ali Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 I believe the logic is that you'd possibly want your kids to hang out with the kids of parents who can afford to send their kids to a private school, rather than the kids of those that can't. :evilface_frowning_s My daughter says that when at Uni, she has a little smile to herself thinking that the people she's with spent thousand (if not hundreds of thousands), on education and they've ended up sitting in the same lecture doing the same degree .... granted they're all probably driving BMW's and she catches the train lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Kash Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Not sure about the comment above that attending a private school will set you up for life, i work with and know with quite a few teens / early 20's kids that came from a private school, half of them are clever academically but have no common sense what so ever, 1 or 2 are great and now at uni studying for their careers, 2 are now 19 and looking at returning to uni to repeat Yr 11 and 12 as they didnt do very well at all the first time around. One of my friends has her kids in a private school and one is very taleneted at sport (National and Olympic material) he was selected to train with the State team but would need to leave school an hour early each day to get there, school have allowed it for 6 weeks but said after that he must give up the sporting side or find a new school. I think thats wrong and kids should be supported at other activities if they are very talented. Cal x I concur. I have a friend who went to an exclusive fee paying school in Edinburgh (where the bold Tony Blair went no less) and he lives his life on the dole but living fairly comfortably off daddys' trust fund - the original trustfundafarian! :laugh: on the other side I look at certain old mates from my comp school: not particularly academic, grew up getting into bother at the football and various other stuff.. certainly more street savvy and with more of an entrepreneurial mindset - now doing very well for themselves. My take on it is, as others have said: if your a waster or high achiever youll do well regardless. Those in the middle might do better in a private school. The 'peers' aspect of a fee paying school is snobbery and a load of Tom Kite in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Perhaps if the public schools in their area have a dire reputation, some people would choose to send their children to the local private school. My lads thrived at their public primary and high schools and both went to uni. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted September 5, 2015 Author Share Posted September 5, 2015 Our public school has a fire reputation. Even the principal admits there are 'significant challenges' I don't intend to disadvantage my son who in my opinion would be eaten alive there. That's our problem because we chose to live in a lower socio economic area in order to get onto the housing ladder and get ahead. We've done that and we actually like the area and love the house. So now a choice. Send him there or go private (or move to 'better' area for great public school. Choosing the former because a) we can b) the schools are local and feel they will meet our child's needs and c) no pressure to move asap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Ours have always been to private and all 3 have turned out different, so I do think it's more the individual child than the school itself. An example here is myself and my brother, my parents sent him to one of the "posh" boarding schools in the UK he mixed with the rich and famous, his best friend was Ian Bothams son etc, yet after school he went off to uni and dropped out and ended up doing a call centre job. Yet I went to a crap state school but came out better, it has taken all these years for him to finally start to do something with his life he is now 35. One of the private schools my boys went to the eldest did very well and got a great OP. the other two , in their years there was lots of bullying, my middle son dropped out in Yr 10 and we moved the young one to a new school and he has done really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted September 5, 2015 Author Share Posted September 5, 2015 Our public school has a dire reputation. Even the principal admits there are 'significant challenges' I don't intend to disadvantage my son who in my opinion would be eaten alive there. That's our problem because we chose to live in a lower socio economic area in order to get onto the housing ladder and get ahead. We've done that and we actually like the area and love the house. So now a choice. Send him there or go private (or move to 'better' area for great public school. Choosing the former because a) we can b) the schools are local and feel they will meet our child's needs and c) no pressure to move asap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted September 5, 2015 Author Share Posted September 5, 2015 I believe the logic is that you'd possibly want your kids to hang out with the kids of parents who can afford to send their kids to a private school, rather than the kids of those that can't. :evilface_frowning_s There's a huge variation the 'standards' at public schools in Perth. You've got Perth Modern on one hand and Balga High on the other. Obviously there are better and worse and to a degree you do increase your child's chances of mixing with likeminded people if you choose your schools wisely. That doesn't mean private is any better than public for the 'people' it's nowhere near that simple!! If only. Socio-economic background comes into it. I want my child to mix with other children who think learning is cool, where there is no pressure to pretend he is not clever and interested as that's 'not cool' and we experienced those attitudes at a so called better public school with our eldest. Peer pressure means a lot for less confident kids. They are more likely to get sucked in. I want my son to go to a school were uniform standards are high, no pressure to rock up with the latest designer runners and bag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JockinTas Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 We did choose a single sex high school for our sons. The local secondary school for both sexes closed just before our eldest was due to start high school otherwise they would have gone there. Epping Boys High School suited them both though. The uniform standard was high and they really received a first class education there. http://www.eppingboy-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 My two went to the local high school which has a dreadful reputation but