High schools in Northern beaches

[NurseAng]

Thanks Caramac, will definitely take Abbotsleigh & Pymble off the list then.

 

We don't really mind if it's coed or single sex, it's the long drive between them that I want to avoid if possible. I've found the myschool website and that looks great so I can do more research on there. I have a feeling I'll spend weeks trying to figure it all out!

 

Can you remind me how old they are in year 5? And when does secondary start? I seem to be finding different answers!

 

Where are you now?

[caramac]

It's different in the state from the private sector. The school my lot were at year 5 turned 10 before the end of March, so my youngest (june 98) was one of the oldest in her year, which really suited her, but my middle one (may 96) was very bored in year 7. They are now in years 7 and 9 in the uk. The independent schools seem to have different dates, just to add to the confusion! The 'cut off' for the state schools is the end of July, so both would have been in the year above (6 and 8). There is a lot more flexibility though and lots of parents keep their child back a year, or the school will assess the child if it's thought they'd do better up or down a year. I didn't want to put my middle one up though because that would have meant her leaving school at 16; the schools go to year 12, instead of 13.

[NurseAng]

Ah, that explains the mixed messages.

 

Our oldest was 5 in November so started school here last September and the youngest will be 3 in May, so will start school here in sept 2011. So we were told he would start private school now but presumably state school would not be until next Feb? And our youngest would start in 2013 for private & 2014 for state? Is that right?

 

Changing years is always difficult because as you say, they end up leaving school too early and can have problems socialising along the way.

 

Sorry for all the questions and for hijacking this thread. I didn't mean to, honest!

[caramac]

I'll pm you

[Guest Sarahe]

Its all useful stuff... I have exactly the same problem with 2 girls and a boy and don't want to be driving miles between them all - and have no idea really how to rate the private schools...we got state sponsorship in October and turned down our London private school places for my oldest to discover that processing visas is going to take lots longer than it used to ...still hoping to make it for Jan 2011.

 

The state primarys look pretty good - nice facilities so I am now starting to think that way and then send them to a good private later - co-educational... Oxford Falls and Pittwater look nice from here!!!

[Guest jooby]

didn't mean any offensive...there are lots of lovely people (and kids) everywhere. But both here and in the UK you would know the type I mean...do they call them chavs in the UK now?? lol. All money, flashy and more interested in what you are wearing than who you are. When talking about the Hoorays I meant more the Eton kind of equivilant (thats what the knox and barker schools would have you believe they are on a par with). I don't disagree with a private education - just that some use it as a way to show how much cash they have and to try to prove they are better than everyone else - hence why you see so much tutoring and "hot housing" in Sydney so that someone's little darling can get a 99.95 UAI and get into medicine or law (whether thats what they wanted to do or not). Not an exaggeration - one of the doctors where I work has a daughter who just finished year 12 - she got 98.65 in her exams - she is "disappointed" and "a bit embarassed for her as she was supposed to get a 100" and might want her to repeat (??!!). Thats a score in the top 1.5% in the state!

 

This is the kind of thing I didn't like, my kids made some great friends that they still keep in touch with, and again just to say was not a mass attack on the private school system

[caramac]

didn't mean any offensive...there are lots of lovely people (and kids) everywhere. But both here and in the UK you would know the type I mean...do they call them chavs in the UK now?? lol. All money, flashy and more interested in what you are wearing than who you are. When talking about the Hoorays I meant more the Eton kind of equivilant (thats what the knox and barker schools would have you believe they are on a par with). I don't disagree with a private education - just that some use it as a way to show how much cash they have and to try to prove they are better than everyone else - hence why you see so much tutoring and "hot housing" in Sydney so that someone's little darling can get a 99.95 UAI and get into medicine or law (whether thats what they wanted to do or not). Not an exaggeration - one of the doctors where I work has a daughter who just finished year 12 - she got 98.65 in her exams - she is "disappointed" and "a bit embarassed for her as she was supposed to get a 100" and might want her to repeat (??!!). Thats a score in the top 1.5% in the state!

 

This is the kind of thing I didn't like, my kids made some great friends that they still keep in touch with, and again just to say was not a mass attack on the private school system

 

You didn't cause any offence - I agree with everything else you've said! :spinny:

[NurseAng]

Are there any state secondary schools that are ok? And are the selective schools only ok if you're also planning on private tuition to make sure they get scores over 95? Our friend's son wants to be a doctor but I didn't realise you needed that sort of score to get in???

 

I'm getting the impression that the vast majority do go for private at this stage so which ones have good results but without the problems associated with the prestigious ones?

 

What a minefield.

[caramac]

There are some good state schools around and those ones usually beat the private schools in the HSC ranking. One is James Ruse agricultural high, which always seems to be the top in the HSC. There are a few selective schools, but places are always under pressure. We applied for places for our older two last year (not for intake years) and were told that, although they would like to take the girls, they didn't have any places and told us to apply again for year11 when more places are available. There are also schools with selective classes within them. It's a good idea to look at the NSW education website which has lots of info on the different options and how to apply.

