Sherie

Hi,
I have 3 kids (2 of them at high school here in the UK) and they have 2 specific questions:
1.What languages are they likely to study in high school in Oz? Are they more likely to learn German or Japanese(and do they study French)? What age do they tend to start to learning languages and what age can they drop them....Are newly arrived British kids at a disadvantage(eg with japanese) or is it optional??

2.Do they study subjects like media studies in year 10/11? My son loves doing this here, he gets to make films, writes reviews on TV/films, not like the kind of subjects on offer when i was at school...anyone know of schools in Oz that offer it/something similar?

Thanks for any info on subjects studied at high schools in Oz and how they might differ from the UK.... just helps to prepare the kids for a better life too!!

Sherie

Jonahs_mummy

Hiya Sherie

I have asked my brother this one as he went to Au at the age of 6 & has gone through school there. He did learn a little japenese, but also learnt some arabic and french. He did all the regular subjects - biology, chemistry, physics, RE, English, Maths, History, Geography, but also did Ethnic Studies (looking at the history & culture of native Australia..) He also did LOADS of sports - his faves being Golf & Bowling....

Hope this helps!

steandleigh

It really all depends upon the school and whether its a state or private school.

My childrens school does the following:

Prep to yr 7:
Christian ed
Eng Lang
Arts
Maths
Science
SOSE
Health/physical ed
Art
Music
Japanese
Computing
Human relationships ed

Then yrs 8 to 12 they have a 'core' of english, maths and science and SOSE plus twelve 'electives' including:
accounting
art
biological science
business organisation & management
chemistry
french
geography
graphics
health / physical ed
home economics
hospitality studies
information processing and technology
japanese
legal studies
maths c
modern history
music
physics
speech and drama
technology studies.

( the sports include:
athletics/crosscountry/softball/soccer/hockey/rowing/volleyball/swimming/
triathlon/netball/basketball/Aussie rules footie/water polo/cricket)

Hope this helps.

Pandanda

It depends on which state you are in and which particular high school you go to, as not all offer the same range of curriculum. At my high school, there were the options of French, German, Japanese, and Indonesian. And there was definitely media studies with film making and journalism and stuff, and photography as a separate subject too. There were a few types of drama studies, if I remember correctly, one with writing plays and skits and doing reviews. Some schools have a lot more subject choices than others--it really comes down to the size and location of the school.

ABCDiamond

In my area the languages are: German, Japanese, and Indonesian.

In some schools the kids get very involved in Drama and production.

In fact the school plays are mainly managed by the older kids, who wander around with earpieces and mikes, doing the stage work, sound checks etc etc.

It's nothing like when I was at school I don't think I ever appeared in a school play, can't even remember any school plays!, but my daugher has now appeared in 4 or 5 of them, and been involved in creating one of them, and she is 8.