spartacus

'Pubic hair monitor' was mentioned nowhere in the contract I signed!

Wendy

It's one of them things us women don't tell you about until it's too late

spartacus

Dagnamit!

JenniGee

I wish I could say something to help you, especially those of you who are going through such heartache with older children. You don't suddenly stop loving them & wanting the best for them, even though they are growing up & telling you they can make their own decisions.

If anything, reading this thread has made me even more determined to keep my children onside & make sure we do everything we can to make the move before they get too independent & set in their own way of doing things.

Sending my heartfelt good wishes to all of you who are struggling with your family situations, I do hope you can find a way of resolving them.

Dolly Dimples

Hi, sorry can you just clarify... did you say Grammar. Are you in Brisbane? My children both go to grammar schools and I was unsure as to whether they would get into similar in Oz.

Dolly Dimples

Hi Jenni, I notice your in kent. So am I, in Meopham. Where abouts are you? What status are you at with the move.

quoll

Grammar schools are private schools here - if you can afford the fees and they have vacancies they will take your kids.

JenniGee

We're in Tonbridge - this morning it's howling a gale & bucketting down with rain.

We've got a long way to go yet, though yesterday's browsing around here gave me a fright!

We've just finished collecting stuff for ACS, we'll be sending it to the agent early next week - as soon as UPS can courier it over for us.

I was reckoning on 3 months for ACS, which takes us up to end of April, then 9 months for the Visa, which takes us to January 09.

Last year, someone actually got their ACS in 8 weeks & their Visa in only 7

Fortunately this was only a one-off, but it's possible that it could still be a little quicker than we thought.

But that's good, because I wanted my kids to start in the new school year in Jan 09, so we could have a little more time to get things sorted. Maybe

Timber Floor Au

I musta put it on another thread lol.. oops



Just bear in mind, what im posting isnt a result of this thread, its just a coincidence. Otherwise I'd have tutored him a little !!!

spartacus

Hi Double dee

Yes there are grammar schools in Brisbane / Queensland.

There is a Queensland Grammar Schools Association; off the top of my head there's Brisbane Grammar (boys and girls single sex), Ipswich Grammar (boys and girls single sex), Toowoomba Grammar, I think Nudgee is a grammar also. A search on the net would clarify.

They are fee paying schools. The federal government contribute to the schools and parents pay fees also, makes the fees far more affordable than private schools in the UK.

Whether they are similar to grammar schools in the UK in anything but name, don't know.

Andy

Dolly Dimples

When we were out there last we were speaking about schools and got the impression that we would be better off paying for a school (which goes against the grain I have to say) if the children were attending grammar schools here. However I was also led to believe that places are sought after and not always available unless you've had your name down forever!

Thats something we would have to investigate. I am thinking of coming out in the summer hols to check it all out as they say! Mind you as long as it was a good reputable school I would be happy.

My friend went to Oz for awhile and after being unhappy she came back and found that her kids were quite a bit behind in schooling. Whereas her daughter previously would have stood a good chance at the 11+, she was way off line for it on her return. Could be the unsettlement possibly.

Jenni, your 20 mins away - small world. Our visa process was extremely quick actually. I was shocked. I cant remember from start to finish but i'm sure it was only a matter of months. I remember sending all the paperwork off and then having to all go for a medical and then before you knew it, we had the ok. This was a work related application so possibly why it went through quicker. That was in 2006 and I know criteria has changed again now.

The O'Neills

Proud Parent Alert!!!! (and rightly so Steve) his letter was lovely and he's proper cute!

Nicky

Timber Floor Au

Cheers Nicky

LouiseD

I just wanted to say that I really feel for anyone who is missing their children. It's so difficult being apart from them as no matter how old they are, they are still your kids and in my opinion still your responsibilty in many ways.

Our two girls where 16 & 20 when we moved to Melbourne. The youngest didn't want to go at all - we tried everthing to persuade her but in the end forced her thinking that it would be a better life out there for her.

After just two months aged 17 now, she left - she had cried herself to sleep every night as she hated the place and missed her friends and her life. Life without her was unbearable and although we spoke to her often on the phone, this was not what we emigrated for.

We realised too, that life in Australia wasn't better for us in many ways, financially we were worse off, we missed so many things that we had previously taken for granted and I just couldn't cope without my daughter. So after much soul searching we returned to the UK after 12 months of trying.

I can honestly say that it was the best decision we ever made because things are so much better now. 12 months after returning we are the happy family that we used to be. Because of our time apart and the heartache that we all went through we appreciate each other much more now. The dark days are well and truly over thank goodness.

I don't think that the guilt of what we did will ever go away - I totally regret what we did. If we were going to emigrate, we should have done it when our girls were younger, not when they are at such a vulnerable age. But then I think that we are only human, we make decisions and sometimes those decisions will prove to be wrong. We can't get it right all of the time.

And to all the people out there still going through this - try to stay positive. I'm sure that there will be light at the end of your tunnel.