Gin100 Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 We're moving out to Melbourne in August & are doing some research on schools. Our oldest son is 11 & will be moving to secondary school at the beginning of the next Australian school year at the end of Jan '15. We'd heard that if you lived in a school zone then legally the school have to give your child a space but I've just seen a post on another forum from someone who said a school had refused her child even though they lived in the zone. Can anyone clarify what the position is? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiew Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 They do not have to give you a place if you arrive during the year and they are full. As your son will be starting in Year 7 and at the start of the year, he should be fine. You usually need an address in the zone (most schools are NOT zoned btw) at the time of enrolment - you can't apply from overseas to a school that enforces a zone. Where are you headed to and when will you arrive? Remember that schools will be closed from just before Christmas. There is quite a bit to organise in terms of uniform, books etc as well as orientation days so hopefully you are arriving a while before that. All that really needs to happen before the school closes as they only reopen a couple of days before term starts. Bear in mind that there will be a school uniform to be bought from the school's uniform shop and a book list to be filled - children tend to have their own copies of books here and supply their own stationery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiew Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Sorry - just read that you will be here in August - plenty of time! School applications are made directly to the school and are not due in before August. Your timing is good. Some people on here think that they will have Christmas in the UK and then move over in plenty of time for the new school year - finding everything closed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gin100 Posted June 22, 2014 Author Share Posted June 22, 2014 Thanks RosieW! We move over at the end of August to Melbourne & are staying temporarily in a friends house while they're on holiday & we'll spend that time looking for somewhere to rent & schools to go to. I believe Victoria has a school holiday mid Sept to beginning of Oct so we'd aim to get the kids into school in early Oct when the schools start back. I had understood we can't apply to a school until we have an address but we won't have one of those until probably mid-Sept when we move out of our friends house (they live in a suburb in inner north Melbourne & we're looking to live Bayside) which might take us out of the standard school application timescale - will this be problematic? As we're looking Bayside, a number of the schools are zoned. McKinnon clearly is very sought-after & I've heard good reports of Brighton Secondary College too but this area is obviously very expensive so we might consider moving further down the coast but have heard very mixed reports of the government secondary schools there i.e. Cheltenham Secondary College, Sandringham College, Bentleigh Secondary, Parkdale Secondary. If anyone has any views on these schools they'd be much appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammy1 Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 They do not have to give you a place if you arrive during the year and they are full. As your son will be starting in Year 7 and at the start of the year, he should be fine. You usually need an address in the zone (most schools are NOT zoned btw) at the time of enrolment - you can't apply from overseas to a school that enforces a zone. Where are you headed to and when will you arrive? Remember that schools will be closed from just before Christmas. There is quite a bit to organise in terms of uniform, books etc as well as orientation days so hopefully you are arriving a while before that. All that really needs to happen before the school closes as they only reopen a couple of days before term starts. Bear in mind that there will be a school uniform to be bought from the school's uniform shop and a book list to be filled - children tend to have their own copies of books here and supply their own stationery. Most schools ARE zoned and will only take students from outside the zone if they have room. A school legally does have to accept a student even if they arrive half way through the year. Many people arrive in the school holidays and as the schools are open ( admin/office) the week before school begins it is very easy to enrol then and not a problem at all. We often have fifty new enrollments just in that week alone as people from the UK/overseas arrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiew Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 You are right that school goes back on 6 October for Term 4, so he will have one term in Grade 6. . Looking at the Mc Kinnon Secondary website, they have already accepted their first lot of application forms for next year (because they can!). So you would be a late enrolment. It would be worth contacting them directly to see how they treat late enrolments. Otherwise if you end up that far down the bayside, Frankston High is an excellent school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiew Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 Most schools ARE zoned and will only take students from outside the zone if they have room. A school legally does have to accept a student even if they arrive half way through the year. Many people arrive in the school holidays and as the schools are open ( admin/office) the week before school begins it is very easy to enrol then and not a problem at all. We often have fifty new enrollments just in that week alone as people from the UK/overseas arrive. Not if they have reached the enrolment ceiling imposed by the department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 There was an article in our papers in the last week talking about school zones and how they do not have room for all the people living in the zones any longer. Also there is no guarantee that if a sibling is in the school and living in the zone the next sibling will get into the school. Personally I would be not be worried, you know your child, you know his capabilities. All government and private schools have good teachers and teachers who are more difficult to learn with and if a child is focused they do well in any school. My friend's son went to Parkdale High School and she had no problems with it and her son an only child as well has done fine. What you do need to know is what interests your son has, different high schools have different subjects and therefore its best to find out which school will lead your child in the direction where his strengths lie. I sent my children to private for their high school years but it was very academic and looking back I think I would have looked for a more rounded education if I had the time over again. Being academic does not expose them to other career options, its all about university and boy there are a lot of unemployed graduates around in Melbourne these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gin100 Posted June 24, 2014 Author Share Posted June 24, 2014 I'm a bit confused now. I looked up the enrolment ceilings but this seems to mean the same thing as the school zone. So does this mean that, not only is there a zone which you have to live in, but there is also a ceiling on numbers even if children are in the zone? I'm not sure about McKinnon, everyone rates it & I'm sure it's a very good school & my sons are both academically-inclined but, as Petals says, there's more to a school than the academic side of things. There's no substitute for going & looking round the schools which is what we'll have to do when we arrive but it sounds like we might have missed the main application round so this might reduce our options... