Advice on schools
 

Please can anyone tell me how they went about deciding on schools in oz. Did you move out there first, decide on an area to live and children attend the local school; did you decide on a school then live in that area? Did you look online at schools or just wait until you arrived in oz.

We are looking at Mandurah and I've found a list of schools is it worth my while writing/contacting them before we get there. My boys will be 11 and 7.5 when we (hopefully) get there.

I am interested in how the system works there - is it like here where some schools keep places for new arrivals in the area?

Any info will be helpful, thank you :D

Re: Advice on schools
 

Hi Debra

We looked at 6 different schools in the areas that we liked and these were both Catholic and State schools. The kids are in a Catholic school at the moment and this is purely because it's one of the best in our area, it's an independant school with no fees. We are not Catholic and we were lucky to get them in. :)

We were happy with 4 out of the 6 that we visited and impressed with the facilities. The fees for the Catholic schools that we visited were rediculously cheaper than any I've seen here in Cornwall.

We finally decided on a State school and the main factor in this was Alex saying,

"Dad, I want to go to this school" :confused: Things your child never says!

Now I assume this is the same with most state schools in that you can literally pitch up on the day and enrol your children, the state schools we visited had this very open door attitude.

So without a doubt research as much as you can online and drop schools an e-mail. Since the school has accepted our kids we have been in regular contact via e-mail with plenty of questions that at the time we forgot to ask and both the Principal and Vice Principal have been very helpful. Incidentally, (this may have been luck) when we popped into the school for a prospectus etc.. they arranged an on the spot appointment with the Principal and he gave us the guided tour, the works, bloody nice chap. :)
This also happened at one of the Catholic schools.

If you are planning on getting there and giving the kids a couple of weeks off first then visit the schools during that period.

Drop us a PM if you like.


Rich

Re: Advice on schools
 

thanks for this - I'll pm you with questions later. ta

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Yes please do.

Forgot to mention we're off in 19 days. :)

Re: Advice on schools
 

awww we are off in 29 :p lucky duck

Re: Advice on schools
 

you will find the education system different from the UK, there are lots of private schools also lots of state schools, visit some of the schools they all do visits.
Ask about there result success for the last year thats a good indication of a academic school. revisit the school you like especially at break and lunch times look at the kids see how they all get on, these are the things you should be looking at. Dont expect everything to fall into place for you.

Also there is a system called Zoning this means you must live in the zone area of the school for immediate acceptance into the school (state schools).
You will find the kids are very welcoming to most british kids they love the accent.

i work in a secondary school so i know how it all works.
I would definaly contact the school well before you get there tell them you intend to live in the area and request a place saving for your child. Expect them to ask for proff of you living in the zone a gas bill electricity bill when you are settled, before that tell them your intentions most are all ok with it all.

If you do decide to put your kids into school withing your local zone for the school then "They" cannot refuse the entry of your child even if they say they have no place, you are entitled to educate your child in the nearest state school if they like it or now.

Primary schools differ from secondary schools your kids will be in primary until they are 12 or 13 years old then its secondary until they are 18 years old but they can leave school in year 10 thats the age of 16 they also have a choice of staying at school until they are 18 most kids do stay at school.

remember the education system is there for you and the kids use it well dont be tunneled visioned and always look forward if you try to use them values you wont go far wrong.

regards

arthur

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good post thanks :)

Re: Advice on schools
 

We emailed/phoned schools before we arrived and whilst phone calls were pleasantly taken, emails went unanswered. If you are 100% sure you know were you are going to live then it's worth doing what Pom from Aus suggests. We weren't and I wasn't asking for a place just a nice warm feeling we should settle in that area.

However, once we were here there was no problem in arranging a visit, meeting teachers, seeing the school in action. To be honest I was impressed by how quick they moved to arrange the visit.

Everybody was very friendly in all the schools. The education is more about bringing up sociable citizens and not just cramming info into the kids. If your kids are bright they will be offered the chance to jump a year as kids start school a year later here. My kids decided to stay with their own age (11 and 15) and have spent the last year explaining why their homework has dropped off.

