TSP sports high schools

[shazney64]

Hi have not been on for a while still researching and awaiting decision if can move family to Sydney area in Jan 08.

My son is very sports minded classed as Gifted and talented here and represents three sports in various regional teams and one at county level.
Have found sports high colleges and the Targeted Sports Programmes, which look like his thing.
He needs a push on his academic side ( as he would rather play footie) and this seems to do this.
However the pre assesment criteria and trials will all happen before we re settle.
Does anyone know if people have placed their children in these high schools and have been allowed to take the pre assessments trials mid term??

The sports high coleges are Illiwarra and Hunter ther are others but want to be as close to Sydeny as i can, money wise there is a limit though.

many thanks

[Daphne]

There are another sports High School in Sydney - "Westfields" and the "Hills sports High" schools are two that come to mind. However, academically I have not heard great things about these schools.

My daughter (who is not yet at high school) is also talented in sport, so much so that she has been placed on a scholarship with the NSW Institute of Sport. This is a government funded programme which takes in children/adults they feel have the potential to represent Australia at some stage. I feel that her schooling is a very separate thing to her sport. She does her main sport outside of school, which gives us much more choice of schools. Her sport is done before and after school down at the institute in Homebush. She still represents the school in several sports within school time, but her school day is 'normal' not focused on sport.

I think it is worth contacting different schools around Sydney in the area you would like to be and see whether they have sports programmes in the school. Lots of schools have their own areas where they excel, without necessarily promoting the fact. Our own local school has a big dance programme for example, I know other schools where they always get excellent cricket results etc. You can then find the best clubs / teams etc outside of school for your son, without it impacting on his whole school day.

Hope that helps a bit.

Take care

Daphne

[shazney64]

Hi Daphne many thanks for the advice. I will have a look at the other schools.
My son is only in year five here and we will be looking at high schools if we remain in England in Sept.
How would i go about enquiring a scholarship or is that only when you have permanent residency?
Do i need to collect as many referances as possible here about his potential?
Academically he struggles and requires a lot of support from me at home. Not sure putting extra time factors of too much out of school clubs would suit us. He does clubs now after school and is a balancing act his study and clubs. As im sure you know all about that.
Thats why i think i got quite excited when i heard that the schools link his results of study in allowing them for example in the team, (thought my son would go for that more), However i dont want his academic to be a carrot all of the time, He has got to want to learn too.
Just want to be prepared as much as i can suppose.
Will keep researching

Sharon

[Daphne]

Hi Sharon

Your son is the same age as my daughter by the sound of things!!! She's in year 5 here.

NSWIS scholarships are only available for citizens, so if your son is likely to go on and be at the top of his sport in the future, it's worth getting that citizenship ASAP. They are few and far between though. Within my daughter's sport there are only 7 'kids' on scholarship in the whole of NSW at the moment. She, at 10 is the youngest and the eldest is 22, so not even 1 scholarship in each age group. When you get here I would just look at league tables etc and find the best teams, that way you know he is likely to get spotted by the right people.

I do not think it would hurt to collect references to show potential schools. Certainly that sort of thing will help. Most private schools however, only have academic scholarships. The references and letters etc are kind of an extra sweetener to the school to persuade them to let your child in. It sounds from what you say that your son might not be as academic as he is sporty though, so a scholarship to a private school may not be possible.

The two sports high schools I have mentioned are not really bad, they just don't get TOP academic results. If your son is not a high flier academically then maybe these schools would suit him just fine. They will nurture his talents in sport and give him a decent education as well. It is a fine balancing act I know!

Good luck with it all, we all just want the best for our children. It's great that you are looking into this for him and finding the pathway that will suit him best.

Daphne

[shazney64]

Thanks again Daphne
I will continue to look at the TSP and the acedemic outcomes, Hopefully we will know if we can apply for Visa 1st August. Then full steam ahead with research and referances.
Good look to your family and little girl she sounds fantatstic, well done.
thanks sharon