The Gold Gang

Hi there,
Can anyone on the GC help me with a question about good State schools for kids aged 11, 15 and 9?

I've heard before that Helensvale State High School is good, I've also heard there is a good school at Varsity Lakes. How about Robina? As Robina might be good for us - we are both in IT and sometimes I do see a GC based job, I think my OH will look to commute to Brisbane but I'd like to be more local.

I've also seen a childcare centre at Helensvale, do they do before and after school care for the younger age kids does anyone know? Otherwise I am going to need childcare before and after school and school holidays.

My kids are in really great state schools here and I'll move to wherever can match that, but I can't afford private schools.

Thanks so much for any information you can give, we are planning to come over at the end of this year, just wanting to try and get clearer on a planned location on the GC.

RenShen

Hello

We live in Helensvale. Youngest is in the primary school, very happy with that.

Eldest did year 10 at the high school and I was not impressed at all. If your child is from a good UK state school, I am afraid you might be disappointed with Helensvale State High School.

Have you looked at private prices here? They are not as expensive as the UK. Assisi in Coomera is very reasonable for an excellent education and we will consider that for my youngest. Eldest is quite bright so he is now in Coomera Anglican College. Can't really afford it but will eek it out for the 2 years he needs it.

I have heard of a very good school in Southport that has an excellent reputation but is free to high achievers. Sorry, thats all I know about it but it might be worth a google.

Hope this has helped,
Ren.

steve`o

i can only offer opinion on varsity college as its the only one i personally know about, my daughter ( just left ) and several freinds kids go there, and both kids and parents alike think its great, the headmaster is really proactive ( go along to a pta meeting ) you will need to be living within the catchment area for at leat 6 months to qualify

see enclosed link for further information
http://varsitycollege.eq.edu.au/wcmss/index.php

if you want any more info jusy let me know

regards steve

ps
there was a thread about this a while back with some positive and negative posts i`ll look it up


found it
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=586126

The Gold Gang

Hi Ren,

Thanks for that, I'll have a look at the schools you mention, would you mind telling me what the fees are as sometimes it is hard to get the complete picture from their websites, I mean what with uniforms and books and trips on top of the fees, maybe you know what the total cost per year would be?

And I think I'll forget Helensvale then...but best to know. Is it a nice place to live or do you live in Coomera?

Nadine

The Gold Gang

Hi Steve,

That's really helpful, thanks very much. I've read everything on that thread and from that, I've also got Merrimac High and Hillcrest (private). Also I now know your daughter is something of a singing legend.. . I'm just wondering how you live in the catchment of Varsity College for 6 months before enrolling, does that really mean we'd have to pay for six months rent prior to arriving? Or send them somewhere else first until the six months were up?

Its really difficult with teenagers isn't it? Especially soccer mad teens, I didn't see anything on the VC website about soccer...but I'm hoping there are local teams that my boy could train with.

Carbery

We have a daughter who has just finished year 12 at Merrimac High and is starting at University of Queensland in March and a 14 year old son who has just started year 10 at Merrimac. In our opinion the school is better than the ones our kids attended in UK although not perfect. When we first arrived on the GC we visited the schools in our area, spoke with the heads, and just tried to get a feel for ourselves. The education system is different to UK but we feel in a good way. Dont dismiss (or accept) any school on someone elses feelings, visit and make your own opinions.
http://merrimacshs.eq.edu.au/wcmss/


Football is not widely played at Merrimac or as far as I know anyother state schools. You will have to get your kids into a local football club:
http://www.goldcoastsoccer.com.au/find-a-club

Good luck!

moneypenny20

Personally I'd find the best surburb for you all to live in and then check out schools. There are very few bad High Schools, some probably not so good as others but many kids and their parents are very happy with the supposedly bad ones. Every child is obviously different and one school that gets a huge recommendation from one family or even 20 families, could be totally wrong for another child so do keep your options open.

Teachers tend to like living in the area so schools tend to get to pick out the good ones (obviously crap ones slip through the net, nothing's perfect) and that sort of gives all the schools a level playing field, I think anyway.

Letspretend....

Ahh try this

http://qahs.eq.edu.au/

State funded school, though entrance exam and interviews prior to placement. The play soccer (no its football), you dont have to live local. School has dedicated bus service from Nerang train station.

You have to pay the IB fees though and buy the lap top, though this can be paid in installments.

