Rectoday

My family and I are looking to settle in Robina, Queensland. We hope to arrive in Jan 08. I would really like to hear from anyone already there, for feed back on how they have settled, good areas and schools and if there are any meet-upgroups. We've got visas and have been to visit for a 6 week recce. First thought Adelaide would be good then visited the Gold coast and have decided the area would suit us better. would appreciate any view and ideas. Thanks recktoday:

mooncat

We're not actually there yet but will be in a couple of months so if you're still around, I'll let you know what it's like!. Welcome to BE by the way. There are a fair few on here in the gold coast, I'm sure people will answer any questions you may have.

JohnandMichelle

Welcome to BE. Robina's a beautiful suburb and very central for everything. If you do a search on here, there is a Robina website mentioned a few times that has lots of info in. Good luck with the eventual move Michelle x

jakieo

Hi we live in Robina and love it here, there are 2 schools Robina primary just by where we live or Varsity college about 10 mins drive also a very good school, there is a pub here called RQ`S on a Sunday a lot of Expats are in there for a quiz get together, its a good laugh!
Shops are close by with Robina town centre and Pacific fair a short drive away both have everything you need.
hope this helps
jak

Rectoday

Thanks for the replies. We keep making decisions, which seems easy but not changing them or doubting ourselves is the really hard bit. I am sure Robina will be the place for us, having taken 2 years to get to this point I can'twait for Christmas to be out the way and for us to be on the plane to OZ.
Schools are the next big issue, I have the prospectus for TSS in Southport and will register both boys to try to get in for 08, does anyone have any experience with this school or Somerset college? Are the Private sector schools much better than the state and worth the money? There is so much to think and panic about.

sherie_in_oz

Hi
If you are moving to Robina Somerset College is a lot closer than TSS! The journey time to TSS would be quite long in the morning.
Somerset College is an excellent school if your kids are very academic, and used to a very high standard of school but theres alot of pressure to do well and it doesn't suit all children. Our middle child struggled because of all the homework at yr 9 and we've put her back in a state school and she's getting A* again in most subjects so PM me if you want to know more about local state high schools. Theres a huge difference in the expectations and facilities of state and private schools. Somerset is more like a top public school in the UK so if you can afford it, it might be worth the money if its right for your child.
Somerset has been very good for our 17 year old who started in yr 11 and is now in yr 12.(his final year) Hes made a lot of friends and its made him work really hard. He expects to get a much better OP score for going to such a good school.
Another private school with great facilities near here is All Saints Anglican,if it was me I'd look at this and Somerset instead of TSS., as its only in Merrimac which isn't far away.
We love our new life here,theres the excellent shopping centre at Robina, the beach at Burleigh, the cafe lifestyle in the evening at Broadbeach and free entertainment in the parks and on the beaches. Our kids love the variety of things to do and the nearby motorway will quickly take you to the theme parks or to Brisbane.... Mudgeeraba has an old villagey feel and theres lots of sports facilities around too, so theres something for everyone and so many people have recently moved here you won't feel the only newbie!!
We travelled all over Oz before we decided on this place but for us its been great moving here.

YoSemite

my friend has her two boys (7 and 11) at somerset... she thinks the world of it. Another friend has her two kids (12 & 14, girl & boy) at All Saints and she thinks it's great for them!!!! horses for courses I guess

My uni (Bond @ robina) has quite a few somerset graduates and I think very highly of all of them. Bright, well mannered, dedicated kids - real credit to the school!

neil248

Hi

How easy was it to get into Somerset College. Our daughter is in year 3 at Clover Hill State School next door and doing well academically and would probably do well within that environment. We are thinking of Somerset for when she moves to secondary school. We did look at the fees but are yet to make enquiries partly because we assumed that places were booked up years in advance.

Your last paragraph sums up this part of the coast perfectly.

auspal

My children went to the local state school here on the Gold Coast, both got wonderful OP scores, one got into Civil Engineering at uni with a 7 and the other one got an 8 and got into Psychology, saved us multiple thousands of dollars as well ( just as well as we couldnt have afforded it)

TSS is a very prestigious school, one of my friend's son won a scholarship to go there because of his sporting prowess, ended up with an OP of 21.

( OP 1 is the best score, and would be required for medicine etc)

sherie_in_oz

Hi Neil,
Theres an open day on the 25th July at Somerset so go along and ask then. Otherwise contact John Bacon the dean of admissions,Ph 07 5530 4536, he's a really nice,friendly guy and will be able to tell you what the numbers are like in that year.
We didn't have any problems getting ours in as there were vacancies in the years we wanted. I think its more difficult with very young ones as parents put names down at the age of 2 etc.
Our youngest is also at Clover Hill State School (yr 7) and it has a name for being one of QLDs best primaries so most transfer in year 8, some transfer before then but Clover Hill is a good school.
Thanks for your kind comment, its restored my faith that I can put things on Bexps and not get slated.
Hopefully this will help you.
Sherie