By the way, they really are sports mad!! Even my 15 year old daughter has started enjoying her sports classes and supports Collingwood footy. No comments please about Collingwood as I follow Essendon and my son, Richmond.

The big difference to me is the emphasis on being a team-member and becoming a nice person. It's not just about results although I have to be honest and admit to being one of those who believes in streamed classess like when I were a lad.

No public exams at 16 just the VCE (Victoria) at 18.

The kids settle in straightaway. Amusing anecdote - my son's teacher asked the class who had been to the snow. My son announced he was used to the snow coming to him and told the class how two years ago they had two days off school because of the snow.

They'll get on fine. Daughter has a better social life here than in England. Son does footy, tennis and ju-jitsu outside school. In school, he plays for any school team he can as they play their team matches during school hours here and not after as in England.

FYI, private schools are $15k a year. When you check the school results you may well wonder why people spend $15k sending the kids to a school that has similar results to the gov't school down the road. As far as I can see the top private schools are near the City. A lot of the ones further out have average results. My experience in Victoria.

Ian

Re: Advice on schools
 

Our Kids are both in the private system which here in Brisbane ranges in cost from $2K - $11 per annum. I am not too sure that the education in some of the private schools is any better than the average to good state school. Depends on the area you live in.

Re: Advice on schools
 

[Ian i fully agree with your comments regarding private against state schools the cost is pathetic for private, and i work in a school as a networks technician we see it all the time, if the kids are academic then they will progress

arthur

Re: Advice on schools
 

Great post Ian - - just the sort of thing i need for when We get out there to Oz.

I wiil consider your words and bear it all in mind when i try to find a school for my boys!

Thanx
xRachx

Re: Advice on schools
 

I am curious, are there any cheaper private schools in Victoria ?

We pay $3,000 per year here, but as someone else said, they can range from $2K - $11 per year in the Brisbane area.

When we were in NSW, we paid $1,800 per year (2002)

Re: Advice on schools
 

One school quoted us $2,000 for 2 children per year for Primary. Fees do rise though significantly for senior school in NW Brisbane.

Re: Advice on schools
 

An example of costs at one of our local Private schools:

Basic Fees
Junior School $2,296 per year
Middle School $3,476 per year
Senior School $4,160 per year

2nd Child 10% discount
3rd Child 20% discount
4th & 5th Child 50% discount


Additional fees are:
Building Fund: $350 per family per year (Tax Deductible)

Parents & Friends Levy $25 per term (This is done so that we don't get involved in other fund raising activities that many other schools do, chocolate drives etc)

Materials & Activities Levies: (Per student)
Junior - $138 per term,
Middle - $317 per term
Senior - $218 per term.
This covers all other fees including the compulsory school camps, excursions, swimming, sports etc.

Text Books in Middle & Senior School. These can be hired instead of purchased, at a cost of $75 per year (Middle school) & $90 (Senior school)


NEW ENROLMENTS
Application Fee $50
Enrolment Bond $400 for 1st child, $300 2nd child, $200 3rd child, then $100 each extra child


For us it works out at:
Basic Fees Junior School $2,296 per year
Building Fund: $350 per family per year (Tax Deductible)
Parents & Friends Levy $100
Materials & Activities Levies: Junior - $552,
Total $3,298 less about $175 in tax deductions


At year 11/12 it will become:
Basic Fees Senior School $4,160 per year
Building Fund: $350 per family per year (Tax Deductible)
Parents & Friends Levy: $100
Materials & Activities Levies: Senior - $872
Text Books hire $90 (Senior school)
Total $5,572 less about $175 in tax deductions.

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Catholic schools are private and cheaper at about 3k a year.

Other private schools I have looked at have been 15k for secondary school.

My son is pretty bright (so is daughter but that's because she grafts like me). Son is natural. His teacher called us in and told us we had to take this into account when choosing his sec school. She suggested private. I checked the results and they (catholic also) are no better than our local gov't schools. If he wanted to go to a top private school he would have to train it closer to the City. He's not keen and neither am I as even with a scholarship it would be $7.5k. My sister is a Maths teacher - her view is a bright kid will always do well as long as the school is not completely duff. The cleverest don't always earn the most. EQ is more important than IQ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_quotient. I probably learnt this too late in life to help me.