A really challenging IB cirriculum, lots of sleepless nights and tears see also

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IB_Diploma_Programme

School starts at year 10, my oldest went and my youngest is still there, terrific school though a little intense at times. If you want your kids to be challenged then the diploma certainly does that.

Also you can judge how good a school is by the percentage of aisans that attend IMHO!

moneypenny20

Had nothing else to do at the moment so had a squizz through the websites of all the state high schools - never looked at some of them before . Two definitely have soccer (football) on the curriculum:
http://www.benowashs.eq.edu.au/
http://www.pbc-shs.eq.edu.au/

and one might but it's hard to tell
http://www.robinashs.eq.edu.au/

Definitely get them signed up for the local teams though, there are lots of them.

With regard living in the catchment area, you don't need to live there six months before enrolling but you do have to live there and be able to prove it when you go to the school to enrol. After six months (a normal rental period) you are allowed to move out of the catchment area but keep your kids at the school.

steve`o

several local soccer teams around i`ll ask the lads when i get back next week,

re the six months as per penny`s post its only to get you enrolled and keep you in there, we did a 7 month rental in varsity and moved out to worongary

re terri she finished at varsity last november did quite well and is off to griffith uni this march studying law and criminolagy ( double degree )

and the singing bit
this is terri and two of her mates at a local singing comp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ireqElO5jlQ
ps terri is the one in the middle ( high soprano )

The Gold Gang

Thank you for this. It's not so much that I want my Son to have a really challenging environment, well, hang on what am I saying, I DO want him to be challenged!!!....I guess what I mean is that here in the UK you can get a idea of a school from its Ofsted report and I don't know if there is some similar objective measure in Australia. And of course that isn't the only measure of a school, but it is one that interests me, as my son is in an 'outstanding' school now and I don't really want to accept less.

I notice from the various high school websites that there are all these programs of excellence and I know my Aussie friends have said you should try to get your kids in on one of these if you can, I guess though that if they don't get in, these programmes create an elite that they are then not part of? My Son is 'gifted and talented' in a few areas here, he's not a genius mind, but he is pretty bright and needs challenging so I want that for him, as long as he can cope with it as he is a regular kid. I like the idea of the IB as I wonder whether if they are all doing it, it is a leveller in itself? Of course there will always be the really really bright kids, like I say he has potential, I don't want it to go to waste!

The Gold Gang

Thank you, thats very kind of you to have done that research for me! The reason I thought of finding a great school first, then a rental in its catchment area, is because I've heard a few negatives (from this forum) on schools in SEQ, about lower standards than the UK and also about less push on the kids to achieve. And at one point I could have afforded a private school but now I'll have so much less capital to come with (due to the fall in house prices here) that it will have to be State schools for my three kids.

Its reassuring that you have a pretty high opinion of the schools on the GC, and as you say, what is right for one is not right for another. But I'm still over here in the UK so can only research right now, and I can't see how I can organise it so that we only look for a rental when we arrive and then look for schools, I'll want to know my kids have definite school places to come to! We've already done two reccie trips, albeit only one to the GC so didn't see all the suburbs, we may have to do another trip to get jobs, I don't know how its all going to work out yet.

I do like the look of Palm Beach - Currumbin school though, but what can you really tell from a website? So I am totally grateful to recieve anyone's opinions.

Keep 'em coming please. And I really hope no one on here has suffered from the recent floods!

Nadine

sammyg

There is a sort of equivalent to ofsted ...

http://www.myschool.edu.au/

Some schools don't seem to have much data yet but it's sort of gives you an idea.

moneypenny20

PBC is a good school but huge - over 2,000 students. Their Sports Ex programme is good but the Academic Ex and whatever the other one is, can't remember, are not really worth the ink on the paper. They are not doing anything different from many other schools who chose not to sign up to the Ex programmes.

I know children and parents there who, whilst happy, are not massively impressed with the actual compared to the advertised. The Sports Ex is heavily on the side of Rugby and AFL and the other sports are not so 'bigged up', this causes a fair amount of friction because the AFL and Rugby lads tend to think they are the dogs whatsits and the school sometimes encourage that assumption. Saying that, they have very good, successful squads.

They have a catchment area but if the students are outside the area but great in sports they can still accept although they do tend to oversubscribe and the classes are therefore oversubscribed - last year they were supposed to have (as told by QLD Ed) no more than 25 in some classes but actually had 40!

neil248

If your kid is bright and gifted in any way then after a couple of years here you will be at least considering the private schools regardless of cost.