skinnyhips

Hi folks, im new to the forum so still dont know where to look and post properly for info, need some help on good schools in perth , or info on where to find enough info to make a decision as to which schools are good etc, think we will be in oz early next year all going well so time is relatively short so any good tips, advice or links anyone can suggest would be great. Thanks in advance.

Alfresco

Hi skinnyhips,

You can try using the "search this forum" button on the Australia and Barbie forums for Perth schools.

Or wait until tomorrow morning when the Perth crowd is awake and may have some answers to your question.

We've searched on www.google.com.au for schools in Perth and Brisbane.

Good Luck!

Kim67

Apart from the search function, more info is probably required. Perth's a big place and there are hundreds and hundreds of schools. This may help a bit.

http://www.australianschoolsdirector...th-schools.php

Call me AL

Try to avoid Koondoola, Girrawheen or Balga areas cos they're shitholes.

Dorothy

There are more shitholes than just those 3 places, but they are the shittiest of the shitholes.

Some more information would be helpful such as where will you be working? As has been said, Perth is a big place and commute times can be very long if you live a ways away from work.

Gems

Not sure about exact schools.

However be aware that a lot of Perth schools are over subscribed.
Some people on here have moved to areas in Perth and found they could not get places in the school. (See Northernbirds posts)

Schools here are state or other popular option is Catholic fee paying. Like the UK good and bad schools here. However some of the good schools can have a 3 year waiting list,especially if the high schools

I would not buy a house unless you know that your kids can go to the nearby school first.

Gems

TimBinz

Yup the search button can hel us a lot

skinnyhips

Hi all, and thanks for the replies. Im not exactly sure yet where hubbys office is based as he is in brazil at the mo so we are waiting to see his hr people for all the details when he gets home. As for buying a house , were going on secondment through his work for four years approx so we wont be buying a house at all, keeping our house at home and will be renting in oz!
Im beginning to see threads on the waiting times for schools, thats a bit of a worry , we cant exactly come there and have our 8 year old sitting at home for three years waiting to get into a school....however much she might like that idea haha! With regard to all the catholic schools, were not catholic, may seem like a stupid question but do they only take catholics on? I noticed a lot of the schools were church affiliated but not sure how that works?
Thanks for the link to the schools online web, unfortunately it was the same thing, a massive list of all the schools but very few with a feature page. Im finding it difficult to be able to find info on performance and on pass grade percentages etc. Another thing , can anyone tell me how different the australian curriculum is from british? My daughter turns nine in dec, so she will be starting in what is like primary 5 here once we get to oz, and may also still be there for the first year of secondary school so im aware that she will then be coming back to uk for rest of school and am a bit concerned as to how she will cope! The baby is only two so not so worried about him.
I see there is an intenational school in perth but read somewhere that it was on the verge of financial collapse! Any one know any info on that?
Anyway ive got a feeling im going to be spending a lot of time on google so i really appreciate everyone taking the time to help, thanks

HelenTD

Hi skinnyhips, I'm in Perth and might be able to help as I have 2 children in a state primary school. I went through 6 months of searching for a school when I wanted to remove my children from our local school . First of all, you need to decide if you want state or private. If you want your children to go a state school, then you need to live within the catchment area for that school and they have to take you. Some primary schools take from outside their boundary. All you need to do is decide on the suburb - I'm sure that there's a thread somewhere on BE on those, but basically the most expensive suburbs are on the coast and on the river, where you're more likely to find better behaved students and parents. The most expensive suburbs are known as "the western suburbs", but you are not guaranteed a great school even in these places, as far as academic standards are concerned. There are just as likely to be good schools dotted around - the trick is finding one . If you are getting your accommodation subsidised by your husband's employer, then you have plenty of opportunities - perhaps pm me to discuss in more detail.

When it comes to private schools, there are the cheaper private schools (Catholic and other religions) where the fees are about $5,000 pa, but these are extremely difficult to get into. The RC ones have to take a small proportion of non-RC kids but this category includes all other religions plus the non-believers. You can put in an application (and pay about $150 for it) and cross your fingers, but don't expect much. Sometimes the Catholics can't get into a Catholic school, particularly where it's a kindy-Year 12 school. There are some more expensive religious schools where the fees are about $10,000 pa. The most expensive private schools have fees of about $15,000. All are likely to have waiting lists. It's easier to get in at the kindy/pre-primary level than it is in later years. I know a mum who's been waiting for 3 years to get her child into one of the most expensive schools. Year 5 is a common entry point, as is Year 7 and 8.

By the way, primary school here is non-compulsory kindergarten and pre-primary (a place is not guaranteed, even if you live in the area), compulsory is Years 1-7 (a child can be as old as 13 years 6 months by the time they finish primary school!). The school year runs from February to December and the system runs from 1 July to 30 June when it comes to working out which year your child goes into. Your child who turns 9 in December would be in Year 3 this year, so Year 4 when you get here next year. I very doubt that your daughter will struggle in the classroom - the work is much too easy. We pay for external tuition for our children so that their brains get stimulated to work, because it tends not to happen in the average classroom. Anyway, I could go on and on, so I hope this helps - send me an email if you want more info.

Call me AL

I don't work Dorothy. Or commute.

(Mirrabooka is a shithole as well)

skinnyhips

List of " shitholes" to avoid duly noted , sorry no offence to anyone who lives in these areas!
What about good areas? any recommendations?

Call me AL

Peppermint Grove, Mosman Park and City Beach are all nice areas.

Dorothy

Nice if you have an extra 2 or 3 million laying around.

skinnyhips

Sadly there were no millions hidden under the mattress last time i checked, and i even looked on his side However we know we will defo not be buying and are returning home after 3 or 4 years so the rentals even on the really nice places ive seen are mostly just about manageable! Im definitely not a snobby person, in fact im really down to earth but going by the rentals ive liked the look of , it seems i do have quite expensive taste, and there was me all this time telling my man im a cheap date haha!
I did find a good website that showed all the suburbs, with a bit of blurb on them all, i wrote a list of the ten most expensive places to buy a house as i figured it was a good guide as to what would be a nice area, its the school thats proving trickier to work out!

Dorothy

Willetton is a nice suburb with an excellent state school. It's not far from the city but not million dollar area, so I would say worth a look