Having been to a duff school myself I know what to look for. 'Nice' areas have reasonable schools. If your kid is bright the teachers will take an interest in him if he shows a willingness to learn. They don't have league tables here like the UK but you see the interest when the VCE results are published naming the top kids and the school. We all like a winner!

Ian

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Victoria must just be more expensive ;)

Here is a link to the Catholic Fees in NSW: http://www.ceo.syd.catholic.edu.au/faqs/#no.11

Annual Fees (2005)
Primary:
K-6 $750
Secondary:
7-8 $1,050
9-10 $1,155
11-12 $1,545

It is pretty similar to QLD. I know someone who had 4 kids in a QLD Catholic School, and they paid $1,800 per year for the lot (effectively $450 each) :)

Re: Advice on schools
 

Please can I have anyones advice, especially if they've been in my situation. My son , who is 14, is doing really well at school here in the UK. We got another letter from his school congratulating him on being within the top 10% of his year this year(and also last year too) He's also a nice teenager too and were both proud of him :) Do you think we should wait 2 years for him to take his GCSE's here before we leave to go to Oz? If we apply for a visa now and leave,say a year without him taking any exams in the UK, what's the scenario regarding schools and his further education when we arrive in Oz? Also, what exams do Aussie schoolkids take as an equivilant to our GCSE's at 16? Many thanks for listening. This is our major stumbling block which determines whether we leave either next year or Sept 2008 when his exams are finished ( :scared: Yikes that's a long way away!)

Re: Advice on schools
 

My family waited for me to complete my GCSEs and then now Im moving over to do year 12... as AS Levels and A Levels are very hard to transfer over to aus as you are only doing 3-4 subjects here whereas you do around 6 in aussie... my advice would be let him do his GCSEs then thats them under his belt but then again its up to you and maybe its better to get out there sooner... :D

Re: Advice on schools
 

Hi..

We have three kids and my 7 year old will be starting school soon. We just came back from Sydney where we visited three public schools in the area that we are looking to be based. We looked at websites prior to going over and then we hired a car and drove around the schools and the areas surrounding the schools. If we liked the look of the area round about and the school did not look too run down we then called the Principal and arranged an appointment.

Everyone was very helpful. I called one school at 9am (only three days into the new school year) and they we were down getting a tour round with the principal half an hour later. They are pretty thorough too. One school visit took more than an hour. The education system looks OK but what is very apparent is that some schools have better facilities than others and you need to ask about what facilities they have. Class sizes ranged from 18 to 31 pupils per class. One school we went to had a very high percentage of ethnic minority families where a fair percentage did not speak english to a good standard, whereas a school 5 mins away we visited we could not see any ethnic minority kids , this school had double the number of students than the first.(Please let it be known I am not rascist in any way at all, merely an observation).

As far as cathcment areas go. They are pretty flexible and it is down to the Principal . If there is enough room you will get in. The school must offer a place if you live within the boundary, if you dint it depnds on class sizes.

Hope that helps

Re: Advice on schools
 

Thanks for your replies so far ;) Scotty...So you've just taken your GCSE's and then you're going straight to year 12 in Aus when you get there this year? What happens after Year 12? Do you get the chance to go to a college of further education after that? Sorry for all the questions! :)

Re: Advice on schools
 

Craig..you got PM :)

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There are exams taken at age 16 in NSW which would be the equivalent of GSCEs - it's called the School Certificate and it's basically worthless. Everyone gets the certificate as long as they attended school. You cannot really fail the exams.

The only exams that are actually worth anything are those taken at age 18 (Higher School Certificate or HSC) after Year 12. It's a 2 year course so it's unlikely that anyone can go directly into Year 12 and do well, you need to have done Year 11 as well. HSC results are used to calculate the UAI which is the ranking used for University entrance in NSW.

