Brisbane high schools

[Peachy]

Hi everyone,

 

Just canvassing opinion really.

 

Looking to enrol the kids in a Catholic primary school in Brisbane. Suits our ethos and their current schooling. However, am now thinking about how this will impact on high school choice.

 

Looking at high schools, the state ones don't come out very well on the rankings (not that this is the determining factor) but it is interesting that there is such a drop off in comparison with primary schools which look okay across the board.

 

Do a lot of people go private in Australia? Fees seem much less than the UK. If you start off in a Catholic primary would be a shock to the system to transfer to state high.

 

The fees are a separate issue, but just interested to get an idea of what most people do.

 

Thanks

 

Peachy

[milliem]

Hi

 

The private Ed market is huge in Australia and there is a lot of competition between them; with the exception of the elite schools, they are mostly affordable. Both my nieces attended Catholic Secondary in Brisbane and it worked well for them. There is quite a variation between them. For example in Petrie, 1/3 of the cohort is SEN and OP is not available, and in Marsden, they teach a classical curriculum. Some offer OP only and others offer IB.

The state secondary schools show similar variation and I have taught in both. The state school I am in now is much more academically rigorous than my previous private role.

 

In Brisbane many students and indeed parents are heavily involved in school activities such as sport and debating and this is often a huge factor in school choice. The GPS schools for example have taken inter school activities to a whole other level

 

http://www.gpsqld.org.au/

 

Other schools such as Old Hallows are renowned for rowing / rugby and this is a factor in enrolments.

 

 

My advice is to decide exactly what you are flexible about, and what you are not flexible about and go from there. Attend information evenings and talk to students if you can. Staff retention rates can sometimes, but not always be an indicator of a school's overall stability. In the suburbs, new schools are opening to support population growth as well.

 

Uniforms and BYOD laptops or Ipads can also add significant cost. My son's uniform was over $1000 all up.

 

 

Good luck. PM me if you would like any more information.

 

Millie

Edited April 17, 2015 by milliem

[Chortlepuss]

You'd have to live in the catchment now for State High. There are better performing state schools out there but are selective - My son goes to Queensland Academy of Science and Mathematics - outperforms most if not all of fee paying schools but tough to get entry and they work like dogs so not for everyone - International Baccalaureate is a good choice, especially if your kids may consider a European university - the Qld OP systems means very little to those outside Australia

[milliem]

It is also possible to get an academic, sporting or music merit entry to State High from outside the catchment.

 

A great achievement to gain entry to the Queensland Academy Chortlepuss

 

He is right though

 

The children at the better performing schools work extremely hard and the competition between the cohort means the pressure stays on. It would not be unusual for a year 7 to study for 3 or more hours per night after 2 hours of sport/activity. IB is excellent for entering International universities and also very challenging for most.

 

Lots to consider.

[Peachy]

Thanks for the replies. This is very useful but slightly scary about the expectations on the children. At present they go to a good primary school in the Cotswolds. The thought of my eldest going from 30 mins of homework on a Friday to 3 hours a night is daunting!!

Hopefully we will get more of a feel for things when we get over there.

[tina0101]

State High is hard to get into, but there are a number of good Catholic schools that take older kids.

 

Fees vary from school to school. I work in an Anglican school where the fees are over 3 times the fees I pay for my son to go to a Catholic school (he is 17). I don't feel that the drop off going from Primary private to a high school would be much different to the UK.

[Tina2]

The area you live in also is a contributing factor in regards to both fee's and results. The more affluent the suburb in many cases the higher the fee's and better the results.

 

There are often waiting lists to get into the better schools like All Hallows and St Joseph's (Known as Terrace because it is on Gregory Terrace) Sadly I found "some" (not all) of the catholic schools dont have as good a record for discipline as the C of E or Uniting Church schools. Another alternative are Lutheran Schools, which are gaining popularity here there fees tend to sit mid way between Catholic and C of E or Uniting Church Schools, but same as Catholic Schools those in the better suburbs do tend to be a bit more expensive.

 

If you let people know where you are planning to live then maybe someone will have children at the local schools and will be able to give you more accurate information.