 

I've just thought of another co ed school that a friend of mine has children at, Arden Anglican school - primary campus at Beecroft and secondary at Epping. Slightly more affordable area (and really nice) than a lot of the private schools, but further away from the CBD. I've heard that the state schools out that way are good too.

[Guest woods99]

Thanks Caramac, will definitely take Abbotsleigh & Pymble off the list then.

 

We don't really mind if it's coed or single sex, it's the long drive between them that I want to avoid if possible. I've found the myschool website and that looks great so I can do more research on there. I have a feeling I'll spend weeks trying to figure it all out!

 

Can you remind me how old they are in year 5? And when does secondary start? I seem to be finding different answers!

 

Where are you now?

 

 

Pymble is a very good school, gets great academic success, and has a good reputation everywhere. Surely you would not take it off your list just because a girl thinks the tennis courts are "a long way away"?

[Guest jooby]

James Ruse is a private school wrapped up in public clothing! Take a drive past any day of the week and you will see that the "average" student does not go there. Excellent results, almost entirely asian student intake, hot housed all the way, The best way to get a child into medicine who is unlikely to achieve the 99.95 mostly required (ie perfect score) to get in is to move to a rural area in nsw, have them undertake their education in this rural area for at least five years and then apply as a rural applicant - scores of 90+ will then see them considered (along with other "intelligence tests" and interviews) for this career, on the rural entry program. Much more achieveable.

[caramac]

James Ruse is a private school wrapped up in public clothing! Take a drive past any day of the week and you will see that the "average" student does not go there. Excellent results, almost entirely asian student intake, hot housed all the way, The best way to get a child into medicine who is unlikely to achieve the 99.95 mostly required (ie perfect score) to get in is to move to a rural area in nsw, have them undertake their education in this rural area for at least five years and then apply as a rural applicant - scores of 90+ will then see them considered (along with other "intelligence tests" and interviews) for this career, on the rural entry program. Much more achieveable.

 

Same as all the selective schools then. Sad really, just like London. Kids tutored to within an inch of their lives. I can't believe the pressure some of my friends' kids are under because their parents are terrified. And it starts from the age of three! I'm not sure I'd want a doctor looking after me who had been inder that pressure all their life!

[NurseAng]

Hi Woods99, no I definitely wouldn't take it off the list because off the tennis courts being a long way away - it's great that it has tennis courts! I didn't make my post clear, sorry. I have heard quite a few of reports saying that the pupils are very pressurised from a young age and if you don't fit in, life can be very difficult.

 

Thanks for the info re medicine Jooby, I'll pass it onto my friend.

 

Difficult question to answer maybe, but is it very difficult for students to get the grades necessary to get into uni if they haven't been to a private or selective school? My husband when to a rural state secondary school in the UK & they didn't offer some of the higher GCSE papers eg Maths, so the students never had a chance of getting an A or a B because it wasn't taught to that level & they couldn't sit the exam. Are some schools like that in Aus?

[Guest jooby]

To some extent you have a higher chance of getting into Uni if you go to a rural school in Australia. Most unis have schemes where rural students get extra points on their exam results because they went to school out of the metro area. Where we live students get upto 9 extra marks on their UAI (Entrance score) depending on which subjects they take relevent to the degree they want to do.

 

My son's school does video conferencing and online programs for those subjects his high school can't teach because it's small ie. physics and extension maths, and now in west NSW they are doing "virtual" selective classes for bright students. You won't get to do some sujbects like the more obscure languages but any course you would need for mainstream degrees are available. ANd some unis reserve places on their courses purely for rural applicants (ie medicine and dentistry in NSW).So in some ways I think you are at an advantage with alot less pressure than at city schools and just as much opportunity to achieve.

 

You can get into some Unis with a score of around 60 (really not more than a pass). It might not be the course you wanted to do first off, but you can then transfer to the better ones after the first year at Uni, they are pretty much dragging people in off the street to get them in so I don't know why some people put so much pressure on their kids - year 12 is a particular danger time for teenage suicide - kids can get to Uni through TAFE, mature entry etc. even if they fail exams the first time round.

 

And I have to say I find the australian apprenticeship system looks pretty good and their are plenty of opportunities going. Plumbers can earn more than most professionals and not every child wants to go to Uni...just my thoughts.

[Guest woods99]

I would add this to what Jooby said, in a very informative post. In Australia, second and third chances abound, unlike in some other societies, people are not pigeon-holed, once and for all, just because of their scores in any given exam.

 

It is quite possible to get into good uni courses as a mature age student, even if you miss out earlier, and there are lots of other opportunities.

 

This is one of the very attractive features of Australian society, compared to older, more rigid ones (no names, no pack-drill).

[caramac]

It is quite possible to get into good uni courses as a mature age student, even if you miss out earlier, and there are lots of other opportunities.

 

 

This true of the Uk too. Almost half the medical students my husband was teaching a couple of years ago were mature students. Some had been nurses, paramedics or physios etc, but some had also come from a 'trade' background. A couple of my friends are uni lecturers and they have seen a similar trend. And people can switch courses if they decide the one they're doing isn't for them.

There are so many more opportunities available now than 20 years ago and people are becoming aware of them which is perhaps why we are seeing more mature students. The lecture theatres must be interesting places to be!