Canberra High Schools

Hi there,

Moving to Canberra in January 2017 and need advise on good high schools, any advice?

Thanks

David

Most are good. My daughter attended Belconnen High, then Melba Copland College.

She's currently studying at the ANU

Where in Canberra will you move to?

Ack! The ipad stole my reply!

Where will you be working hence where will you be living?

HS in ACT runs yrs 7-10 and College 11/12 and around 50% of Canberra kids go to private HS. Slightly fewer go to private Colleges but generally Radford and Girls/Boys Grammars top the list reliably. Narrabundah College generally scores as the best Gov College. But most kids can get into Uni if they work a little bit.

http://bettereducation.com.au/results/act.aspx (Boys Grammar does the NSW HSC so not included in that list but would be top or thereabouts

Personally I would avoid the Tuggeranong HS as they are built in the era of open space /team teaching pedagogy and it isn't inspiring so many parents send their kids up the Valley to Melrose or Deakin or Marist, Eddies or Clares (Catholic)

ACT schools are generally rated highly in nationwide comparisons so you'll be OK whether you go private or not, although inevitably private schools score best (my daughter's at Girls Grammar).

Presumably you've explored whether or not you'd be required to contribute towards your child's education?

ACT schools are generally rated highly in nationwide comparisons so you'll be OK whether you go private or not, although inevitably private schools score best (my daughter's at Girls Grammar).

 

Presumably you've explored whether or not you'd be required to contribute towards your child's education?

Good point! Temporary visa holders can be seriously stung in ACT!

Not sure yet. Just waiting on the 190 visa after submitting our ITA in July. Will wait to job hunt when we arrive so we could potentially live anywhere. Is there a particular suburb we should head to?

Thanks for the reply. Not sure where we will be living yet. Are the free schools poor then? One of our replies said presumably you know whether you need to donate, is this based on salary?

Doubt we will afford private. Any advise on public schools? Is the contribution based on salary?

The government schools are "free" but there's usually a "voluntary" donation plus all those other little bonuses like stationery packs, excursions, visiting performers, extra lessons like swimming, overnight camps, some subject materials etc etc etc so your hand will be in your pocket more than not.

Don't discount the private option - Catholic schools are reasonably priced, the Grammars and Radford are not.

General rule of thumb is that the suburb is reflected in the school so if you would not want to live in a suburb then you wouldn't want your kids in the school there. The further out you go, the cheaper the properties get. The newer the properties the smaller the blocks. The further out you go the worse are the public transport provisions. The cheaper the rents usually the less desirable are the homes either because of what's around them or what they are. Check out allhomes.com.au for rental properties. Personally I'm an Inner North gal and we North of the Lake types look with disdain on those suburbs south of the lake (joke, but there's a definite divide!). Most people choose where they live so as to have best access to their work so if you have no idea where you will be working aim to live somewhere central-ish

Not sure about government schools being free.

When I arrived in 2011 my daughter was 5 years old and I was required to pay $9,900 per year for her to be educated at a local state school, plus an 'administrative' fee of $440. As Canberra Girls Grammar were only charging $9,300 per year at that time, clearly it was $1,000 a year cheaper to send her to the best school in Canberra rather than take pot luck with the local state school.

The background at the time was that each state could charge non-permanent residents a portion of the actual annual cost of educating a pupil (which was around $10,000 p.a.). For most states the recharge portion was 0%, for NSW with a high portion of overseas visitors it was 30% and the ACT, being tiny but with thousands of foreign diplomatic and military staff, it was 100%. I had negotiated this into my salary here but the real kicker was that they wanted the whole amount up front.

The wording of the regulations have changed from what I remember but take a look at: http://www.education.act.gov.au/school_education/international_students

...which states..."The International Education Unit (IEU) is responsible for the enrolment of international students and the dependants of temporary residents from Pre School to Year 12 into all government schools in Canberra." [sic]

Fees and charges for non-resident pupils can be found towards the bottom of this web page: http://www.education.act.gov.au/school_education/international_students/fees-and-charges

Some visas will exempt you from school fees so best check first.

He's going to be on a PR visa so, technically "free". The 457 visa holders definitely get hammered!

He's going to be on a PR visa so, technically "free". The 457 visa holders definitely get hammered!

Phew! Missed that post and was worried I would be turning someone off Canberra.

In which case the voluntary contribution would be the only thing payable at most state schools and I think that was only about $200-$300 at my daughter's last state school