Buyer71 Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 My husband has just been offered a job in Melbourne and we are therefore looking at options around education. I was wondering if anyone could let me know how the education system in Melbourne compares or differs to that in the UK which is where we currently live. I am worried/concerned about disrupting my eldest daughters education as she is currently in Year 10 and would be sitting her GCSE's in the summer of 2017, if we make this move then we will be arriving in Melbourne in about six months time so where would she be within the system there. Also I would be on a partner visa as would my eldest daughter as my husband isn't her biological father but has parental responsibility in the UK (my husband is Australian and therefore my two youngest children hold Australian passports). Would we therefore have to pay for my eldest daughters education in the same way as other visas or would she be treated with having the same access to education as an Australian due to my husbands citizenship. Many thank for any comments or advice or thoughts that you can share with us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 I was wondering if anyone could let me know how the education system in Melbourne compares or differs to that in the UK which is where we currently live. At a high level - it is much more focussed around developing the whole child as a rounded, confident individual, rather than on passing tests and scoring points. I am worried/concerned about disrupting my eldest daughters education as she is currently in Year 10 and would be sitting her GCSE's in the summer of 2017, if we make this move then we will be arriving in Melbourne in about six months time so where would she be within the system there. Depends when her birthday is in relation to April 30th. Children start school in the year when they are 5 after April 30th, so a child with a birthday on May 1st would start when they were 4 3/4 (although most Australians would hold that child back 1 year), a child with a birthday on April 29th would start school when they were 5 3/4. Sing out if that doesn't make sense. You'll have to extrapolate the years to her current age. Also I would be on a partner visa as would my eldest daughter as my husband isn't her biological father but has parental responsibility in the UK (my husband is Australian and therefore my two youngest children hold Australian passports). Would we therefore have to pay for my eldest daughters education in the same way as other visas or would she be treated with having the same access to education as an Australian due to my husbands citizenship. No. You will not have to pay any more than an Australian for your children's education . Many thank for any comments or advice or thoughts that you can share with us. Good luck with it all, We moved to Melbourne 9 years ago and have never looked back. BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buyer71 Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Many thanks Buzzy-Bee. It's interesting about what you say in relation to education being focussed on developing the whole child. We had parents evening yesterday for our daughters in Year 3 and 4 and were informed of the changes that the government are making and as this requires children to have more knowledge and skills at a younger age that as parents we need to be more actively involved in achieving this. I am not against homework or supporting our children but the emphasis is now on parents and assisting in so many ways to reach targets and scores but not to encourage children to develop social skills, abilities within sports or art or be creative in any way and also just be children and play. Do you have children yourself and if so what have your experiences been about schooling and education in Melbourne? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Do you have children yourself and if so what have your experiences been about schooling and education in Melbourne? Yes we have twin girls aged almost 11, they were 2 when we emigrated so we have no personal experience of them being educated in England. I love the fact that children are encouraged to grow in so many different ways. Every child at school here does public speaking from a very early age, first in front of their class and then the whole school and parents and teachers. Every child is encouraged to set a good example to others from day 1 in various ways. Team sports are very important. Art and music classes happen more than once a week. Discipline seems to be constructive, bullying is dealt with by a "think" sheet, where the bully has to take a sheet home which reflects on how the person being bullied felt, and also how the bully felt, and has to be signed by the bully's parents and then returned to school. When my daughter was bullied by another girl on one occasion, this action was taken and it hasn't reoccurred. The main area where schools here do not excel are foreign languages and RE. RE is still not taught at all in our girls state school, and foreign languages used to not be , however Japanese is now taught and they love it. We also pay for them to learn French outside school to "top up" their language skills. Now the next challenge for us is which Secondary School! Hope that helps BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janlo Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Yes we have twin girls aged almost 11, they were 2 when we emigrated so we have no personal experience of them being educated in England. I love the fact that children are encouraged to grow in so many different ways. Every child at school here does public speaking from a very early age, first in front of their class and then the whole school and parents and teachers. Every child is encouraged to set a good example to others from day 1 in various ways. Team sports are very important. Art and music classes happen more than once a week. Discipline seems to be constructive, bullying is dealt with by a "think" sheet, where the bully has to take a sheet home which reflects on how the person being bullied felt, and also how the bully felt, and has to be signed by the bully's parents and then returned to school. When my daughter was bullied by another girl on one occasion, this action was taken and it hasn't reoccurred. The main area where schools here do not excel are foreign languages and RE. RE is still not taught at all in our girls state school, and foreign languages used to not be , however Japanese is now taught and they love it. We also pay for them to learn French outside school to "top up" their language skills. Now the next challenge for us is which Secondary School! Hope that helps BB Ive had experience in both and the UK schooling mine have now is absolutely fabulous. I would describe my children as quietly academic. In the UK they have loads of after school activities. This term its karate, street dance, netball and gymnastics. All gentle fun stuff to introduce them...then I guess if they show an interest or aptitude you go to the local leisure centre (I dont think they have those in Aus? I never saw one on the Central Coast) The sessions lasts 4 weeks and are 3 quid a session. My little girl really struggled with the competitiveness in Australia. She wasnt sporty or a confident public speaker and felt almost a little bullied - children literally screaming at her when she dropped the netball! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buyer71 Posted March 6, 2016 Author Share Posted March 6, 2016 Thanks for all of the useful information as it does really help with getting an understanding of the education system. One last query and Buzzy--bee you may be able to help with this. My eldest daughter is 15 and her date of birth is the 23/09/00, therefore what year would she be in within the education system in Melbourne? Also am I correct in my research that the main exams are sat at the end of year 12 and these are for the Victorian Education Certificate? Just trying to work out where she would be and when she would have to sit exams for. In the UK she would have her GCSE's in Year 11 and then A Levels in Year 13 so children finish school when they are 18 but I think this is 17 in Melbourne. Again, thanks for all the support and information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Thanks for all of the useful information as it does really help with getting an understanding of the education system. One last query and Buzzy--bee you may be able to help with this. My eldest daughter is 15 and her date of birth is the 23/09/00, therefore what year would she be in within the education system in Melbourne? Also am I correct in my research that the main exams are sat at the end of year 12 and these are for the Victorian Education Certificate? Just trying to work out where she would be and when she would have to sit exams for. In the UK she would have her GCSE's in Year 11 and then A Levels in Year 13 so children finish school when they are 18 but I think this is 17 in Melbourne. Again, thanks for all the support and information. At the moment she would be in year 10 and would be going in to year 11 in January. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buzzy--bee Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 At the moment she would be in year 10 and would be going in to year 11 in January. Thanks Nic for the quick response to the OP. BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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