lauraj1988 Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Hey all!! So excited as we now have the ball rolling and our visa process has started.. we are working alongside go Matilda and our skills assessment is booked for next month. My husband is a carpenter 13years experience and I work in accounts ;-) anyways weare looking come to Perth I have been looking at rentals both NOR and SOU I understand SOU is near to the beach etc whereas NOR is closer to city etc. We are still in two minds were to start off my head is saying SOU as I am seeing a lot of family friendly suburbs etc safety bay, secret harbour and rentals being reasonable priced. A big factor for me is for the children to go to a good school where they will have plenty opportunities to grow as people in subjects they excel in no necessarily academic my boy is very sporty loves fishing and art. The school they go to here is overcrowded and poor for me the school and opportunities for them would be a major factor where we settle so if any you could give me advice on the suburb you live in and what's it like etc NOR or SOU be very much appreciated My boy is 7 and my little girl is 3, thanks everyone ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katielou Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Hi @lauraj1988, If school is an important factor this will determine where you will want/need to live. All schools have a catchment area and you need live within that area to get into the school. Unfortunately you can't pick the school you want unless you go private. I can't comment on which schools are good etc as my LG will only start Kindy in Jan hopefully and we only arrived in Oz in June. We live SOR in Piara Waters, the area is relatively new. The estate we live on is really nice and has plenty of paths and parks. There is also a nice pond a 2 mins walk from the house. Good luck with you visa process, its a tough time but it'll all be worth it. Katie ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docboat Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 We are next door in Harrisdale. Bletchley Park primary school is excellent. Our eldest is going to John Curtin next year, and the transport there is maybe long, but easy on train and bus. Other schools in the are for high school include Rossmoyne, Willetton and Applecross - many others. Excellent area and good environment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laura1988 Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 thank you both for taking the time to reply to me, obv I like the children get good grades but I understand its different in Oz no GCSE'S its more about opportunities etc and my boy really into sport just wondered if the schools were different in that aspect in comparison to the UK? I will have a look at both areas! we just started visa process so very exciting ;-) Katie how was the transition for you as family? hard but rewarding? x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docboat Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 I have no idea how the schools here compare with the UK. My boys compare their current standing with friends in Hong Kong, and compared to Chinese students they lag behind in the more academic studies. But .... and there is a but! But, for maths they attended Kumon, and youngest at 9 is at the level of factorising quadratic equations. And the older one has the last term of PEAC, which is a competitive entry for advanced studies for which they are taken out of school for several hours to be with peer groups - currently he is doing higher studies in a variety of subjects - robot lab last term, and coding (ie the maths behind creating and breaking codes) this term. You can also do the tutorial schools for more developed learning - it is the secret behind many an Asian child shining. But .... again the but! But the schools here are much better than Asian schools in teaching social skills, creative thinking. Having said that, we have some awful schools too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLO Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauraj1988 Posted October 29, 2015 Author Share Posted October 29, 2015 hi KOL, yes he is into rugby he plays for London Irish here.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katielou Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 Hi @lauraj1988, The transition was harder than I expected it to be to be honest. I really underestimated how it would affect my LG. The first few weeks were the hardest but we are getting into a routine now so its getting easier. We were lucky that we had jobs to go to which meant we could rent our own place fairly quickly. How are you finding the process? Feel free to PM me if you have any questions I'll help as best I can x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 My son went here http://www.lanceholtschool.wa.edu.au/ it's SOR in the heart of Fremantle and it was just perfect, lots of opportunity for developing artistic skills - they have a good record of getting children on the Gifted And Talented program at John Curtin (specialist arts school) and lots of outdoor activity - bush school, camping etc. Not so strong on team sports though there were after-school options and PE/swimming when my son was there. A very good record of children going on to academic GATE/specialist programs too. We chose the school, then chose where to live - we were in Hamilton Hill, a suburb in the City of Cockburn - 10 min walk from South Beach. 5km cycle along the beach path to school It is independent so there are fees - if was about $1000 a term and considering most state school require uniforms and have 'voluntary' contributions I don't think there was that much in it - fees can be paid monthly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 hi KOL, yes he is into rugby he plays for London Irish here.. Rugby is not big in WA - the school I mentioned wouldn't offer it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 29, 2015 Share Posted October 29, 2015 You could contact these guys for information on which primary schools do offer rugby http://nrlwa.com.au/primary-school-overview/ Or look at the same site for areas where there are clubs for him to do it outside of school. My son did football for a club rather than at school and my husband coached, it was another nice way to get involved in the community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLO Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 hi KOL, yes he is into rugby he plays for London Irish here.. 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KLO Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 My son went here http://www.lanceholtschool.wa.edu.au/ it's SOR in the heart of Fremantle and it was just perfect, lots of opportunity for developing artistic skills - they have a good record of getting children on the Gifted And Talented program at John Curtin (specialist arts school) and lots of outdoor activity - bush school, camping etc. Not so strong on team sports though there were after-school options and PE/swimming when my son was there. A very good record of children going on to academic GATE/specialist programs too. We chose the school, then chose where to live - we were in Hamilton Hill, a suburb in the City of Cockburn - 10 min walk from South Beach. 5km cycle along the beach path to school It is independent so there are fees - if was about $1000 a term and considering most state school require uniforms and have 'voluntary' contributions I don't think there was that much in it - fees can be paid monthly. 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 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! The camps aren't 'compulsory' although they were a highlight of my time in Australia! I guess the cost of uniform depends on the school, my son never went to a state primary in Australia so I was making assumptions based on his UK primary and what friends have said (a lot did go to independent schools too so maybe that's where the fancy uniforms come in) I totally appreciate not everyone can afford it, I suppose I was just highlighting that it may not be as much as people think compared to independent schools in the UK. Another consideration is housing costs the so called 'good' schools are usually in 'good' areas with much higher prices accordingly, so for us as well as our son getting an education unimaginable in the UK it made financial sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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