carolinephillips

I've no idea if it was selective or not, as he died when I was 4. My grandmother was miffed that they had him as acting headmaster for nearly two years, but never made him head proper. He died within a month of retiring, killed by an aneurism following a cricket match.

RedDragon2008

Has anyone moved back to UK with girls settling into year 10?

Someone mentioned getting back to UK 4 years before university?

I was sure the cost between overseas and local is not going to amount to the disruption a split high school would cause? But a friend who is financially well ahead of me seems to think so.

Any outstanding (Academic, with emphasis on the Arts) recommendations?

Pollyana

Have a look on the UK forum, quite a few families on their have moved back with teenagers.
Also a lot of threads there about university fees.

Shwarmakarma

Shipton and Caroline, how wonderful to have our mutual connection to Oxford High.

Shipton, my daughter attends OHS senior school on Belbroughton. She was at the Junior school before that (previously called Greycoates on Bardwell Road, now called Oxford High Junior school). Incidentally, they also have an infant school called The Squirrel on Woodstock Road. The three schools are now amalgamated but juniors have to pass exams and interview to get to senior school and it is definitely selective.
I want my daughter to have the same or similar advantages that OHS offers. The school I want to apply for is for "gifted and talented" students. I'm just wondering whether I'm being presumptuous in applying.

Thanks for the advice on school entry times. Sorry for all the questions.

Shipton

Hi Sharmakarma

Well there you go. Thanks for that info. I learn something knew every day. I knew nothing about the junior schools connected to Oxford High...sometimes ignorance is bliss because we were living in Oxford in the early 90s and my daughter was about to go into High School so I made inquiries about the top academic school in Oxford and obviously it was OHS. Nobody ever mentioned there being feeder schools (part of the same organisation) - but then I obviously never asked. I thought all students were starting off an even peg so we just applied the normal way...examination and then based on the interview etc. Very interesting to hear about those junior schools, which would have meant a lot less places for outside girls...as I say, ignorance was bliss!!!!

In Sydney, a top private academic selective school is Sydney Grammar and they also have two feeder junior schools (private). I worked there on a temp contract and was involved in the admin side of the intake into Year 7. It was certainly a lot easier to get in from the junior school than the outside student applying for Year 7 which was one reason why the parents sent their boys to the junior school. Even though Sydney Grammar is very expensive and selective, the top state selective schools always beat them in the "league" tables based on results. That said, I was very impressed with Sydney Grammar but it was too expensive for us as I had three boys. Two of my boys got into North Sydney Boys High which is another top selective state school and they loved it. I honestly think it is horses for courses - some kids thrive on that environment and for others it would not be the right place for them. For some, it is better to be in the top percentage of a normal school than in the bottom percentage of a very good selective school.

As I said, I don't know anything about the Perth schools. Maybe someone who has kids in Perth could help you re the best school.

I definitely don't think you are being presumptuous at all about applying. Definitely go for it because OHS had a very high standard and was an amazing school. I hope the advice I gave previously helps you. If you were applying for year 7 admittance to a selective school in NSW, it is based purely on the results of the exam which is held around March in the previous year. Love to hear what you decide to do. cheers

northernbird

Nothing to stop you applying. It is the only fully selective school for G&T students in Perth. Other schools have G&T programmes within their schools.

This link tells you the schools available and how to apply.

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/curriculums...nted-programs/

Shwarmakarma

Thanks for your comments, Shipton and thanks for the link Northernbird.

Shipton, I'm not sure when the schools were amalgamated but they have always been associated, as far as I know. I think the girls in the Junior School definitely had an advantage but they certainly didn't all get in. I think it was about half and half (of Junior School girls and new girls) going into the senior school. You should see the campus now! It's totally revamped and absolutely stunning. Their design technology dept is amazing.

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it. We are looking at moving in December so I think I'd have my daughter start the year here in Sept, and then repeat the start of the year in Jan/Feb.

I will keep you posted!

