KLO

A lot of expats seem to settle in the Duncraig / Padbury area and are very happy. Schools are certainly better there than Secret Harbour area.

I totally agree that Lance Holt is a lovely school, but there is certainly a difference in School Fees - especially with their compulsory family camps! State primary school voluntary contributions are between $60 - $200 per year per child, and uniforms tend to be a polo shirt (approx $15) and plain black shorts/skirt/skors (under $10 from a range of department stores). Still Lance Holt does have much smaller class sizes!

Hi Laura The only state high school witha rugby specialist program is Thornlie. Not the greatest area, but cheap housing out there! (I'm a Freo girl so am biased towards the ocean...). Private schools with good rugby programs are Atwell College (south of the river in suburbia near the Freeway) and Hale (elite, exclusive, western suburbs). Hale probably does sports scholarships, might be worth investigating. PS someone mentioned Lance Holt, that is a very sweet primary school - good suggestion. And if you want to be close to Freo but affordable, Hamilton Hill, Hilton, Samson and White Gum Valley offer good value for money.

She's a lucky girl. What an amazing country this is to be 17 in!

I've always loved the fact that Victoria allows parents to make a call based on their child's individual needs! Not like the inflexible WA system!

Hi LouLou Sorry I Have been away so just saw this. Whether you move in April or July not going to change the academic year they go into (starts end of Jan/start of Feb) so if it were me I would move earlier, so they have less of the academic year to catch up on. I did my teaching prac down that way and the state schools aren't great TBH. Most parents I know in the area ended up going private. That said, school suitability is entirely dependent on the individual child - do yours have any particular interests, passions or talents that might mean a school with a specialist program suits them well? Cheers KLO

I'm not sure which state you are moving too, but look at International Schools or those that offer international baccalaurate syllabus, they tend to work better for students moving at this late stage (I work at one and our senior students seem to transition very well), and students don't have to go back a year because of their DOB. Or as an earlier poster said, look for a Senior College that just offers year 11 & 12. Alternatively, if there is something she is very keen to study at TAFE, there may be a pathway for her now - you could contact the TAFE in the areas you plan to move to, or a Central TAFE, to find out.

I'm not sure which state you are moving too, but look at International Schools or those that offer international baccalaurate syllabus, they tend to work better for students moving at this late stage (I work at one and our senior students seem to transition very well), and students don't have to go back a year because of their DOB. Or as an earlier poster said, look for a Senior College that just offers year 11 & 12.

My son goes to a public primary school. I work in a non-denominational, co-ed private school. If I had the money I would move him here in a heartbeat. Resources are better. Teachers and school leaders are so much more accountable. When I met with my son's public school principal yesterday to express my concerns over the fact that the year 1 teacher doesn't follow the curriculum or teach maths, I asked her if next year my child could be put into a class with a modern teacher who meets his needs and challenges him. Her response, "if only I had a magic wand". WHAT??? It shouldn't be an unrealistic wish for kids to be educated in line with modern teaching best practise, but unfortunately in the state system they can't sack teachers and there's minimal accountability. It's a sad truth. I know this won't be a popular opinion, and I totally support the theory of public education (and also don't want to send my kids to religious school, like the much more affordable Catholic system), but there are definitely FLAWS in the state education system.

Regarding the voluntary contribution - when I did my teaching practicum in the Mandurah area I discovered that many public high schools charge a voluntary contribution per subject, to cover resources etc, and if you don't pay the subject fee (or any of your Voluntary contribution) then your child will get put into the 'free' classes with other non-paying children. These tend to be kids of parents who don't value education, so the classes can be a little unruly... Might seem unfair but the schools have got to make ends meet, and state schools get very little funding from the government these days, which is why they've had to lose lots of Education Assistants etc

Is there a particular sport that your son is into? Reason I ask is many public high schools have specialist sports programs, would be convenient to live near to one of them

What lifestyle do you envisage? What do you enjoy? Where will you be working? Perth's traffic can be heavy at times, so if you see the kids playing on the beach in the morning and the river in the afternoon (when the beach is too hot and windy) then that's going to put you in a very different suburb than if your priority is a big bungalow house in the suburbs with a backyard pool, or easy access to the CBD etc. Perhaps you are not a beach person and you like the idea of Perth's hills, with its beautiful bushland and mountain biking trails. Are there other things that are important to you - for example being able to join a soccer team (a fantastic way to meet friends). If you are planning to rent then you can try out a few suburbs, in theory, but once your kids are settled in a school and you start making friends, you'll find moving more difficult (as so many of my friends have discovered, and ended up in suburbs that they didn't love but were near kids new buddies).

HI Brown5 - it i s hard to get your head around - I struggled with it when we moved from UK. Next year your son who turns 14 in Dec will go into year 9, and your second son who is 12 in May will go into year 7. That is true of all schools in WA (they aren't interested in current school year, just DOB) except the International School, which is in line with the Northern Hemisphere.

I work for the International School in Perth (full disclosure) and here it is different to the other schools in WA - enrolments are on calendar year of birth, and the school year runs Jul-Jun (like in UK). There is probably an equivalent in Queensland. All other schools in Perth run late Jan/Feb - Dec, and enrolments are based on year July - June - so if your child is July born they will be the oldest, and June born the youngest, etc. Suits a November birth as that child will be in the oldest half of students. There is a calculator you can use which will tell you exactly what grade your child will enter in the normal WA system: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/curriculumsupport/earlychildhood/detcms/school-support-programs/early-childhood-education/home/calculator.en?oid=Article-id-11572345 I would strongly advocate against missing 4 months of year 11, it will be hard to make this up. The Australian Curriculum (which is compulsory throughout Australia) is pretty full-on at that stage of the game. There is another option too, which is the School of Isolated and Distance Education (https://www.side.wa.edu.au/index.php). I only know about this from studying to be a teacher, so not sure if it is appropriate for you or even if what I am suggesting is possible, but it might be an option to start year 11 via this program, then transfer, so your child doesn't have such a great big amount of work to make up when you arrive. God luck!