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiew Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Also if you move out of the zone of a tightly controlled school like Mc Kinnon, your children will be expected to move schools. In answer to your question, yes there is a limit to how many children will be enrolled. So, hypothetically, if they have space for 100 year 7s and 103 apply within the zone, they do not have to set up a class of 3 pupils - particularly if nearby schools have spaces. My daughter goes to a school with incredibly tight zoning and once they reach the ceiling, other children in the zone must go to nearby schools and join a waiting list for places. Those who live closest get the spots. Most schools like that have a get out clause saying that the zone is indicative only. The areas you are looking at are all middle class suburbs with good schools and I wouldn't lose much sleep over it. You will be here in good time to have a few tours and find a good fit. Quite a lot of children change schools for year 11 and 12 once they have a good idea of what they are after post school as different schools have different strengths. You will also have the John Monash Science School not too far away in Clayton which is selective and I think starts in year 10. So that is an option down the track too, along with Melbourne High which is selective and starts in year 9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gin100 Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 Yes RosieW, I'd heard that. After the upheaval of emigrating we don't want to make the kids move school again once they're settled & not having been to that particular part of Melbourne before I'd be really reluctant to commit myself to living in such a small area for the next 5+ years. Thanks for the reassurance about not losing too much sleep - I think you're right. There's a temptation to plan everything beforehand but we've done our research & we've got some ideas & it'll be a case of getting over there & having a look in person... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosiew Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Ranking sites of schools are not always the most reliable things, but here is a link to one that seems reasonably sound. The top 4 schools on this list are selective entry at later years. Bentleigh rates well on the list and that is next to Mc Kinnon - same quick run down North Road to the beach at Brighton, but the housing is a bit cheaper. As an area it is very well resourced for sporting clubs, facilities and not far from Chadstone Shopping Centre (which I swear you could see from the moon!) http://bettereducation.com.au/school/secondary/vic/melbourne_top_government_secondary_schools.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I'm a bit confused now. I looked up the enrolment ceilings but this seems to mean the same thing as the school zone. So does this mean that, not only is there a zone which you have to live in, but there is also a ceiling on numbers even if children are in the zone? I'm not sure about McKinnon, everyone rates it & I'm sure it's a very good school & my sons are both academically-inclined but, as Petals says, there's more to a school than the academic side of things. There's no substitute for going & looking round the schools which is what we'll have to do when we arrive but it sounds like we might have missed the main application round so this might reduce our options... I agree there is so much needed to make a good all round school and really its the school where our children feel comfortable. We can send them to the top school in the area but its no good if they are miserable, do not fit in and with a lot of elite schools there is a lot of keeping up with the Jones, it just comes down to how much pressure parents want to put on children. My son private school, academic school, we always told them it was their responsibility to learn. I remember he got his VCE results not good enough to go to university in Melbourne could have gone regional but he was too young and would not move from home. So we sat down I had a discussion with him and told him, yes you had a wonderful time in year 12 lots of fun etc but now is the time it comes home to roost what are you going to do. So off he went to TAFE and did a diploma in chemistry and he had wonderful teachers at TAFE. Got all the lab skills etc. Then he went to university did a science degree, then he did post graduate teaching and now he teaches maths and science. You see there is always a way, so the school does not make a lot of difference, the child need to grow up and some take longer than others. I am pleased they never felt they had to prove anything to us. As it turned out he was way too young to go to univesity straight from school. Once he had the two years and grew up it was a whole new ball game. Same with my daughter, clever one mensa standard. Went to uni, messed about stood down for a year, grew up, finished her degree started another one, unfortunately due to illness had to stop. Then did post grad teaching and now she is a software expert for an insurance company. You see its not just education that children need they all grow up at different times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gin100 Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 You're the voice of reason Petals! Being happy & fitting in is they key - we have tended to avoid the high ranking academic primary schools here because, although our kids are both academically-minded, we haven't liked the environment at the schools - pushy and pressurised (this is what puts me off McKinnon though it may not be like this at all) - and both kids of them have done very well at an average primary school & have been very happy. As the kids get to secondary though academic results do count for more though clearly you can never account for some of the things kids do! I think we just need to get out there & start looking round & hopefully we'll find that the decision is obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petals Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Gin I just think people worry about high school way too much, its a traumatic time they are teenagers going through puberty and they do not need pressure from parents. What I did was think back to what I was like at school and went from there. After all we have been there and done that. There is a lot of school gate snobbery in Aus and I never gave a dam so it did not affect me at all. I brought my children up the same way and they never had the latest this and that, what they had was home with lots of books and discussion and love no telling off about what marks they got. Hence never had problem with peer pressure and bullies left the kids alone because they did not feel they had to fit in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsac0 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Hi, just seen your thread. We're moving out to Melbourne end of August/early September...still need to book flights (oops, another job to do!!) and are also looking at the Bayside area. Our youngest (daughter) has just turned 12 and I'm in the same quandry of Primary/High School admissions. A reassuring thread thanks, good luck with your move:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gin100 Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 Hi jsac0 - great to hear of another Pom going to the same area at about the same time! It would be good to keep in touch - always handy to know someone in the same boat to compare notes etc. If you haven't booked flights yet, we got great value one-way migrant fares with the International Organization for Migration (IOM - they're mentioned on your visa award confirmation notice) saving ourselves about £900, so definitely worth checking out... Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsac0 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 OOOH! thanks for the idea the page is now bookmarked:) I'll look into it! Would be great to stay in touch..let us know how you're getting on..we've still no arrival date planned as such but am in process of completion on our house etc and then I'll feel more confident booking flight for end Aug/begining of Sept Getting excited! Hope you settle in well:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina2 Posted August 2, 2014 Share Posted August 2, 2014 If you find the bayside suburbs a bit expencive go for a drive down to the Mornington Penninsula, lovely area, beaches, shops, coffee shops and good schools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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