Major Edmund Lockyer

Just for your information- I find parents bery paranoid when its comes to schools and upbringing and sometimes out right SNOBBERY comes into. I can say this as my family are a bunch of snobs, with silver spoons and i must be the black sheep.

I moved to two areas in the UK, which shall i say were the cheaper option next to posh parts, I am sure the posh parts would say , chavvy scroaty unemployed tramps, in their words.

The schools had bad reps, anyhow I had no choice to put my kids in, and to tell you the truth, they are brilliant down to earth schools that have educated my kids excellently.

The one thing this has taught them is about life balance,people and working hard, I am proud of my kids not so proud of some others, but I am sure naughty kids isnt a new thing.

You only get experience in not getting what you want, and I/we are now becoming very experienced.

So if I worry about my kids, ofcourse, but to extent I would trawl all over the country and prejudge people and schools on hear say. NO I DONT WORRY.

Serenity

See this is just the kind of thing that perpetuates the "UK is crap" mentality. The fact is you don't know, you just assume.

Let me just copy and paste this from a high school in the city I live in, in the UK, which doesn't charge any kind of fees:

"Hair should be an appropriate length, which will be decided by the Headmaster and there should be no evidence of dye or tints applied to the hair. Jewellery should not be worn and earrings should be replaced by discrete studs for girls. Advice is always available from the School and parents are encouraged to ask when uncertain. Students can and will be disciplined if they are not wearing the correct School uniform, in school, to and from School as well as School trips."

lorids

Thank goodness we do not all tar the UK with the same negative brush. I get so fed up reading all the 'UK is crap' as well. I think however by downing the UK it gives some people more justification for leaving and therefore makes it easie for them personally..if that helps so be it. I get just as fed up with the moans about Oz albeit fewer and further between.
I do not notice much difference here in WA as far as standards of uniform go. Some schools enforce smart, others are just glad the kids turn up...just like the UK>>.surprise surprise!!

simongb

My niece attends a state secondary school in the UK. Students cannot wear any jewellry at all (except a watch). Boys cannot have their hair cut below a number 3 with the clippers. If a student is late/absent they get a phone call home every day, without exception. Students check into each class by putting thier fingerprint on a pad which registers them with a computer, the headmaster knows if they are late for any class. A strict uniform code is enforced. If a student comes to school dressed inappropriately, they are isolated for the day and a phone call is made. Bullying is not tolerated at all. Compare this with state schools in the US. Students wear what they want, hair can be any length or color, violence (how many shoot outs in schools are there in the UK?), etc etc. The UK is not all bad. People who criticize it by making blanket statements have an agenda or are ignorant of other countries. Again, as I said previously, there is good and bad everywhere. No one place is perfect.

Major Edmund Lockyer

why is this all important,

no-one has once said about if the kids are happy, whats in the cirriculum, what results do the schools achieve.

How about sports, wellbeing of pupils.

seems some parents are bothered about status of the school and their own image.

St.Georges Girl

I mentioned that my son was very unhappy in his first school here and I believe quite afew others have commented on their childrens happiness or otherwise.

Major Edmund Lockyer

sorry must have missed that, i am sorry he isnt enjoying himself.


My son has been to 4 different high schools in 3 years, 2 in Aus and 2 here.

He prefers the AUs way of teaching, but does like this last school, as its more relaxed than the first one, which was a posh one, think we were keeping up with the jones's at the time.

for thought tho

I went to a Grammar school,in UK and looking back, the school was for the parents image, not the kids themselves, I hated it and was miderable as fk, personally, looking at the AUs schools and what they do, I'd rather have been there, and let kids grow up slowly, experiment within reason and generally have a great time, before they are bogged down with mortagages and stresses of life too soon. I was hampered and mithered with responsibility too young, and certainly not letting my kids go through what I had to, as now im a right stiff brush who should be care free.

I cant tell anyone about there situation and these are my experiences and observations, only, so dont go off at deep end.

ezzie

Brilliant! Which school is this, will make sure my kids go there!

