James516

I think a lot of Brits in Oz fail to appreciate that the gap between state and private education in Oz is nothing like the gap in the UK. In the UK it is very tangible and clear, with few exceptions/overlaps (but not none). In Oz, there is less difference, with church schools being a third overlapping option, and it is not uncommon for state schools to be as good as local private schools.

The main reason Oz kids go to private school outside of the big cities is to board, i.e. parents live in middle of nowhere. Admittedly in the cities, some of the state schools are less good, and so private education is more attractive.

Finally, a bright kid will do well in a state school or a private school, because they are bright. This is more true in Oz than in the UK. Spending an hour a day with your kids focusing on reading, numeracy etc when they are young will be worth far more than the benefits of a private education.

GreenTea

What I dont understand is what real benifit there is for the money.

I live in a nice normal area in Scotland where the local state schools have fantastic results. And from what I have seen of the scholastic results of many of the better state schools in Oz, there is no need to spend a small fortune of makeing your kid wear a straw hat and long woolley socks to school just because there is a perception that they will geta better education or become better people later in life.

One of my main problems with Private education is that your kids become less rounded in life due to the narrow band of peers they will be exposed to at school, where the state system will provide a very wide range of kids from all background. This can only help provide your kids with valuable social skills and also help them to appreciate other rather than peering down their noses at thos less fortunate.

However after all that if I can afford it and if the results are better then and only will I consider this option.

BadgeIsBack

I agree with Nicky - many Christian schools seem to be more interested in the environment they wish to give kids rather than hard graft zealotism.

I went to one, apart from 2 hours of RE a week, and a couple of teachers making a part of the bible an assembly talking point which ended in a sort of "He Man'' thought for the day that was it.

BadgeIsBack

I think environment is key, if you can avoid the worst schools by paying then it will help ultimately. Private is not always snobbery,not always about results.

daunted

Was visiting my brother and his family in Perth recently and his daughter came home from school. she is 6 years old and it is a normal run of the mill state school. When i asked her what she had been doing today she said the three Rs. I presumed she meant Reading, wRIting and aRithmetic but she told me it was responsibility, respect and reasoning!!!

Kapri

I'm not in Australia yet so these are just my thoughts.
Would it not be better to invest in a house in an area where there are decent state schools?

GaryKristensen

Depends if you can find work there first (among other things I suppose), but if all falls into place for you, that would be a good plan of action.

In our case, we have to move to where we are going with my job, so we do not have the choice initially.

Bexie

Same here! There are so many 'what ifs'!!! Wish I had a crystal ball!

annqldau

From my experience of state schools on arrival here the states schools still gave most cudos to the sporty kids and left the quiet non sporty kids with few options of what they could do to stay fit. Also like I've previously said the state school let the kids jump around in class and swear interupting lessons this has not been the case with the private school. My sons UK state school had good discipline and when your son is the one coming home saying he can't learn for the interuptions I think a private school that keeps everyone on track and gives everyone options of what to do is worth the sacrafice and exspense for a few years. Until he went to a private school he had never ever been on a team of any sorts, as they don't have reading teams which he would definatley have been on, now he does fencing and chess and is loving it and also gets comments on how good and advanced his reading, is which he never used to get and advanced book rights in the library. As for the blazer issues someone mentioned I would have had to buy a blazer in UK anyway.

You could also argue the opposite that the state school kids have a less rounded life as they don't get to mix with large groups of private school kids and sons school has kids from all races and backgrounds. The results aren't necessary better it's the overall behavior of the school and it's ethos I prefer as they are encouraging the quiet kids and the poor performers to excel that often get over looked.

Vash the Stampede

Some of them cost a hell of a lot less than that, but like most things, you can always find a more expensive one.

My wife and I have already chosen a private school in South Australia for our (future) kids, and we'll be paying around $1,500 per student per year. That sounds like a fair deal to me.

JAJ

No-one seems to have mentioned the option of home schooling.

alicecat

I agree. I went to an Australian state school for primary and a private school for secondary. Going to that secondary opened my eyes to a whole different world. Growing up in Australian suburbia meant that I had a very narrow view of the world. Going to a private school nearer the city showed me different cultures, lifestyles, ambitions and opinions.

MrsDagboy

Firstly, in Australia, sending your child to a private school does not automatically qualify them for smaller class sizes.

Secondly, for Anna (& anyone else) who mentions the children jumping around in class swearing & interupting lessons, may I suggest that that has an awful lot to do with the area that the school is in, more so than the "school" itself. Simply put, a "school" is made up of students & teachers & the best teachers in the world arent going to help if you have students with behavioural ssues coming from homes where the parents just don't give a toss.

And lastly, whilst it may be easy to just say "choose a good state school & you wont have to send your child private" it's not always that easy. Good state secondary schools here in Brisbane have traditionally had catchment areas (although now all schools have them) & trying to find accommodation within those areas can often be extremely daunting. Mostly you will find that good state schools are situated in higher socio-economic areas which always pushes the price of housing (both to buy & rent) way above the city average & as they are often (but not always) in the inner city corridor, accommodation in the area may not always be suitable eg apartments, houses on tiny blocks of land etc.

FWIW, our boys are at an excellent state primary school - not necessarily excellent because they wear smart uniforms or can rote learn pages of info for tests etc but because it has extremely caring & dedicated teachers who do their utmost to instill a good approach to learning in the children as well as working as a team to make the school environment one in which the children learn (& are expected to show) courtesy, confidence, persistence, organisation, how to get along, resilience & respect towards adults & other children. The fact that our children have done extremely well academically there is a bonus. We have already chosen a secondary school for them which is private, but which shows similar ethos to the state school that they go to now (& it's not the more popular non-christian school in the area with the flashier buildings & grounds either ).

JAJ

I suspect the Australian "obsession" with private schooling is a trait inherited from the English. Private schooling is a much less common choice in Canada or the United States, by comparison.

There is no such thing as the "best" school (private or state) as a lot of it depends on the personality and attributes of the child. A good school for one child might be an awful school for another one, even a sibling.

And as someone has pointed out, private schools are not immune from drugs, bullying etc. Even though they have in theory more power to exclude troublemakers, in practice they often don't.

If sending your child - especially a teenager - to a religious school, you should do a searching due diligence on whether the schools "caring ethos" will hold up should your teenager reject the denomination concerned. You don't necessarily want a situation where your teenager gets browbeaten, patronised or discriminated against for not following the school's religious orthodoxy. Ask the school what provision is made for pupils who choose to follow different denominations, faiths - or none at all.

And bear in mind the most important place for any child to learn isn't at school - it's at home.

JaneandJim

Somebody did, you haven't read all the posts.

The local state high school in my area is very good, just not a good "fit" for my child. That's something you can't find out until you get here and see all the schools for yourself.

Rhabsody, both BBC and St. Peters have second hand uniform stores, I don't know about the other local private schools. Second-hand blazer still costs $180 though and they only wear it for one term.

Jane