Grammar school

[Jordconcal]

my youngest currently goes to grammar school is there an Australian equivalent or is it just private or state schools

[Petals]

All high schools are the same and as you say there are private schools and state schools. Education is not entirely free in the State system, you have to cough up for books stationery, excursions etc. Good private schools can set you back thirty grand a year these days.

[Guest Shell15]

I found a Grammar school in the area we are looking at moving to by doing a search in Google. They are not free in Australia and are in essence a private school..

[Petals]

I found a Grammar school in the area we are looking at moving to by doing a search in Google. They are not free in Australia and are in essence a private school..

 

They just put Grammar in the name though, they are just private high schools. We do not have different levels of schooling in Aus.

[Guest Shell15]

In Australia they are considered as 'Elite' Private Schools..but yes private schools non the less

[Petals]

In Australia they are considered as 'Elite' Private Schools..but yes private schools non the less

 

Only in their opinion I sent my children to private school, they are just schools who select children by who can pay and the curriculum is the same whatever school they go to.:laugh:

[bensym]

They have state selective high schools (I went to one in Sydney) open to candidates from around the state. Usually entrance exams need to be sat, and competition is high for a place. Type "selective" rather than "grammar" into your search

[Petals]

They have state selective high schools (I went to one in Sydney) open to candidates from around the state. Usually entrance exams need to be sat, and competition is high for a place. Type "selective" rather than "grammar" into your search

 

Yes we have one here in Vic but the problem is the distance that students have to travel to get to it. Its ok if you live near the city but if you are in the country or on the outskirts of the city most parents would not want their children traveling that far clever or not. My friend's son went to the same high school as my children, only difference was he was two years ahead of his age and went to Melbourne Uni at 16. Whether at a special school or not the same exams are taken for university entrance.

[Addy]

Only in their opinion I sent my children to private school, they are just schools who select children by who can pay and the curriculum is the same whatever school they go to.:laugh:

 

That's not true. There is no national curriculum in Australia although there are moves towards one. My daughter goes to a private school which teaches the IB syllabus (International Baccalaureate) which is a qualification recognised in 140 countries worldwide. We looked at several private schools in SA and their syllabi were all different. There are also (in SA) state schools of excellence which specialise in science or music for example. You can apply for places in these schools for your child from anywhere in the city and be accepted if the child is talented in the designated area. The curriculum is obviously slanted towards the area of excellence.

 

We are very happy with the school/s we chose but be careful as some state and private schools are not good as others.

[NickyNook]

There may be no National curriculum but there are - and always has been - individual state ones instead. There has to be (leaving out the IB) - all High schools teach the same courses needed for the Year 12 exams in that particular state. The NSW HSC English courses (for example) are the same regardless of whether it's being taught in an expensive Sydney private school or a State school in Dubbo. They all study the same texts during the course - how else can they take the same exams otherwise?

 

All NSW primary schools teach the same syllabus too. They are all documented by the Board of Studies and available for anyone to look at.

http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/parents/parents-guide-to-the-nsw-primary-syllabuses

[Petals]

That's not true. There is no national curriculum in Australia although there are moves towards one. My daughter goes to a private school which teaches the IB syllabus (International Baccalaureate) which is a qualification recognised in 140 countries worldwide. We looked at several private schools in SA and their syllabi were all different. There are also (in SA) state schools of excellence which specialise in science or music for example. You can apply for places in these schools for your child from anywhere in the city and be accepted if the child is talented in the designated area. The curriculum is obviously slanted towards the area of excellence.

 

We are very happy with the school/s we chose but be careful as some state and private schools are not good as others.

 

I agree each State has different at present and my friend's husband is one the people devising the national curriculum, however when it comes to university entrance there are subjects that have to be taken by every child in high school whether its bi or whatever it has to be one of the subjects and therefore it makes little difference what school a child goes to other than getting peers may help with future career etc. I remember a colleague telling me that he was sending his children to the private high school because of who goes there rather than the education as its so helpful for the future.

[Quoll]

There may be no National curriculum but there are - and always has been - individual state ones instead. There has to be (leaving out the IB) - all High schools teach the same courses needed for the Year 12 exams in that particular state. The NSW HSC English courses (for example) are the same regardless of whether it's being taught in an expensive Sydney private school or a State school in Dubbo. They all study the same texts during the course - how else can they take the same exams otherwise?