[quote=simongb;5756942]My niece attends a state secondary school in the UK. Students cannot wear any jewellry at all (except a watch). Boys cannot have their hair cut below a number 3 with the clippers. If a student is late/absent they get a phone call home every day, without exception. Students check into each class by putting thier fingerprint on a pad which registers them with a computer, the headmaster knows if they are late for any class. A strict uniform code is enforced. If a student comes to school dressed inappropriately, they are isolated for the day and a phone call is made. Bullying is not tolerated at all.

ezzie

ALL schools have a similar code to this, it's whether they bother enforcing it which separates the good from the lax.

"Hair should be an appropriate length, which will be decided by the Headmaster and there should be no evidence of dye or tints applied to the hair. Jewellery should not be worn and earrings should be replaced by discrete studs for girls. Advice is always available from the School and parents are encouraged to ask when uncertain. Students can and will be disciplined if they are not wearing the correct School uniform, in school, to and from School as well as School trips."[/quote]

lorids

Again I think we have sweeping statements here and the whole thread needs read. There has been numerous mention of childrens happiness as well as children not enthused, bullying and work levels. I mentioned outcome based learning and our reservations of this. The discussion then turned to uniform as one facet of the discussion which I do think can be an indicator of behaviour expectation and often reflects the outcomes the school is hoping to achieve. Let's try and keep it positive and balanced and a useful informative thread.I think we are all aware of the vast differences within UK education (with completely different systems within the UK) as well as the vast differences in Australia. IMO there is no way to compare Oz to UK at such a basic level with the thousand variables involved and in fact it is difficult to compare even within each country.

Serenity

[/QUOTE]

In this instance they do. I've been on the bus when kids from that school get on and they are well turned out and very polite.

Though personally, and I didn't have time to add this to my last post as it wasn't immediately relevant, I don't think uniform is necessarily the great arbiter of whether a school is good or not. The school I went to was lax about uniform but not too bad, as the behaviour got worse the uniform got better and more strictly enforced.

I am just amazed this thread is still going and am surprised at myself for getting sucked in again and banging my head against the brick wall that is Generalisation Of A Country From One's Own Limited Viewpoint. It's a viewpoint that annoys me incredibly but I should know better than to try to debate it because many people can't rise above personal experience to try to conduct even a slightly more objective and rational debate.

Why am I even here?! We recently definitely decided against spending a couple of years in Europe. Hmmm... how does one delete one's account?

LouiseD

Totally agree with you here - I thought the same thing. Unless you have worked in a significant number of schools of the same type and conducted proper research in both countries then you can't possibly say which is better.

Brilliant statement and so true

ezzie

I think there are significant trends which are worthy of noting though. The UK's steady decline down the OECD world ranking tables surely indicates that the education system there is maybe not failing, but certainly struggling in areas. Some results: Reading: UK position = 17th; Australia = 7th. Maths: UK = 24th; Australia = 13th. Science: UK = 14th; Australia = 8th. Finland no. 1 for Science and 2nd for Maths & Reading....what makes Finnish education so good - well, for starters, they don't start school till they're 7 (for half-days). After many studies they felt there was many benefits to starting later. (I am in shock to find that my girls, about to start Yr 8 here in Oz, having been 'accelerated' up an academic year - they're 12, 13 in May - would already be half-way through Yr 8 in the UK!!!). Finland also spends the 2nd highest amount on public education. It's gov't is committed to education as a means of supplying intelligent citizens capable of ensuring Finland can be financially successful. Pity it's so bloody cold there!!!!!

robclaridge

...sorry i offended anyone... Perhaps my 15 years of teaching teenagers as a grade 1 to 2 teacher means that I obviously don't know what the hell I'm talking about??? Interesting that once again people on the outside fringe of education (some parents that can never be bothered to turn up for career choices, subject choices or parents evening I suspect - see I can generalise as well without facts!) can take selective opinions (Thats what they are, opinions, my opinions - all be it with experience in said field) out of my previous posting. I'm most def. not anti UK. (read my previous post on this forum) I love England and adore it. I will now selectively quote from my post..... On balance...(So not all then).......I had good students that parents and society should be proud of....(did i say they were all bad? Infact I had some truly wonderful, outstanding students)..... This is all getting rather tiresome. This bulletin board is for ex pats or people wishing to emigrate to another country be it for a good time not necessarily a long time and we should all be grateful to the contributors with their personal experiences good and bad. For me. I quote again. On balance I think its better here in Australia, but I accept that some peoples experiences may not be as good.

robclaridge

Good post ezzie... I rest my case!