sherbert

I would bring back...chicken salt and all seasons available to buy of packed to the rafters and all saints...miss packed to the rafters and would love the dvd's but too expensive on amazon here in the UK. :sad:

I did this very course at college in Perth in 2008. Only did the cert 2 and cert3 in commercial cookery that you have to do on the student visa before the cer 4 diploma. I can tell you from experience the cert 2 and 3 are not for the faint hearted. It is a very full on course with lots of cooking etc in the kitchens as well as working in the tafe restaurant 1 night a week for the paying public. It is very much a full time course and the amount of homework is unbelievable. I had no spare time with the amount of homework and revising for the many exams you have to pass just to move onto the next part of the course. Your uniform has to be immaculate each time you enter the kitchens.this involves lots of bleaching and starching the uniform as well as ironing it to near new condition again. It certainly took up more hours on the course than it would in a full time job. Mainly because of the amount of homework, revision and assignments that need to be completed. I know there was students on the course with me who were hoping to get pr at the end of it and most are still on bridging visas now as they cannot get sponsorship. You need to seriously consider this course before you spend a lot of money on it. I cannot emphasise enough how much hard work and homework is involved in this course. Best of luck if you go for it but if you want advice from someone who did the course then don't expect an easy ride and don't expect to gain pr from it.

Hi, I did my cert 3 in aged care and disability care while I was in oz a couple of years ago. Did the course at tafe in mandurah, also did my senior first aid course while at tafe as well. It was not a very long course...couple of months max and did a placement while on the course...hope this helps.

Thought I would put my 2 pennies worth in. We were in Perth from Aug 08 - march 2010 and our son sat the tests for gifted and talented when he was there. He was then offered a place for selective academic g&t place. We obviously cancelled his place when we decided to return to the UK as there is a waiting list for places so his place would have been given to the next highest ranking performance. Also we were there on a temp 457 visa and he did g&t in Perth more or less from when we arrived with no issues at all. Hope it works out for you and your son.

I had bedding blowing in the wind here today in Manchester...unheard of for December.

Hi QPR 17, Just wanted to give you our side of the story. We moved to Perth on August 08. Our daughter was 16 then and just finished school so we thought the timing was right for her. She like yourself also had a boyfriend from school that she didn't want to leave behind and she really did not want to come to oz with us but she said she would and give it a go. She decided not to go to college or school in Perth and elected to go to work full time instead, which she did in a child care centre within 2 weeks of us landing. She was on a lot better wage than she would have got here in the UK and her workplace put her through her level 3 child care certificate. She found it very hard to settle and didn't make many friends as her workmates were mainly older than her so she spent her weekends with us which was so hard for her after the social life she left behind. When she hit 18 after 19 months of being in Perth she decided she was going back to the UK with or without us. Some how her and the boyfriend she left in the UK kept the relationship going from all the way over there. For all of us as a family we decided that she had give it a good go then who were we to stop her coming back to the UK. Funny thing is though we came back with her. Couldn't live us there and her here in the UK so back we all came. Funnily enough we returned to where we come from....that grim Northern town, Manchester. We have now been back 20 months and she and the boyfriend are still together. We have no regrets to be back, even though we didn't reckon her and the boy friend would last. She went back to college to do the child care course she would have done if we had stayed here so all ok there. I have no words of wisdom for you but I do understand where you are coming from and I so hope things work put for you and your family. For us it was an experience but my daughter came first when she decided to return even if she was 18...hence our return home as the whole family unit who went over. Good luck. ps we had a son of 10 at the time we went to oz also so understand some of your concerns for your brother also.

Hi, Just wanted to let you know that I am sure on a student visa your hubby will only be allowed to work 20 hours a week also. You will also have to pay for medical treatment etc....student visas are not the best route at all for pr visas at the end in my opinion...but maybe more knowledgeable people will be able to tell you more than I can.

Hi, When we did ours we made an itinery of what was put into the boxes and kept a copy for ourselves as well as the shippers. What we also did was number the boxes on the outside our selves and on the itinery and then on the inside of the lid we taped a list of the contents and which rooms they were for etc...made unpacking a lot easier the other end I can tell you. Sorry do not have any photos to show you but hope this helps you out....good luck with the move.

Hi, Can give you info on the application process for john curtin as have been through it with my son but dont know how to send you a pm, can tell you though it is a selective school and it is a long process. let me know how I can get info to you if you want it.