KarenSoesman

Great to find this thread! We are moving in September and have narrowed it down to John Mason and PSS! Had a quote from Crown too but they were much more expensive, although all their reviews are excellent. If anyone has used John Mason, would be good to hear about them - I cant find many reviews online. We have to book someone ASAP or we'll end up having to leave it all behind... and I'm being so indecisive! Am edging towards PSS based on the votes of confidence here... Thanks all! Indi - would love to hear who you decide to go with. When are you moving over and where to?

Thanks for your advice and views on the schools. Just wondering, do you have school age children? If so, which school do they attend? Thanks Karen

Hi Quoll, Thanks very much for your reply. Great tip on the helicopter :-) We're currently on the flight path to East Midlands airport so dont really want to exchange the boeings for a helicopter! Thanks for the info on the primary schools... I know what you mean about the eyeball test. Interesting that 50% send their children to private High Schools. Is this because the standard in government schools is not very good? I'm also surprised you don't have to be in catchment for Alfred Deakin - I'd thought they were oversubscribed! I was hoping to get all sorted before we leave, temporary accommodation just seems crazy expensive! Thanks again for your help. Karen

Hello all, I'm new to the forum, we're moving over to Canberra early September so in frantic mode of trying to get everything organised both to leave the UK and to arrive in Canberra! I have 2 children - a son age 12 and a daughter age 6. One of my biggest concerns is finding the right schools for them, and then this will dictate the area we need to find a rental in. We're looking at government schools, I'm very keen on Alfred Deakin as a High School so now need to find a good primary school in the same 'priority placement'/catchment area. I think we've narrowed this down to either Garran Primary or Curtin Primary. Both sound very good - Garran has the best academic results, Curtin seems good academically too and I liked them most from the info on their website. I did however read some things in the Validation report for Curtin that made me a bit uncomfortable... Does anyone have children at either of these Primary Schools, or perhaps know someone who teaches there? I'm looking to get a bit of first hand insight into the 'personality' of the schools, whether you're happy with the school, what are the good and bad points etc. Any insight would be most welcome! If anyone has children at Alfred Deakin, would be great to get a first hand view on that too please. Thanks very much! Karen