as we live rural it was either there or a boarding school (which we couldn't afford) or no school at all? Both i'm glad to say finished with good results. Both went on to secure places at University in the courses they wanted. My son has just graduated and has gained a graduate position already. My daughter has another year to go. So i think it really does depend on the child and how motivated they are to acheive what they want to. Any particulalrly motivated child will do well. Lastly yes my son is a bit of a brain box. My daughter on the hand did struggle at times but we got her the help she needed via a tutor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortlepuss Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 My son goes to a public International Baccalaureate academy in Brisbane. It is highly selective and expects a great deal from the pupils. No bullying or behaviour issues. The teachers are top notch but do have quite a high turnover rate. I think they are under a great deal of pressure to perform. I can't imagine him getting a better education either in the UK or Australia in the private sector and we do pay a small fee but it is worth it. The school consistently out performs private schools in terms of academic results, however it's not for everyone (they work like dogs and it's poor at sports for example which suits all the brain boxes). +1 to all the comments re: non religious people sending kids to religious schools - I don't get it, and couldn't consider it particularly to the catholic church which holds views very much at odds with my own. It is a shame that so much emphasis is put on sending your kids to private schools here rather than making the local public schools better. My town in Sussex. UK is full of academics and people support the (excellent) local schools. Very few people send their kids to private school. House prices start about 500K though.... I suppose it's all down to what you have available locally. I've never been in the position where I had to send my kids to a poorly performing or challenging school and that must be very difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Yes it is difficult to have to send your child/children to an under performing school but some of us have no choice really. With lots of support in the home environment children can do well even if attending a so called bad school however it's not ideal and given a choice we would not have done so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainR Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Yes it is difficult to have to send your child/children to an under performing school but some of us have no choice really. With lots of support in the home environment children can do well even if attending a so called bad school however it's not ideal and given a choice we would not have done so. Family support is the key, no matter what school children go to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Why the SA comment though? Interested in your views as lots of SA accents at the school we are looking atPM me if you prefer It's hard to put into words. We were going to send our girls to LJBC, it's walkable and people I knew were happy with their kids going there. I have met lots of South Africans over the years and they are lovely. However, I find the religious ones a bit strange and when I went to LJBC to look around and attend the open evening I just got an odd feeling about them and how they approached religion. I'm not saying they provide a bad education or pastoral care, far from it but it just didn't sit right with me. If it feels right for you then go with it, I'm a firm believer in gut feelings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted September 5, 2015 Author Share Posted September 5, 2015 Thanks for explaining NB. Going to look at LJBC next month. Incidentally the person who introduced me to the other school we are looking at is a Christian South African, one of my besties. She's not strange but admits some of her other friends are not as 'friendly' shall we say as her! Never met them so can't comment! Her take on 'religion' is same as mine though so guess that's why we get along so well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 What sort of religion do SA people have? Dutch Reform? Catholic ? Witchcraft? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted September 5, 2015 Author Share Posted September 5, 2015 My friend is just 'Christian' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelensvaleHoward Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 (edited) No regrets in both my mine going to state high school Daughter got a very low OP and Son has a very low OP forecast My Daughter was and is still study mad She's at UQ in Brisbane now My Son is rather different in attitude but still gets the great grades He starts Uni next year Very proud of both of them Edited September 5, 2015 by HelensvaleHoward Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 Mine all went to uni too but one of the ones who went to private school dropped out halfway through. Guess which one has the highest paying and most senior job? Yup - the uni 'drop out'. Funny that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 My Son goes to a Baptist College and he's doing great guns. I'm not religious but the pastoral care seems to be really good in faith based schools. My son went to a public primary school when we first arrived and he was bullied belittled and his grades dropped. He became withdrawn and made no friends. It was a heartbreaking time and we put his name on the two year waiting list for his current school as it just felt like the right sort of place for him. Anyway long story short, he's now confident has friends and is back at A Grades. This may have happened at another different public school but there was also not a decent one in our catchment so we chose out of 3 different private ones. Religion is not forced on them, but it's there and they debate it also. I've had no issues or worries at all. I'm very proud of how our son is turning out. A big part I beleive is the ethos of the school in particular the pastoral care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 (edited) One went to the local public/state school. He's a sparkie now, doing well. The youngest has autism so we paid a bit more for a private school which had a "special stream". Main thing was to have our youngest at least enjoy school and want to go to completion. Worked great for him he loved his school and was proud to go there. He's a strange lad having autism and he loved the idea of a uniform and a badge and thought it was something to be proud of. The eldest one would have hated anything like that, as did I when I was at school. Private schools here aren't nearly as expensive or exclusive as the UK though. There isn't the accent or social "place in society" that goes along with that either. Both schools had a mixture of kids, some from rich families, some from not so rich. I guess that's the nature of Aus in general though. Just thought I'd add that the private school was religious. Can't even remember what religion now, maybe that was the reason my wife took my youngest to the interview and wasn't bothered about me coming.:laugh: Me and the missus aren't religious at all but my son actually liked the religious classes and at the end of the day the values they tried to impart on the kids were good, that's the main thing. Doesn't mean they turn out religious zealots themselves but my son could probably have a better chat about religion and various beliefs than I could. Edited September 17, 2015 by Paul1Perth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul1Perth Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Our public school has a dire reputation. Even the principal admits there are 'significant challenges' I don't intend to disadvantage my son who in my opinion would be eaten alive there. That's our problem because we chose to live in a lower socio economic area in order to get onto the housing ladder and get ahead. We've done that and we actually like the area and love the house. So now a choice. Send him there or go private (or move to 'better' area for great public school. Choosing the former because a) we can b) the schools are local and feel they will meet our child's needs and c) no pressure to move asap If you really feel your son "would be eaten alive" (bet he would be devastated if he saw that):wink: then send him to a better one. We thought the same about our youngest if he had gone to the same school as our eldest. Maybe he would, maybe he would have done OK. He certainly stuck up for himself at his primary school and no-one messed with him. More-so than the eldest one would have I think. You do what you think is the right thing at the time HH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caramac Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 One went to the local public/state school. He's a sparkie now, doing well. The youngest has autism so we paid a bit more for a private school which had a "special stream". Main thing was to have our youngest at least enjoy school and want to go to completion. Worked great for him he loved his school and was proud to go there. He's a strange lad having autism and he loved the idea of a uniform and a badge and thought it was something to be proud of. The eldest one would have hated anything like that, as did I when I was at school. Private schools here aren't nearly as expensive or exclusive as the UK though. There isn't the accent or social "place in society" that goes along with that either. Both schools had a mixture of kids, some from rich families, some from not so rich. I guess that's the nature of Aus in general though. Just thought I'd add that the private school was religious. Can't even remember what religion now, maybe that was the reason my wife took my youngest to the interview and wasn't bothered about me coming.:laugh: Me and the missus aren't religious at all but my son actually liked the religious classes and at the end of the day the values they tried to impart on the kids were good, that's the main thing. Doesn't mean they turn out religious zealots themselves but my son could probably have a better chat about religion and various beliefs than I could. Depends on the school. The ones our lot went to used to be cheaper than the their UK one, but now they're much more expensive. Not only the fees, but registration and acceptance fees, uniform, stationery, co and extra curricular activities. The one in Sydney was way more more 'exclusive', or at least it thought it was.. and there was definitely a notion that you were buying your way into something special. It was awful, but I think Sydney and Melbourne are worse for that than Perth. IME anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest littlesarah Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 My youngest goes to an Anglican school, nearest I would imagine to a C of E. Religion not pushed at all really. Some of the Baptist schools and in Perth any that have a lot of South African students I would personally steer well clear of. just my opinion of course. The Anglican Church of Australia is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The difference here is that no church is aligned with the State (hence no 'Church of Australia'). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janlo Posted September 21, 2015 Share Posted September 21, 2015 It's hard to put into words. We were going to send our girls to LJBC, it's walkable and people I knew were happy with their kids going there. I have met lots of South Africans over the years and they are lovely. However, I find the religious ones a bit strange and when I went to LJBC to look around and attend the open evening I just got an odd feeling about them and how they approached religion. I'm not saying they provide a bad education or pastoral care, far from it but it just didn't sit right with me. If it feels right for you then go with it, I'm a firm believer in gut feelings. what does make them strange? I'm also interested. Do you mean a little intense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyHeart Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 If you really feel your son "would be eaten alive" (bet he would be devastated if he saw that):wink: then send him to a better one. We thought the same about our youngest if he had gone to the same school as our eldest. Maybe he would, maybe he would have done OK. He certainly stuck up for himself at his primary school and no-one messed with him. More-so than the eldest one would have I think. You do what you think is the right thing at the time HH. He wouldn't be devastated and he would likely be 'eaten alive' at the local school. He's sensitive, not sporty, not 'cool' or in the cool kids gang. Pressures already rising as kids tend to get meaner and concerned with image as they get older. He came home in tears on Friday saying the boys made him 'feel different'. we feel hell do better in a smaller school where much emphasis on pastoral care and academia which is where his strengths lie. He's very community minded and keen on current affairs and social justice and I think he will be nurtured at school we have chosen. Hope so anyway. I see similarities with QSS situation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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