Re: Advice on schools
 

I agree with nickyc, dont bother doing GCSE's they dont count for anything here. My daughter is 15 and was also in the top 10% in her school in the UK and due to take her GCSE's this year. We came to Aus instead and she has started year 11 here in one of the better public schools and is no longer top of the class (not bottom either, thank goodness). She plans to go on to Uni and loves school here, which is something she hasn't for the last couple of years in England. It is the best thing we could have done. It was a huge dilema for us not knowing if we were doing the right thing leaving before her GCSE's. I don't regret it for a second.

Re: Advice on schools
 

The following is for tuition and school fees only - excludes school uniforms, overseas trips, sports, school trips etc. Seems expensive but when compared to paying well over £12000 per year for a "reasonable" nursery in SE UK seems cheap.

Age Year Annual Cost
3 9592
4 10196
5 Prep 11648
6 1 12200
7 2 12200
8 3 13772
9 4 13772
10 5 14324
11 6 14324
12 7 15896
13 8 15896
14 9 16448
15 10 16448
16 11 16944
17 12 16944
210604

Re: Advice on schools
 

I just want to say a thank you to all those that took the trouble to write some very detailed posts, I will print them out and have a good read later.

Thanks once again :o

Re: Advice on schools
 

Same here, daughter 14 and down for 11 A/A* at GCSE. I took the view that uni is what counts and not GCSEs. Year 10 is the key year to ge them into because although they do the VCE (for uni entrance) in years 11 and 12, you are allowed to do extra VCEs in year 10 to boost your ENTER score. ENTER is equiv of 'A' level points. For the best unis you need the best ENTER and I decided it was in her interest to get into school here asap. With the VCE ( or state equiv) they can get into a British Uni if they want to go back there, remembering they will finish exams in Dec when they are 18 so will have to wait until following October to join British Uni and be a year behind their old mates. However, if you take evidence your kid is bright they give them the option of jumping a year and effectively stay in the same school year as they were in the UK (school starts a year later here). Both my kids decided to stay with kids of their own age (14 and 11) and went back a year. I want clever kids who can talk to anybody as that is what counts in helping them get on in life so I didn't push them to skip and show how clever they are. Unfortunately, they both know they are cleverer than me. I will be recommending to the kids to do Uni here and go back to UK for work experience/postgrad.

Ian

Re: Advice on schools
 

Ian, if your son is bright you may want to investigate the entrance requirements for Melbourne High School. He would still need to train it almost to the city but I am certain the fees are no where close to the nearby private schools. I think boys start there in year 9 (age 14).

The girls school equivalent is MacRobertson Girls High.

Kate

Re: Advice on schools
 

hey yeah I did... the parents thought it was best for me to get my GCSEs under my belt but then again everyones different and has difference views on whats best... I got very good results in this 5A* 3A and 1B... and so instead of going onto do AS Levels im going to join year 12 in aus. They offer an assesment of these grades I obtained:

http://www.qsa.qld.edu.au/yrs11_12/a.../os/index.html

and so they will convert my grades obtained into the equivalent ones in aussie... not everyones fav way but I didnt mind it.

Regards,
Scott

Re: Advice on schools
 

Thanks, Kate.

This is my plan. If he's good enough, by then he should be wise enough to accept the commute. Fantastic results at MHS. http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vce/stati.../pccia2005.pdf

Ian

Re: Advice on schools
 

This is from today's Times. Thought you may be interested. It made me think WOW.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspap...060646,00.html


Tests at 11 to decide places at university
By Alexandra Blair, Education Correspondent


MOVES to cherry-pick the brightest children in England’s state schools from the age of 11 for places at top universities are set to begin within weeks, The Times has learnt.

The controversial plan, which will spark fears among Labour MPs of a new system of “super-selection”, is hailed by academics as a way of opening up university admissions without lowering standards.

But critics fear that students who develop later will be left out because the process hinges on tests in the final year of primary school.

Universities will be encouraged to select the brightest children by establishing early links with them.

In coming weeks, secondary heads will be told the names of the cleverest pupils and that they will be held accountable if their students fail to get three A grades at A level.