 

All NSW primary schools teach the same syllabus too. They are all documented by the Board of Studies and available for anyone to look at.

http://k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/go/parents/parents-guide-to-the-nsw-primary-syllabuses

 

The ACT has a school based curriculum - idiocy!!! At least the other states do have state based requirements.

[Addy]

In SA there are core requirements: English, History, Science and Maths, the rest is down to the school. This is changing but it is what anyone coming to SA will encounter for the next couple of years while things are standardised.

 

http://acaca.bos.nsw.edu.au/go/changing-schools/south-australia/junior-secondary-curriculum-subjects-and-courses/

[Skani]

I found a Grammar school in the area we are looking at moving to by doing a search in Google. They are not free in Australia and are in essence a private school..

 

In Australia a school with "Grammar" in the title is not an academically selective school in the sense of UK grammar schools. It is just a private school whose founders, as Petals noted, chose to include the word in the name - presumably to add a sense of prestige and academic seriousness. However it does not mean that its academic credentials are necessarily any higher than other private schools which don't have "Grammar" in their title.

[pinkk8]

That's not true. There is no national curriculum in Australia although there are moves towards one. My daughter goes to a private school which teaches the IB syllabus (International Baccalaureate) which is a qualification recognised in 140 countries worldwide. We looked at several private schools in SA and their syllabi were all different. There are also (in SA) state schools of excellence which specialise in science or music for example. You can apply for places in these schools for your child from anywhere in the city and be accepted if the child is talented in the designated area. The curriculum is obviously slanted towards the area of excellence.

 

We are very happy with the school/s we chose but be careful as some state and private schools are not good as others.

 

 

I thought syllabus was Greek not Latin and the plural was therefore syllabuses?? Like hipopotamus. Would be interested to know which is right.

[pintpot]

Just because different schools run to the same syllabus, doesn't mean the quality of education in those schools doesn't differ. All the syllabus does is set down the minimum requirements on which the students will be tested

 

No one in the UK would say that all schools are the same, just because there's a national curriculum, would they?

 

I'm inclined towards the view that people put a bit too much store in how good they think a school is, and a lot of this tends to be driven by class/snob/"my kind of people" type perceptions as much as any objective measure of educational standards. But schools aren't all the same

[starlight7]

As a friend of my daughter's said- with the private schools you are 'buying a peer group'. Though they do get more kids through to uni though once there the drop-out rate is higher, apparently ( used to being spoon-fed?)

[PomPrincesses]

As a friend of my daughter's said- with the private schools you are 'buying a peer group'. Though they do get more kids through to uni though once there the drop-out rate is higher, apparently ( used to being spoon-fed?)

 

Yeah they come out with that rubbish in the UK too and yet 7% of the population is privately educated and take up 45% of the places at Oxford and Cambridge, all that spoon feeding doesn't do them any harm.

[ali]

Paying for education doesn't necessarily mean that your child will do better. We have friends whose husband has taught in a lot of private schools and he is sending his son to our local HS, he says the facilities and opportunities are comparable with a lot of the private schools he's taught in. However, it's up to each individual parent to do what they feel is best, I think if it's a good environment then your children will be happy and achieve their potential, I'm fortunate that that I haven't had to pay to provide that for them.

[starlight7]

Different schools suit different kids. I think private schools are often good if your child is a bit 'different' because they tend to get more attention, extra classes, smaller classes etc. I exclude Catholic schools from this, except those really expensive ones in the Melb East suburbs.

[Guest Shell15]

Yes all schools would follow the same curriculum however not all follow it to the same level of competence as others; hence why some schools show far higher grades and performance levels than others in the league tables - that is of course if you wish to take any notice of these. In my opinion it is all down to how its taught and perhaps the environment its taught in and this has always played a key factor with us when choosing schools..

[javi1979]

there are some state selective schools depends where you are. There's brisbane state school which is selective and I think melbourne has 4 selective state schools. Not sure about elsewhere though.

[Skani]

there are some state selective schools depends where you are. There's brisbane state school which is selective and I think melbourne has 4 selective state schools. Not sure about elsewhere though.

 

I think there are some in Sydney, too. But, for anyone searching, remember that they don't have "grammar" in their title.

[pintpot]

There are quite a few in Sydney, yes. *Huge* competition to get in them. And yes, anything with "Grammar" in the title in Sydney is private (and expensive private at that)

[Jordconcal]

thanks for all the advise everyone:biggrin: