Canberra High Schools

[Guest Samfire]

Hi everybody. We are hoping to move to Canberra by the end of 2009, and will hopefully be starting our 12 year-old son in High School in 2010. We have researched the areas and my OH and I are agreed that we would be best suited to living outside the city - down south in Tuggeranong. We don't want to have to travel too far to schools and we will be considering a government, state-run high school. We have been on the website and looked up Wanniassa High School and Lanyon High. Can anybody give us advice regarding these schools? Our youngest son who is 4 years old will need to join pre-school somewhere nearby also. We were hoping to move into the catchment area of our chosen school, to avoid any hassle with entry right etc. We assume that most of the schools are well-run anyway, but our son is gentle natured - good to make friends, but small in stature and conscious of this, especially on the sports field. He loves swimming and anything to do with water sports - tennis also, but apart from that he is not a very sporty child!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

:notworthy:

[Quoll]

Personally none of the Tugg HS would be my choice. All Tugg schools are open space schools and many Tugg parents, especially at HS, opt for schools "up the valley" to Melrose, Alfred Deakin or Telopea. Also a good number of ACT parents at HS (very close to 50%) opt for private education (Catholic or independent). You have probably picked the best of a "so so" lot IMHO.

 

Tuggeranong isnt outside the city, it is suburbia personified and once had the label "nappy valley" - quite a lot of cheap housing on small blocks which attracted young families. There is more trouble with adolescents down in Tuggeranong than in other parts of town. If you are looking for new areas further out then Gungahlin is the up and coming area and schools like Amaroo have quite a good rep.

 

BTW the "city" isnt like any other city centre and so the suburbs close to the city centre are actually very good - amongst the best IMHO and the schools are actually more established and some have some very good programs and probably on balance fewer adolescent problems. He wouldnt be out of place at Canberra HS for example because they have the Aus gymnasts at school there and small stature is not an issue. Lyneham HS has a gifted and talented program and also an elite sports program. Campbell HS has a noted music program.

[Guest Samfire]

Thanks Quoll. You had suggested Alfred Deakin and Melrose in an earlier post, but we couldn't afford to buy a property in these catchment areas, and we didn't want to have to drive up the valley to schools when we'd rather choose another good school close to where we are likely to be living. What you have said has given us food for thought though, and we will bear it in mind before we finally commit ourselves when considering where to live. Can we actually try and enrol Mark in Canberra High School, without actually living in the inner north catchment area?? Thanks again for the information.

 

Cheers

[Quoll]

You can always try and enrol a child in an out of area school, whether they accept you is another matter. You arent likely to get in as an out of area enrolment into Lyneham HS but the others may have more flexibity. Canberra HS catchment would be Aranda, Cook, Macquarie, Weetangera, Bruce I think. They would all be quite nice areas to live in too. I guess it all depends on where you will be working as to what consitutes a good place to live.

[Guest Taff]

My daughter attends Canberra High, I have nothing but good to say about it.

Canberra High School | Home

 

I can confirm everything that Quoll says above.

 

This is a good place to ask such questions if you want further advice;

 

RiotACT