Thanks again.

tawkins1

I think you also have to think of the child and their ability to cope with the not so nice kids in the world. I'm not saying you don't get them in private schools but if they are little shits they are dealt with and kicked out if they carry on. Unfortunately the pubic schools can't do that. We arrived with a 12 yr old who went to public, struggled so bad as all the girls were in their 'clicks' and she just didn't fit in... We moved to another school and thankfully there was a great dance programme which she got involved with, there was a lot she had to put up with on a day to day basis cos the schools 'hands were tied' but she made it through and did well ( she has said if she had remained in her high school in the uk though she would have done better as it was strict and the teachers were better) She is currently working and training to become an optical dispenser with the opportunity of starting Uni in semester 2. I will however be putting my other 2 children through private high school as 1, we are in a better position financially & 2, I know they wouldn't cope.

northernbird

You also need to keep in mind the fact the schools will close mid December with staff not usually back at school until end of January. Places are very tight on G&T programmes so I would start making enquiries sooner rather than later.

paulry

My younger son has also made several interesting observations about the schools, teachers and teaching here. He was also of the opinion that on balance school was better in the UK.

I'm glad your daughter has successfully navigated through the Australian public school system, full credit to her for what she has achieved

Shipton

Some interesting observations of private v public schools. This debate goes on all around the world.

One correction to an earlier post of mine. I am talking about the mid-2000s that my kids were in high school.

I went to one of the best private schools in Sydney for high school (Presbyterian Ladies College at Pymble (now Pymble Ladies College - PLC) and absolutely loved it so my daughter was booked in there. Three male generations went to Barker College at Hornsby so the boys had been booked in there. We were coming back to Sydney after four years but we had no jobs organised etc. Under those circumstances, I was looking for other alternatives. There is a very large range of private schools and the fees being charged. If we were going to go private, it was to PLC and Barker and I didn't consider any of the lower tier private schools.

My granddaughter had been attending one of the lower tier private primary schools but has recently changed to a state public school (because of costs) and she is loving it and absolutely thriving.

There are always going to be clicks of particularly teenage kids whether it is public or private and navigating your way through those high school years is always going to be interesting. We all went through it and came out the other end.

My kids had experience with the lot - public including in the acreage areas on outskirts of Sydney with shared year classes and only 128 kids in the whole school. Fantastic headmaster and a brilliant school through to the normal primary schools in the suburbs - both in Oxford and Sydney) to a catholic primary school in Oxford. We are not catholic but they happened to have the best public school in the area . .. to the range of high schools from selective to a normal suburban high school and to a brand new Northern Beaches Secondary College. The government created a brand new school and with about 6 other existing high schools amalgamated with it but all acting independently.

My personal opinion is that the head teacher of whatever school it is has an enormous influence on the school and how it is run. We've been to schools where the change of head teacher has had an enormous positive effect.

I personally hate the words "gifted and talented" in relation to schools because if a child has a particular talent/gift - be it music, sport, art etc then they will be pursuing that talent at a much high level outside whatever the school can offer. I always look for the academic side of a school.

I believe that the standard of schools and teaching in both countries was very similar - very good and very occasionally bad by some teachers. But I always did a lot of work with the kids at home in the primary school years Yes it is much easier for the private schools to get rid of the bad teachers and bullying kids, but a strong head teacher is really
the solution. I was very pleasantly surprised how easily all the kids could switch from one system/school to another.

Finding the right fit for the individual child is really what it is all about (in my humble opinion) and the selective school is not always the right fit and the private school may provide more buffers. It depends on your financial situation and how adaptable the kids are.

carolinephillips

Also, look at what the school says about their expectations of the students....do they try to turn out leaders, or do they cater for the individual? Are they really just a big money-making machine, or can they bring out the best in someone who may struggle with the pressure of high paced academia? What do they do for children who may need help either academically or socially? How many of the kids have extra coaching in the form of tutors in order for them to get their good results? (At DD's school almost everyone had an outside tutor for maths in the top 2 groups: an added expense which could cost another 3-5K per year.) How broad a curriculum do they have?.....so many questions....
And don't forget that children change: some hit a rough patch during their teen years, and what may have suited them at 11 may not when they get to 16.

tawkins1

Totally agree with you 100% that if a school has a good principle (and one with balls the size of cannons) then yeah it's a whole different story how the school runs and the kids behave

paulry

The same with most human team endeavors, they're only as good as the person managing the team.

Private schools are often not better than public, probably due to the above. Here in Canberra we are fortunate to have a large amount of good public schools and many get higher average ATAR scores than private. I'm not sure how it is around the rest of Australia.

Here's a good site for sifting and sorting though Aussie schools related data:
http://bettereducation.com.au/