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School Years - Queensland...bit confused?!


Princess23

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Hi everyone. 

So we’re seriously considering moving to Queensland. My Partner has been offered a fantastic position with a 457 family visa, amazing salary, relocation expenses covered etc.

My eldest daughter is starting Year 6 this September and will be 11 on October 30th...so what Year would that make her in a Queensland school if we were to move there in January which is when the job will start? 

My younger two are 5 in June 2019 so from what I can see that would make them Prep starting in January? 

Also any recommendations on the best schools around the Gold Coast? We’re looking for State Schools but can anybody shed some light on the typical Private School fees as it could be a possibility.

 Many thanks in advance.

 

 

 

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Your eldest will be in yr 6 2019.

The younger two could just squeak into Prep but they will be youngest in the class and you may be recommended to hold them back a year which is what often happens to kids born the last 3-4 months before cut off. 

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Thank you for that.

How do they make a decision regarding holding them back? My two are quite advanced for their age and will have completed a term at school already in the UK.

Also do you know if on the new TSS visa you have to pay school fees in Queensland? I know with the 457 there were no fees but can’t find any information on whether it’s changed now with the TSS’s? 

Thanks again x 

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There's been nothing said about Queensland charging fees for temporary residents so I doubt they have snuck it in under the radar without someone jumping up and down about it but that's not to say they may change their minds down the track and just do it all of a sudden.

Most families are actually quite keen to hold their kids back, especially boys, it depends on physical, social, emotional maturity really and the schools may make the suggestion, it's up to you if you accept it or not (if that is what they do) so bear in mind that their cohort can have kids who are up to about 15-16 months older than they will be.  I guess you have the impetus for keeping them with their age cohort for when you return to UK, you dont want them to be out of step when they go back (that's always quite a good argument).  OTOH, if your hope is to remain in Australia then they will be very young to go to Uni which is where the big social and emotional gulf might raise its ugly head and you might then think about holding them back a year to start school just in case you do get PR down the track.

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  • 2 months later...
On 29/08/2018 at 18:04, Quoll said:

There's been nothing said about Queensland charging fees for temporary residents so I doubt they have snuck it in under the radar without someone jumping up and down about it but that's not to say they may change their minds down the track and just do it all of a sudden.

Most families are actually quite keen to hold their kids back, especially boys, it depends on physical, social, emotional maturity really and the schools may make the suggestion, it's up to you if you accept it or not (if that is what they do) so bear in mind that their cohort can have kids who are up to about 15-16 months older than they will be.  I guess you have the impetus for keeping them with their age cohort for when you return to UK, you dont want them to be out of step when they go back (that's always quite a good argument).  OTOH, if your hope is to remain in Australia then they will be very young to go to Uni which is where the big social and emotional gulf might raise its ugly head and you might then think about holding them back a year to start school just in case you do get PR down the track.

It's an interesting point holding kids back from entering the schooling system. Going somewhat off topic, I seem to have a different opinion to almost everybody I talk to about this casually. Most people want to hold their kids back so that they have a better chance of competing for high grades by being older rather than younger. My view on it is that once you get to about 16, 17, 18 or whatever this difference isn't going to be anything like as pronounced as it was when you were 5 and grades will have evened out according to academic ability. So for things like your exam grades eventually indicating which universities you're likely to attend, which career path you are likely to take etc I'm not convinced it makes a difference.

Personally, I'd rather get the whole school thing over and done with as soon as possible in order to get on the career and housing/investment ladder as soon as possible. I don't think I've ever met anyone else that thinks that way. Maybe I don't give enough credit to the emotional impact of struggling in the early years.

Whether young kids are better off in a formal school or a homeschooling environment in the early years, that's a whole different matter.

Anyway, couldn't help but offer a contrasting viewpoint! 

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8 hours ago, WayneM said:

It's an interesting point holding kids back from entering the schooling system. Going somewhat off topic, I seem to have a different opinion to almost everybody I talk to about this casually. Most people want to hold their kids back so that they have a better chance of competing for high grades by being older rather than younger. My view on it is that once you get to about 16, 17, 18 or whatever this difference isn't going to be anything like as pronounced as it was when you were 5 and grades will have evened out according to academic ability. So for things like your exam grades eventually indicating which universities you're likely to attend, which career path you are likely to take etc I'm not convinced it makes a difference.

Personally, I'd rather get the whole school thing over and done with as soon as possible in order to get on the career and housing/investment ladder as soon as possible. I don't think I've ever met anyone else that thinks that way. Maybe I don't give enough credit to the emotional impact of struggling in the early years.

Whether young kids are better off in a formal school or a homeschooling environment in the early years, that's a whole different matter.

Anyway, couldn't help but offer a contrasting viewpoint! 

A lot of people hold their kids back because of the ramifications of older teenagerdom actually, rather than kindergarten stresses.  In some states the dates used to mean  that kids could be heading for Uni at 16/17 and they just weren't ready to cope.  Also, being younger in a cohort where sex, drugs, rock and roll and driving can be very tricky and a lot of younger kids founder when faced with those sorts of stresses whilst lacking the physical and emotional maturity to deal with it. Bullying is rife in Aussie schools too so the smaller weaker (often younger) kids cop the brunt. 

At the end of the day I think it rather depends on the kids - size, skills, emotional and social development, environment, resilience etc. There's no right or wrong but pushing a kid one way or the other when they are going to struggle usually leads to disaster.

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