really about visas and immigration. I can't help with schools but hopefully someone will be able to

Bermudashorts

I think you might need to be a bit more specific with your questions to get good advice. On what you have said, I think the only comment could be that private will cost more....

carolinephillips

What specifically are you looking for?

Cost, rankings, size, location, subjects offered, single-sex, co-ed????

Look at My Schools or the government website for basic information, but remember rankings are not everything, and they have been massaged/skewed by not taking into account the IB results, only the HSC, so some schools lose out as many of their bright pupils do the IB.

h2oskineil

Hi Ya

You can research various schools here and then ask specific questions about the school in the area you want to live etc.

http://www.myschool.edu.au

Cheers
Neil.

paddyo

Sooooo.......HSC versus IB......discuss

carolinephillips

IB is a worldwide accepted diploma, and a very good grounding for the way students are expected to work at uni. It is a lot of work over 2 years, but develops a well rounded critical thinker............hang on........



Were you being serious here?

paddyo

I'm being mischevious Caroline. You post a lot about the value of the IB and I'm assuming your children study for it, I just wondered what others thought.

carolinephillips

Ha Ha! Thought you might be tugging a leg there......

I talk about the IB because for expats, who may pong back, it is a useful way of not disrupting the education of their kids too much, or for getting their kids into Uni in a foreign country more smoothly.

If you are staying, and your kids want to go to an Aussie uni, then do the HSC. It is less stress over the two years, and offered by all schools with a wider variety of subjects to choose from. However, it doesn't really teach the skills required for university level and style of working. The IB generates the all-round thinker who is able to research and produce the written work to a uni standard. A basic mark of 30/45 is equivalent to 3.5 A grade A-levels. Full marks is equivalent to 6.5 A grade A levels, when translated to UCAS scores for British universities.

moneypenny20

Massive assumption from someone who only has experience of a child doing IB. So all those public educated children who go on to Uni don't really know what they're doing when they get there? Far out!

Famous 5

This was an issue I was concerned about, but in practice most UK unis will consider Australian qualifications - the bigger problem is being classified as an international student thus being charged higher fees, with no access to student loans.

I'm not sure that I'd agree with this. I have two children who completed the OP and are now at uni where they seem to be coping well with the academic (and social) demands of uni life. Probably the biggest change/challenge for them was moving away from home in order to study.

carolinephillips

Not a massive assumption at all, I am not saying it is the case for everyone, so my apologies if you inferred that I did. I am basing my "assumption" on evidence gathered. It may be different for others, I don't know, but I was trying to give help based on my own experience.

I have friends with children who have gone through the HSC system and they mostly say that Uni is a big shock to them. The staff at school and those at prospective universities also say that doing the IB is an advantage as the students are used to the way they are required to work, and can often start courses at the 200 level rather than the 100 in subjects they have already studied. The IB suits certain types of personalities, and there is an emphasis on personal research, taking subjects from all areas of the curriculum, and using methods that uni students have to use, with proper referencing etc. It is a lot of hard work over two years, and marks count from day 1, so there is more pressure. Generally IB students are developed into well-rounded thinkers. NB Please don't think I'm now suggesting that the HSC student isn't.