Guest Homesick Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Hi guys I went to primary school in Oz, coming to UK age 11 (1977). When I started high school here I hardly had to do any work for the first year because I had already done it in Oz! Now we are planning to return to Oz and I'm concerned that my 12 year old son's level of education may not be the same as a 12 year old over there. Is the standard of education still the same and is it possible that he will be held back a year? If anyone can help I would be really grateful.:wubclub: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuju Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 what you said i was going to say but the other way around, my 13 year old is in year 8 at high school in oz and she feels that she has already done alot fo the work she is now doing back in the uk in year 6 & 7. You could buy uk key stage books in the uk and bring them with you also have a look at http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ its a very good site and has lots of lessons and tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie 2 Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 It depends on which state you are returning too . In NSW I would say that the standard of education, in general, is as good as, if not better than that in England. Again that depends on the school and area you choose to live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nelson Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 It is a difficult question to answer and I'm sure there will be as many opinions as there are people. What stands out in our case is how much better behaved children are over here. We have many friends who are teachers who say they can't believe the difference. Teaching over here seems to be far less stressful, anyhow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tracy hunt Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 I was thinking that my 2 school age children would be further ahead than the Aussie children, just because they start school in Australia older than ours at age 4. Maybe they learn at a more rapid rate than here in UK. Are the classes smaller on average? At my children's school each class has 2 school years in it and usually about 30 children. I can't see how their teachers can teach those children very well when there is such a mixture of age and ability in one class. Mind you my children seem to not be learning that much. Don't know if that's the teachers fault or my husband's genes! Tracy xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tinbasher Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Hi Guys I guess I need to be careful what I say here (foot and mouth spring to mind). In some respects, it does depend on the teacher that the kids have. Last year my daughter's teacher was terrible and she went backwards and was repeating the things she had done in the UK. This year she has a different teacher and she has bounced back again. Next year she goes to secondary school and I expect that she will keep on an upward trend as she will have a variety of teachers rather than just one. In general, from what I have seen, there does seem to be a slight drop in standards over here from the UK. However they have a more varied curriculum in the schools and I personally think this is better. Environmental studies are taught and less history, which I believe is why the people over here are more passionate about their surroundings (I'll shut up on this point as I'll harp on for ages about the benefits of this regime, don't get me wrong it's good to hear about dead people but if we don't care for the environment we'll all be dead, oops couldn't help that one). In general class sizes are under 30. There are more topic tests carried out over here and if the information is used in the proper way it can be very beneficial. Hope that helps! :confused: Mrs TinB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parsonsbigfamilyadventure Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Hi Mrs Tinb My twins are 8 hopefully we will be over in September, they really like school, what other lessons do they have, is swimming something they do once a week, also do most of the schools have there own pools. Thank you also any other other school info would be helpful. Johanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tinbasher Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Hi Johanne Don't know which state you are going too? I can only speak for what I have seen in SA. I only know of a couple of schools in Adelaide with pools and those ones are private schools. As for the swimming they used to do a set of lessons with the school however the government is supposed to be stopping the funding, my pal is a swimming instructor and she is not happy. They do more sport and fitness over here and they are big on silent reading. They also have language lessons in primary schools, which is good. My daughter has just done 6 weeks of ballroom dancing lessons, which she really enjoyed. They also do Health and Design and Technology every week (this is in primary school). If I can think of anything else I'll let you know as I am getting old now and it takes a while for my brain cells to function!! Plus the lack of English chocolate doesn't help.:wacko: Mrs TinB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parsonsbigfamilyadventure Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Hi Mrs TinB Thanks for the info, we haven't made up our mind where to live, it changes daily Johanne xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazy Cow Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 Hmmn, When my daughter started school, in the early months she found that she had already covered much of what was being studied. However, she preferred (and still does!) school here because she feels more challenged and excited by the work. Looking at her books, she seems way ahead of the curriculum I studied last millennium. You know with the blackboard, chalks and free milk! My son is having a whale of a time. He enjoys the atmosphere, although he found the free-speaking of his classmates a bit of a surprise at first. In fact I was a bit worried because it sounded like a chimp's tea party (no disrespect intended Donna dear:laugh: ). I volunteer at the school and I am amazed at the way his teachers actually seem able to balance freedom of speech in a relaxed atmosphere with the ability to get total silence/obedience with one word. I guess a lot of that is down to the individual teacher, but I am really impressed. Oh and while they still do swimming, I believe it is accepted practice (ie. not just his school) to concentrate on swimming for one solid week, either every am or pm. As for the ballroom dancing Mrs T., isn't that in preparation for your daughter's graduation? For anyone other than Mrs TinBritches;in SA children leave primary school after year 7. They have an American style graduation, with outings,speeches, lunches etc culminating in the ball. Boys are expected to dance with girls, and it's all very formal-but great fun! Many children turn up in limousines, hair and nails professionally 'done' long dresses, boys in suits etc. It's total overkill, but they seem to love it! Aah...:wubclub: sweet... But that's just my opinion. Yours hand-wringingly-humbly, LC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Homesick Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 Thanks everyone, I'm sure my son will enjoy school in North Adelaide as much as I did!:wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazy Cow Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 Yaay Adelaide!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crystalrose Posted November 16, 2008 Share Posted November 16, 2008 Any info regarding the schools in WA, ie do they have swimming or pools, I have heard they learn more sports in the curriculum would that apply in primary schools also? I am looking at schools around Rockingham, Secret Harbour so any experiences shared would be great!! Thank youx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo90 Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 It is a difficult question to answer and I'm sure there will be as many opinions as there are people. What stands out in our case is how much better behaved children are over here. We have many friends who are teachers who say they can't believe the difference. Teaching over here seems to be far less stressful, anyhow... Ooohhhh!!!!! Just what I like to hear!! :hug: Jo x x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northernbird Posted November 17, 2008 Share Posted November 17, 2008 Any info regarding the schools in WA, ie do they have swimming or pools, I have heard they learn more sports in the curriculum would that apply in primary schools also? I am looking at schools around Rockingham, Secret Harbour so any experiences shared would be great!!Thank youx Very rare to have swimming pools, certainly at primary level. Some high schools, mostly private have pools. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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