KarmaWhore

I am considering emigrating and have a young family (6, 4 and 1). Any views on how the quality of public education compares to a decent state schools in the UK. Does it vary between states?

This link http://econrsss.anu.edu.au/pdf/DP479.pdf says 1 in 3 school children go private. Any good reason for that?

lapin_windstar

I would assume that figure counts sending kids to Catholic Schools as private. There are a lot of Catholics in Australia, and the schools are managed by the local Archdiocese.

HelenTD

In WA, all non-government schools are classed as private - perhaps someone will confirm that's the same for other states and territories.

Certainly in WA there are around one third of all kids going to private schools and there are good reasons for that. As Catholic and other religion-run schools receive Federal govt funding, they have to provide a certain number of places to those from other religions, or no religions. Unfortunately, the number of places usually does not meet demand. Some parents even get their children baptised or start going to church, to improve their chances of enrolment.

From posts on BE, many people seem to find that their UK kids are ahead of their age group in Australia. Some feel that they just have to accept that, and have their kids adjust to the new educational system, lifestyle and country. Other parents don't want to see their kids "go backwards". It's certainly a big concern. I can't help with how it compares to the UK system, as both my kids were born in WA.

There does seem to be differences between states, on starting ages, curriculum, etc, but there are inevitably differences in the same city, or even in the same school or class. Even with careful research, mistakes can still be made in choosing schools. I think it really helps talking (online or in person) with people who are actually at the school you are interested in, and hopefully you will find people here to help.

Good luck.

ABCDiamond

Because it isn't very expensive, is one reason.
Annual fees for Catholic schools in Brisbane are currently $2,628 per family, and these catholic schools comprise a large % of the total private schooling.

Private schooling does of course end up with a higher percentage of the lower socio economic groups in state schools, except for the inner city state schools, which are often known for having very good results.

Comparison UK and Aus:

KarmaWhore

This sounds a worry to me. Can someone link to the relevant posts on here please.

Also, how can private schools be as cheap as ABCDiamond quotes? Are they subsidised by the taxpayer in a similar way to private medicine?

fish.01

There is also a lot of posts to the contrary.

I think the "uk kids ahead" thing is often because there is a lot less academic focus in the early years of Australian schools. It is a different educational philosophy that considers confidence and social ability more important in the early years (They have been discussing changing more to this in the UK recently). I also think Australian kids start formal schooling a little later.

Independent international testing shows that by the time children finish school there is very little in it.

So if you bought a young child here and then returned home your child might be behind. If you stay they would end up similar.

A lot of people just have experience of a few schools in their area and then extrapolate that out as if the whole country can be judged from those schools. This goes for both good and bad judgements of schools.

And finally, yes, there are different systems and outcomes in every state.

lapin_windstar

There are literally a billion threads on schools on this forum filled with mixed opinion and varying levels of informed-ness. Your best bet is to use the search function (in the camel-coloured horizontal bar at the top) and you'll get more posts than you could ever read through.

Amazulu

Yes, they are heavily subsidised. It's a great setup IMO.

jad n rich

The church schools are basically state funded with the addition of funds from the Church and the small contribution from the parents.

steve`o

i belive alot of this is down to the au kids dont start school till 5-6 and go on till 17-18 where uk kids are usually start at 4-5 and finish at 16-17
they come out just the same in the end

jad n rich

I used to tell myself that too Then we looked into it. If they want to go to a UK university after a OZ education they need a VERY high score From QLD for example to even be considered they need a OP 1-5. We were advised to study the IB instead.

Mates from SIngapore, returned, their boys couldnt get into University in SIngapore, despite graduating top of the State High school in OZ. They are now in engineering and I think its sports medicine/science? in Australia.

ABCDiamond

Yes, they are subsidised, by about 60% of state school costs on average.

Both the Federal and State governments find it is better to give private schools 'about 60%' of what it would cost them to fund State school places, than to pay the full costs themselves.
Consequently, they advocate private schools to help keep taxpayer costs down, for those who cannot afford the extra.

eg:

Queensland school funding, per child on average, from combined Governments was:
$ 6,734 Independent schools: (73% Federal Government and 27% Queensland Government)
$11,043 State Schools.

The level of benefit given is based on the socio economics of the area that the school is in.
eg: A poorer intake will in theory get a higher budget per child.

As an idea of some of the higher end costs:

Re the UK v Australia part: "Over 2500 Australians are accepted by these institutions every year."

and

ABCDiamond

That is about 21% of all OP scores.

So, for QLD universities for Law studies as an example, 21% of QLD students are guaranteed an entry.
The OP cut-off for the Bachelor of Justice is usually around OP 12 or 13, so many more can be considered even with a lower OP than the 1-5 that you say they must have to be even considered.

I can see why all of your friends are scared away from Australia, (re your other thread) if this is the sort of thing that you always tell them.

Amazulu

Kids turn out about the same at the end of it all.

jad n rich

I was talking about UK UNIVERSITY wanting an Australian educated students to have a OP 1 - 5 to even be considered for entrance. Of course Universities in OZ consider students with OP 12 -13 for some courses.

However You have illustrated my point perfectly. The top batch of kids, the sort who would ge guaranteed a place in oversubscribed LAW will have the sort of OZ education level UK universities will look at. Not your average kid going to UNI then.

The post where I said two lots of friends had come out looking to emigrate but didnt choose to move here, the main reason was distance and the cost of living in OZ, neither of which I have any control over. Plenty of others have been for a holiday but it boils down to really what is here they can get in Spain etc but on a 20 quid flight.