Peter

Things may have changed, but wearing shoes to primary school in Queensland was optional.

debsy

jad n rich

That statement sums up so much of what you read on this forum.

Its so much better in OZ.

Why ?

I dont know I just heard it was.


Grayling my sons, one with dyslexia also tested way above average, the 7 year old simiarly "gifted" at age 12.
I wish you could meet how many UK parents we have from the UK whos child who was pretty regular in the UK is suddenly a bloody genius out here, trouble is its very flattering to believe it rather than admit there might be a very big diff in education standards. My (wifes previous marriage so lived in UK) oldest son was plucked out of the UK system landed here in grade 10 and even with completely different subjects managed to pass high school well enough to get a university place which are few and far between here. He didnt even bother with the homework. School is easy thats all.

Several things people might not know, schools really struggle for funds, one class may have 3 computers or less for 30 kids, teachers dont do the UK long hours, teachers leave at same time as the kids, teachers are not very dedicated 1 in 40 in QLD is suing the government for compensation for injury as if in normal workplace the rate would be that high, sorry but its just money grabbing bullshi* and most of our population thinks so too.

jaxowen

As a teacher in the uk who had taught both KS1 and KS2 I can say that it is commonly known in the education system that you can have an average ability span in any one year group of upto 7 years, this is more obvious in ks2 where in my last class of 43 9+10 year olds (yes 43 in one class!!) I had to cater for the needs of children whose ability ranged from average for age 6 - 13 - this is not uncommon in th uk.

it is also generally understood amongst primary teachers that in the uk we start children in a formal education too early and whilst at the age 8 and 9 they seem ahead of children in other countries which don't really puch 'academic studies' until a year or two later. however by about the age of 13 they have levelled out - the only difference being that the uk children tend to start to lose interest having had a stifling academic curriculum enforced upon them for so long.

HiddenPaw

I was surprised when I was speaking to an expat mum that in Oz schools, the parents pay for their child's school stationery (writing books, paper, etc.? How much does that amount to per child, per annum, and what exactly do the parents pay for?

jad n rich

Briefly as i just had 4 paragraphs of my post on education go missing


Ok, primary the annual book list last year was around 130 and 150 for basic books and supplies like pencils paper etc which you then replenish through the year. Some items you may have like rulers etc from the last year.

Our highschool bill was around 500 but that was 2 years ago. But weekly you get little notes for each child requesting money for everything from swimming to excursions, they are often quite reasonable prices but its having 3 kids needing money every week that gets people it adds up! Plus you pay levies for subjects like one teacher asks for $20 to buy paper to do art stuff trouble is not many pay then the kids miss out.

Like anywhere parents buy the uniforms too.

We did add it all up one year with the 3 of them it was around $2000 not inc uniforms, thats for free education. and that is not just 800 pound we dont earn pounds.

I would say when people are moving out here, to allow for medical and education expenses you do pay for everything, these things are going to make a BIG difference to your budget.

scoobydoo

Just lost a few paragraphs of my post too!!!

Basically we are currently in the process of deciding...a) to chill out and go with education as it is in australia for our son. b) to pay for private education at $12000 per year at a school we know will suit his needs. c) to go back to UK.

Don't know yet but it may have to be c as we can't afford private!!

helinuk

...I have Aussie friends in melbourne who have school age children. The eldest was moved up from yr9 to yr 11 so this December at the age of 16 yrs he'll take and probably pass his VCE! (Its not just the British kids who get moved up. )
My concern would be that he might be socially immature, how will he deal with life at Uni with 18 yr olds??? Time will tell!

mlbonner

My boyfs daughter is currently claiming to have a sprained ankle - the teacher told her to play outside still but without her shoe on (now, call me blonde, but I'm sure theres a better solution than that)

mlbonner

When I was at uni we had a guy in our halls who was 17, he'd come from a private education in Singapore but his parents had sent him home to go to uni. He definitely lacked social skills and didnt know how to look after himself. He was a diabetic and one day we found him in the kitchen in a diabetic coma. This could have been just this individual, but its worth thinking about.

I guess a 16 year old at uni would also have problems with being around people who could legally drink & drive (no, not at the same time! )

NickyC

Yes, that's one of the main issues in moving up or skipping years. The kids may well do fine academically in classes with kids much older, but it messes them up socially big time - which is one of the main reasons schools don't like doing it.

