ben a

Hi - we moved over from the UK to Sydney about a year ago and have a 5 year old who is close to finishing his Kindy year. Great school up on the Northern Beaches where he has settled well - the school has excellent results and he's very happy. Work has taken me to Brisbane and we will be moving up in the new year. I am looking around at state schools in both the Brisbane bayside area and the Gold Coast (Helensvale and surrounds) and being honest the NAPLAN results are really bothering me. Lots of schools showing as below the national average or barely meeting it and the last thing I want to do is take our little one from a great school and move him to one that's struggling. I do realise that NAPLAN isn't the be-all and end-all but it will have to suffice for now as an indicator - at least until we get up there and get a chance to look at the schools in person. First thing - am I comparing apples and apples with NSW and QLD schools? I have heard that the QLD system is behind that in NSW but is on its way to catching up - I am simply comparing NAPLAN results at yrs 3, 5 and 7. Secondly, are there any gems of schools I am missing ... we have looked at GC and Bayside purely as they are on the coast but interested to hear about other areas ... need to be relatively affordable when it comes to housing but otherwise pretty open minded. Thirdly ... we have for the first time thought about private schooling ... any recommendations or pointers? We've spotted AB Paterson in Arundel and St Stephen's in Coomera, and Ormiston College and Sheldon College in the Bayside area ... and that's if we can find him somewhere with a place in year one!! Sorry for the ramble ... any advice greatly appreciated! Thanks Ben