obiwan

The good private schools cost A$20,000/ year here???

GaryKristensen

A very good philosophy to follow, you are to be commended!

As I said, if the community schooling is better than that in the UK then we'll consider it based on all of the factors, costs and merits of each system with the caveat of providing the best education possible for our children, so long as we can afford it.

themerlin

We are thinking the same. Put our kids names down for secondary private schools even though they are both under two.
We also put there names down at a few some more expensive then others becuase you don't know how much cash you will have in 10 years time

DrWho

I don't know if they all do but a business associate of mine pays $20k pa for his son to attend a school somewhere on the North Shore here in Sydney... And I looked at my old schools namesake in Victoria... Haileybury

themerlin

There was something in the local paper last week that ranked schools, Genesis Christian College came second in the brisbane area, ahead of some more expensive schools, handy as it's our closest school

NickyC

There are three main 'tiers' of private schools in NSW at least.

1. The bog standard 'parish' catholic school with very low fees and run by the Catholic Education Office. Every suburb is serviced by one. Fees can be as low as $2k a year depending on number of kids you have.

2. Other religous schools usually in outer suburbs where land is cheap. Setup by churches to counter the myriad catholic schools. Fees are not as low as the catholic schools but not bad - around $4-6k a year.

3. The traditional private school - may or may not be church run, can even be catholic. Usually in more central locations as land was bought years ago when the school was setup. These are the expensive private schools. In Sydney you can pay up to $25k a year for these. More for boarders, of course.

Sandra

Private schools can be a snobbery thing here, just as they can be a personal choice for parents. Some private schools do achieve better results and some state schools beat the pants off the privates especially the selectives of course!!!

The area you live can determine your choice of school, the attributes and personality of your child can be a big factor. I moved to an area where the local state high school has a good reputation and has been brilliant for my son and has a higher results average than alot of state and private schools in NSW but I moved my daughter after 1 year to a private Catholic school which she and I are much happier about now. This school does not have the same results as the state school but is a much better fit for my daughter because of the pastoral care. The uniform is a hoot she will be in a knee length winter wool tunic and frilly blouse until she is 18 - hee hee hee. That put an end to the thigh hugging mini and black eyeliner!!!

In this area of Sydney the top private school are around the $18K mark by year 12 with many activities and uniform taking these costs much higher. With families having a possible two children and the average income being $53K private schooling at these levels is out for them. The catholic school provide a cheaper but not necessarily better option.

It has been reported in the papers recently (if you believe them) that there is a slight move away from the private options back to state schools. I don't think they meant these figures from the ABS in 2006 - overall 66.8 per cent of Australia’s 3,368,036 full-time school students went to government schools. This was down from 70.7 per cent in 1996. I think they meant in the last 12 months enrolements but I cannot find stats for that.

This can then be compared to the UK's 7 percent in private.

On a personal level I think there are more options for schooling in Australian but just because you pay a fee does not mean you get a better education. That is a large part is down to the parental support and guidance how much a child gets from any system.

Cheers

galba

I didn't realise I was obsessed with private schools - just a personal choice.

Galba

Loubags

Exactly what happened to me and my brother. My dad worked his butt off to send me to an excellent private school where I had a great time learning the joys of smoking, redesigning my A-line uniform skirt and practising the art of body piercing in the needlework classes ( I was ahead of my time there ).

I managed to leave with virtually no qualifications. My brother attended the local comp as parents could not afford to send him to a private school. He did well, but would have benefited far more than me if he had gone to a smaller private school. They made the best choice they could at the time, however I think it's all down to the individual child far more than the school they attend.

My oldest is much like me and left school with exactly 1 GSCE. My youngest loves learning and will probably do very well academically wherever he goes. I have friends who have given up everything to send their kids to so - called excellent schools and the best skill they've picked up is how to shop around for the best gram of coke.

All in all - I agree that everyone should make the best choice for their kids, but ultimately it's often down to the childs personality if they do well there or not.

By the way - I'm a mental health nurse working with children and adolescents, so see both sides of the coin at work - the kids who are feral as their parents don't give a shit and the ones who self harm at 15+ due to the pressure the parents put on them to succeed.

Amazulu

I think $20k is at the top of range. In Perth the top Private schools are in the region of $12-15k. My son's school is $3-8k. Some of the church schools can be under $1k. Good education but expect the school to try and teach intelligent design and religious brainwashing.

Vanessa

what about trying your child for a scholarship, or are they not so readily available in Aus as they are in the UK?

bridie

Yep, me too (and I used to pierce my friends ears in the needlework classes.... maybe we went to the same school?!

I got two GCSEs from school, then went to college for a year and got two more. My OH went to a comp with thousands of students (my school only had about 200 max I think) and he came out with loads of CSEs and O levels. Just because you pay for what may well be a better education, if your kid isnt academically minded it won't make any difference. Personally I was more interested in having a laugh and taking the p out of the teachers than knuckling down and getting on with the work...!

Cant say I've investigated the various schooling options yet, but I know I will definitely not be sending our kids to any form of religion-related school as I dont like the idea of them being brainwashed and I know from a friend that the schools expect you to back up any religious teachings they learn at school which we just couldnt do.

walaj

Other new mums I was talking to this year have already put their baby's name down for a private school (on the Nth Shores, Syd) at less than 3mths old and this was not early. The other thing they (the schools) are doing is requiring a deposit (non refundable, & I'm sure not set against future fees) for putting the child on the list to try to stop people putting their child down at several schools.

Given cost of housing around here it would be very difficult to fund 2 children through private school for us, even if it is much cheaper than the UK, because so are our wages.

OzSheila

I know of someone who rang Joeys (St Josephs Hunters Hill) immediately after his wife gave birth to their son and BEFORE he rang his mum!

We paid non-refundable deposits x 5 for schools in Sydney before we decided to move to Melb - duh!

cloughie

We have recently moved to Townsville in Queensland and have 3 children 15,13 and 11. Looking for schools is a nightmare especially where education systems vary including state to state. In our area schools also have quite strict catchment areas and when we arrived we stayed in holiday accomodation looking for somewhere to live.

Finding a rental was a nightmare and subsequently made looking for a school really hard.

We did what most would do and asked anyone we met about the local schools.

The Grammar school was recommended by most locals we spoke to.

We would never have been able to afford private school in the UK. Here it costs around $18,000 per year for all 3 of them.

Overall I would say that at primary school level state is fantastic, at secondary there are many many great schools though most specialise in subjects and sports. If like us you have more children that have different strengths and you wish to keep them together, and ensure equal opportunity for all of them private might be the answer.

BTW: the grammar school is non denomination. If the only choice had been a religious private school the outcome would have been different. This is just a personal thing for our family.