Schools prefer to keep the child in their normal year with their peers but place them in different classes for different subjects. Kids are not always at a higher level in all subjects - so some classes can be taken with peers. A whiz mathematician is not necessarily a whiz at everything else.

The other issue with moving kids up (apart from social problems) is that their physical size (being smaller/shorter than the rest of their class) means they can never participate at the same level in class physical education. While most organised and school-level sport is based on the age of the kids, class sport is not. It means the child will always be last in class races, never picked for class teams etc. I know a child who suffered enormously because of this.

scoobydoo

The problem we are facing is that our son is great academically but hopeless at sport. Moving him up would not be an answer due to this and he would not be emotionally ready to be with older kids.

The school rewards sporting success greatly....academic achievements are not noticed and more often than not he is left to read by himself rather than listened to by an adult as the other kids need more input with their reading etc.

He is having trouble making friends as his peers don't know what he is talking about most of the time!

His teacher is trying to adapt work to suit his level but with other kids to consider this is not always easy for her. He is in a class of 25 so that is a similar class size to what he was in UK.

These are our experiences!

renth

This is an excellent thread with much to think about.

The fact is that any parent coming here with young kids who have been in the UK education system is going to thing that the Australian system is backward.

That would also be the case if you were going to Spain, Germany or France. They just start more gently and ease the kids in.

It's really disheartening to see your child coming home with books he or she would have been reading one or two years previously in the UK.

Private schooling is often seen as the answer, but with primary aged kids you're going to have a really hard time finding a place in an "affordable" private school. In my experience it's not going to happen, all you will be able to do is look forward to a place in Year 8, possibly earlier if you're lucky.

This is why I reckon that if you are in the UK and still in the applying for a visa stage you ought to think about getting on the waiting list for some private schools, if that's what you want.

Finally it's important to realise that, although there is much that is crap about the UK, the British education system is pretty good when you see the Ozzie equivalent.

jad n rich

Our little one age 7 moved up a year and we had the same issues, hes a skinny thing and now hes quite small compared to the others, to make it worse hes not one bit sporty unlike his brothers, poor mite has a bitch of a PE teacher who loves to set him up like being the kid the others have to tag so he obviously gets really embarassed at being got easily. Shes a big strapping aussie leather face and really has it in for the weedy kids who dont do Aussie rules etc. Yet in class hes runs rings around them he read 200!! books when most other kids had 25 recorded on their reading log but not one person commended him, throw a rules ball tho and the whole school will be cheering. Definately take into account kids size as well as academic ability when doing the Pom kid skip a grade bit it becomes really noticable in high school when ones got a beard and boobs (well not together ) and someone else is still in waiting to develop mode

Go Banana's !!

Hi Grayling

Yes this was definitely worth raising on a seperate post and I didn't at all feel disrespected by your comments.

I do however want to make things clear, what my major concern is. I belive at primary level that she will be getting educationally a good stimulus from being in year 4 next year. My concern is that this makes her 2 years ahead of her piers and what happens when we reach senior school? So far if we want to go down the private route, they won't entertain her out of her pier group, so what is the solution???

I'm on a mission today and will get to the bottom of this. The head master actually said "You wouldn't want her going to the local High School it's the pits :scared: :scared: .

If this two year advancement results in us encountering a problem in the senoir years, then I feel she should stay where she is, but that is still in the class above where she should be, which I hadn't realised der............

Now you may all think, why is she worrying about this now???? because, my friends the waiting lists are huge, our years and above and that still doesn't guarentee her a place, it's a flippin' lottery.

Had a heated discusion with the Aunty last night as I simply couldn't get it through to her that it isn't necessarily what is happening now, the school have been great, it's what will happen if no school will take her 2 years above her piers.

Midge is a bright child, but I don't believe for one min, that she is gifted or in any way significantly brighter than any other child that comes out here. My point is that because the systems are different, in the early years the transistion will be an issue.

I haven't read the comments on the Diary thread yet so hopefully I haven't been slated too much. This is important to Warren and I , rightly or wrongly and we had a very serious discussion last night, that it may be a blessing that the house hasn't sold.

Just imagine finding this out and there wasn't a solution and we had sold up. With hindsight this has been the best way to come out here, because if all else fails, going back won't be a huge issue and she could start back at school in Sept. I am hoping to God that it doesn't come to this . BTW the differing abilities in her old class were not an issue as she was only in a class of 9.

Wish me luck, I will find a way, otherwise I will have a very depressed family returning before Sept.

Jill