Leading universities will be asked to contact the children’s families, uring them to join holiday courses or summer schools, with a view to applying later.

The move, which turns the final-year primary school exam in effect into a university entrance test, is expected to be welcomed by the top universities anxious that wider access does not lower academic standards.

Critics will ask whether the national curriculum test is the best measure of a child’s potential and point to the impact it will have on pupils who fail to make the grade.

The revelation will also fuel fears of academic selection as Tony Blair prepares to publish the education Bill and makes a last-ditch case today for his reforms at a seminar in Downing Street. Labour rebels and unions fear that it could mean back-door selection at the expense of the worst off.

One backbencher said last night that it was impossible to track a child’s potential from such an early age.

The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, which is coordinating the register, is set to tell heads how many of England’s top 5 per cent are in their schools and what they are expected to do to support them.

The talent search has identified 180,000 children aged 11-17 from their Key Stage 2 exams, taken by all pupils attending state primary schools.

Sir Cyril Taylor, chairman of the trust, is determined that no child should be overlooked as a result of a poor secondary school education.

In the letter, he will tell heads: “We’d be grateful if you’d ensure they’re given the necessary support to realise their potential and we’re going to track these children independently at KS3, GCSE and A levels. And if these children don’t get 3 As at A level we want to know the reason why. Because they should but the facts are that only about a third of them are.”

Schools will be held accountable after studies showed that the top 5 per cent of 11-year-olds who go on to state school are half as likely to get three As as those who enter private schools.

Heads will be urged to register the names with the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth (Nagty) at Warwick University, which will act as a pool to coordinate support programmes.

“What they don’t want to be told is to lower their admission standards to meet some strange quota of comprehensive school intakes. I passionately believe you should only get into Oxford and Cambridge if you’ve qualified,” said Sir Cyril. “But what is an outrage is that we have 20,000 very able children in comprehensives who don’t get the three As at A level that they should do.”

If parents give the academy permission, pupils’ details will be passed on to universities. Data protection rules will be amended to enable this.

The colleges at Cambridge have divided up England’s regions between them and will contact the academy for the names of children in their area. Dr Geoff Parks, the admissions tutor, says that this will be fairer. “At the moment, it’s a bit hit and miss . . . we’re targeting some schools in given areas, but it could be more effective. Anecdotally, there are concerns that some schools are offering us the best behaved and not putting forward the most talented who can often be the most difficult,” he said.

Dr Parks, who is a member of the Nagty Friends Group, conceded that the Key Stage 2 test was “not perfect”.

Many private schools opt out of the final-year tests, leading to fears that pupils could be frozen out of the best universities.

Ian Gibson, the rebel Labour MP for Norwich North, said that the education Bill would still mean “back-door selection”.

Re: Advice on schools
 

Tony, you will find that your sons academic success wont matter here in australia, i would say if he can get the 4 years he would have if you came now that would 1st introduce him into society which is very important, and most kids here stay at school until they are 18 then if they aceieve a decent result in yr 12 then off to Uni they go if they want to.

The social & education side of things here is massive for all the kids, so for gods sake ask your kids what they would like to do, remember whatever you do you both shall be as proud of your kids.

So from a person who works in the education system here in melbourne, i can say visit the schools ask questions ask what type of courses would suite you kids if you have t aggos feelig of the school then thats a goos start.

ask about there continued success in every yr level through the school if you dont ask you wont get any info, its paramount you ask questions and dont sit on the fence "Expecting".

as i say i work for the education dept we came here when my girl was in Yr 6 in the aussie system she is very academic to say the least and she slotted in like a velvet glove, she was accepted immediatley with all different children from all races, she has a very active life out of school as most kids do here.

So get of your backsides and get in touch with schools ask heaps of questions even the most basic question can be important to you all.

Oh and remember this if and when you visit the schools you will get the "Gut" feeling for the one thats you all think is the best for your children.
Dont follow the brain... follow the gut instinct regarding the people and the school of your choice.

I hope you have a great time as we have and stil do here in australiaq

regards

arthur

Re: Advice on schools
 

Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi