Advice on Secondary education

[Garandelaine]

Hi,
Wondering could anybody advise on secondary education in Oz. we have two children , boy 14yrs and girl 12yrs, and we are thinking of moving to Oz , but concerned their education may be affected, not because of difference in standards (if any) but the eldest is about to choose his subjects. How different is the curriculum?

[connaust]

Hello there,

I would not be too concerned, others can give personal experience, but as an education person...state systems mirror each other although effetcively same (waste!) and if there needs to be specialisation it would not be until year 10 at the earliest, before the 2 year Certificate, i.e. years 11 & 12.

After high school the system is incredibly flexible due to the http://www.aqf.edu.au , alternative pathways, mature age entry and lifelong learning via recognition of prior learning and experience. Many university programmes e.g. Medicine, do not allow direct entry from school but require life experience and other study e.g. history. This is to make sure students wish to study.

Now Australian students pay fees for post secondary (deferrable depending upon income) so I generally advise teenagers to study part time at TAFE after school (credits can be transferred to university), work part time and travel. After this they should have an idea of what they want to study, i.e. what they are prepared to pay for to get desired outcomes.

If you want specific state details get in touch.

Cheers Andrew
Cert IV WPA, B. Bus. & M. Ed.
http://www.aiec.biz

[BullcreekBob]

Originally Posted by connaust

...state systems mirror each other ...

Yeah, and pigs fly.

The states in Aus have different term times, different cirriculums, different school starting ages and policies and different university qualification criteria. Get real.

If you want advice on Australian secondary schooling, talk to someone who is in the state you are going to.

Andrew, how is life in Budapest?

[Nelson]

Originally Posted by BullcreekBob

Yeah, and pigs fly.

The states in Aus have different term times, different cirriculums, different school starting ages and policies and different university qualification criteria. Get real.

If you want advice on Australian secondary schooling, talk to someone who is in the state you are going to.

Andrew, how is life in Budapest?

Bob! I couldn't agree more! The biggest difference that has affected my children is that my daughter (15) has gone from learning 5 languages (Latin, Spanish, French, German & Korean) to 0. Zilch, nada. It was partly her choice but the chhoice was forced upon her to some extent in that the school she wanted to go to, only study Indonesian and Japanese. With all the other major life changes she has had to make, starting from scratch with a new 7th language at this stage in her education would not have been wise.

I feel sad that she may lose what was identified as a real talent but, on the other hand, she has learned so many new things here that if she now had to give those up in favour of the languages, I think she would be very reluctant to do so.

On balance, we are very pleased with the education our children are receiving and, if you consider the costs - we were paying a fortune in U.K. - I would have to say that Oz comes out on top!

[connaust]

I should have been more specific, the focus in Oz is on outcomes i.e. Cert of Education in any state can be used for entry to university, TAFE etc. in any other state. There are of course differences between curricula (within states) but that does not alter outcomes....as I said, it is a waste with diferent systems and if smart they would just bring in the IB nationally.

If you want specific links to any state let me know.

Ciao Andrew
http://www.aiec.biz

[Garandelaine]

Thanks for all your replies, my family and I are flying out to Oz at the end of the month for a holiday, hopefully we will get the feel for things.

Thanks again

Gareth and Elaine