We have friends and family in Vancouver. They wont put their kids into University of British Columbia. They know their kids cannot compete with the high level of very high achieving Asian Students. Both families put them in UFC ( Frasier Valley ) instead. In a country where you need 2 degrees to work in a call center its a major decision.

I think the same applies here, we looked into these schools and to be honest I doubt being up against kids who are prepared to study 6 hours a day and parents who crack the whip to enforce it, is really that much of an advantage for most kids unless they are prepared to do the same.

In the mid level High School, son found it easy to be in the 'top' kids. I doubt in all honesty he would have been there if faced with the sort of work ethic these kids get credit for

He ended up with a very high OP, would he have got that if he was sitting exams against kids who live and breath study ??

Asian parents help make their kids become high achievers.

We have much to learn from them

The funny thing is that here in Brisbane, if an "Asian" parent phoned to get their child into school, the school probably wouldn't know. Half the Asian families I know here are just as Aussie as me. We have some friends whose kids (in their 20's and 30's now) have ocker accents. My son recently had surgery and his surgeon and another couple of specialists he's been seeing are all Asian in appearance but are as true blue as they come.

What if they said their name was Mrs Tan or Mrs Nguyen or Mrs Huynh?

Haha, then you may get a bit of an idea - though I know plenty of non-Asian women married to Asian men, so that's not even a true indication of who might turn up.

I had a look around BSH a few years back and tbh wasn't that enamoured.

Sure, it's a big school... well resourced and with a great reputation...

But, at the end of the day it's a big old state school. I think the great OP results are probably greatly bolstered by the fact that the school actively encourages and admits high achievers.

With high achievers come good results which may, or may not be due to the quality of the education.

To be clear, I've only heard good things about BSH and I expect it is a good school. However, I think there are a lot of status seekers who might be more focused on the name than much else.

I've also seen news stories about parents sleeping out to get their kids into Ascot primary school. Again, it's probably a good school... but that good??

Personally, I'd be more concerned about getting a child into a school where they will be happy... and as a result, thrive.

Yes, snobbery plays a big part, we live near a school with a ridiculous uniform more suited to a 1920 English picnic, than hot sweaty Australia. But you see often kids out and about in the uniform 9pm. Mind you the cost of it, they probably cant afford any other clothes

Some high achieving schools, have very high % of kids getting high OP's because they 'discourage' , the average/low kids from sitting for a OP. Not a magic education, just pluck out the weak.

Son went in the IB, the drop out was massive, about 2/3 of the kids, it was often the parent who wanted them in there, not the kid, never works, its the kid who has to do the study not the parent.

Exactly.

You have to be actually living in the catchment (and be able to prove it) before they will let you enrol, they won't put a space aside for a 'potential'. They will def. let you enrol if you are in catchment though - they have to. Check their website - the enrollment policy/process is very detailed and specific.

We are one of the many families who will be moving to the catchment area in a couple of years - 3 kids

The catchment area is quite big but in much of it, you would need very deep pockets to buy now, inner city really gone up the last year. A lot of that area is flood zone, not that it stops people asking ridiculous prices, there was a block of land for sale in the catchment area asking price over $450,000, the flood waters were up to roof level.

Not all wealthy tho, many no go areas very close. Loads of homeless, wonder if living in the local parks gets you in Would be nice to think some of the disadvantaged kids get places too.

The results from the school in 2013 had 41 kids with an OP 1 and over 80 kids with an OP 1 equivalent if you take into account performance ranks, bonus points.

That is impressive, for the school. But any kid going there would have to be a total academic genius to compete with that. The way the OP works you want to be the top, each kid is given a position in each subject, having so many kids that bright above you would not be an advantage at all!

This is the sort of 'entry-level' house we will be going for:

http://www.realestate.com.au/propert...abba-116900075

or to rent:
http://www.realestate.com.au/propert...park-412446219

That's very true, my youngest I think would be fine and thrive there, my eldest, hmmm, not so sure.









Haha! Very good.

I totally agree with you there but I also think it's down to the individual child as to what helps them thrive.

My youngest son attends a good school here in the UK, he is very happy but they aren't pushing him enough, he's getting a little bit bored with the work now, his words not mine. Having said that he does enjoy school, he loves the social aspect of it and has made a cracking bunch of friends there but as lovely as that is, I think it's important that the school realises he's at school primarily to learn not socialise.

I'd like to find a school for him where he is happy, obviously, but pushed academically, that is the kind of school that would suit my youngest the best.



My eldest has a totally different learning style, he can sometimes crack under pressure, which in return puts him off the task in hand. So BSH might not be a good choice for him. It's a shame really as he would relish in the sports on offer there, but since finding out more about the school, I'm thinking maybe it's not a good choice for him.

It's so hard choosing the right high school for your children, like any caring parent you just want to do and provide the best you can for them.




You often find though that the ones who are snobby are the ones with new money, and not money and land that's been passed down the generations.

Also I find a lot of snobby people suffer from low self-esteem and personal insecurities and think they feel they have to prove their worth and for them it often means using money to do this. It's sad really. I feel sorry for them in a way.


Some of the most down to earth and nicest people I have ever met, are family's who come from old money, these are the people who don't feel the need to brag about the material things they own, or how much money they earn etc...



A prime example of this is a friend of mine whose money has been in the family for generations, they own land etc, and she works very hard for the family business but she never talks about money or anything materialistic.
She drives a banger of a car, by choice, because she says it's never let her down yet. I swear it's the crappest car that has ever graced this earth, but she loves it.

She has 6 children in a private school, at between 20 and 30K per child, per year. A couple of the older children are part-borders by their own choice, it's a cracking school and all the kids who go there never want to come home.
She values education and had there been a good state school in the area she would've probably sent her kids there but never once has she dropped the 'my kids are privately educated' bomb. ( how annoying is it, when you hear people boosting about this?)

I keep hearing about a form of snobbery that goes on in Australia and I've heard people get looked down at if they rent, is this true?
I hope I never meet anyone like that, God help them if I do!



Are your children currently in primary school?

Hey good find!

House photos pretty. Seen many of them lately, looking for son. We are builders developers too.

Tiny 384 block ( so no development subdivision potential ) with 3 bed one bath house, its expensive, but up to last week ( budget freak out has killed the market this week ) it may have gone over asking.

I dont like the amount of asbestos in it, but we saw one with $60.000 of asbestos removal ( house, roof, sheds, fence and in the ground ) go the day it was listed.

I dont like to buy asbestos to live in, we had one, it became a nightmare, each time repairs were needed, we needed asbestos contractors in before the work could be done. Lovely with kids running round , we sold it, too much hassle, last straw was when the pipes needed replacing, plumbing went through half the house, asbestos in the walls in every room.

The ad is fair in that it says it needs work, and I can see plenty.

My kids school was a zone, but once you had a kid in you could live anywhere, and siblings could attend. So expensive rentals in zone area might only need to be a temp solution?

No. Well it might be with some people obviously but it's not the 'norm'. There are idiots everywhere. Where do you 'keep hearing' this stuff? From people who live here and who have been subjected to snobbery and being looked down on or from people who've heard from other people and played chinese whispers? There are 20+ million people here and 60+ million in the UK. A percentage of both will think weird shit.