School and areas to live moving from uk

[howards]

Hi we are hoping to move to Sunshine Coast from the uk about oct/Nov time. Can anyone give me any advice on good private schools for a 14yr and 11yr old. I'm thinking best to find good schools for the children and decide on where to live from there? Hubby is a cabinet maker / kitchen installer so we will need to be aware of where work is for him too. Any help or advise much appreciated. Also do most of the school have spaces? Do you need enrolment interviews? Or need to be in catchment? Will they enroll half way through year? Thank you

[Quoll]

First find your job then find your home. All schools have catchment areas and are obliged to find places for kids within their area regardless of when they front up. General rule of thumb is that the school will reflect the neighbourhood so if you can't see yourself living in a particular neighbourhood then you probably won't want your kids to be in a school there. Choosing your home is much more than the school it is attached to - distance from work, availability, other important services eg transport, shops etc, cost - all things that you will take into account. One you have your home then rock up to the school with evidence of address, visa and vaccinations record and theoretically the kids can start there and then no matter when it is in the term. In reality they do like a couple of days so they can organise desks, class groups etc. They cannot turn away a child in their catchment but if you have a child with, say, special needs, there may be a longer lead up time. Don't worry about keeping a kid out of school until you are settled - no one will give a toss.

 

Ack - that, of course relates to government schools - I missed the "private" in your question. For the best private schools you are probably too late - many tend to need you to put your name on a waiting list when the kids are just bumps. If you want a faith school then you will need to apply with (often but not exclusively) evidence of their religious affiliation, baptism, confirmation and perhaps references from priests or prior faith schools and see what happens - no obligations there to find you a place if they don't want to . If you want the really expensive private schools though you can put their name down on as many as you want, pay the registration fee and do your time on the wait list. One little trick is that you say you are happy for them to start at any time not just at the defined entry points which is when most people want their kids to move.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Quoll
R

[stamples]

We don't have kids, but immigrant friends who do have been very impressed with some of the Independent State schools (fairly independently run as opposed to State Schools as I understand it). If you are in Brisbane, there is an excellent and extremely well resourced Independent State school near Graceville I believe which our friends espouse is as good in every way as their children's previous private schools (in South Africa, which are generally still very good). Hope this helps.