buckbuchanan Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Hi I guess this is a common dilema.... We know roughly where we want to move to in the Melbourne area. We would like to organise a place in school for our 6 year old before we move. However, this doesn't seem practical because if we can't find anywhere to rent in that area (or if we don't like the area) we would then have to take him out of that school and move him to a closer one. At the same time, we don't want him to miss any school time so would like to have something organised. What do we do? Anyone out there already been through this? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Davidgolf Posted May 9, 2007 Share Posted May 9, 2007 Hi we are moving to Brisbane in the middle of Sept and we have just enrolled our 9yr old into a school there but we are lucky as my 2 brothers and family live there so does my parents so we have been over and we know were the school is and what it is like it is a private school but we got all the info from the Internet and emailed the school and got it sorted she starts 8th of Oct, if you know within a little of were you want to live then go on the internet on google au and put schools in that area and it should came up with a list of schools or if not look on old threads and there are people that have put on diffrent links for the goverment schools hope this helps good luck Sharon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest london cabbie Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 Hi we have the same problem, we will be in brisbane by xmas fingers crossed and although we have a rough idea which area we will be going to there is nothing definate. So to make a decision we looked at schools that we liked in these areas and are in contact with a school that we think would suit our son,if he is accepted then we can look at areas surrounding this school. It narrows it down a bit and gives us a target to aim for instead of hours of research. Thats the way we are doing it anyway Good luck ....Jamie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nelson Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 This is probably something that needs to be done when you get here because all the school prospectuses lead you to believe that the schools are all fantastic. To be fair, most of them are but it depends on what you want for your child! The other side to all of this is that when we were making enquiries from U.K. schools all said the same thing... In principle, there is a place but to contact them when we actually arrive and settle... Good luck with your search! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nev_n_angie Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 I have been in touch with a School in Canberra and I've received the Propectus etc - they are happy to tag the2 eldest onto the back end of the current semester and then go forward into the next one in Feb. I think it's worht hte effort to see what around and make enquiries - after all, if the kids education and settling is sorted, you're half way there!!!!!! Good luck with searching etc. As far as I know most of the schools have good bus services to them - if your son is 6 then perhaps a bit young, but look into it! Angie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest yvonne & paul Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 hi We are moving out in July to Nambour Queensland and we are going to find a school once we are there for our 3 children 11,8 and 4. We want to make sure that the area and school we choose are what we want and also that we can rent there. I would rather the kids miss some school and we get it right than have to move them from one school to another. The move from England is going to be big enough for them without chopping and changing once we get there. As for missing out on education, I beleive that our school system is slightly ahead in years so our children may go over things they have learnt already. Everyone is has different idea's and just go with what suits you. Best of luck. Yvonne :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connaust Posted May 10, 2007 Share Posted May 10, 2007 We are assisting several Hungarian families on study pathway and we suggest to get to Oz first, know where you live, then look at schools. Only if it is an urgant necessity to get children enrolled quickly would we recommend enrolling offshore, you would know many many little variables Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckbuchanan Posted May 10, 2007 Author Share Posted May 10, 2007 Thanks all for your posts. It's good to see we aren't the only people thinking about this! Still not sure what to do but I suppose there is no "right answer"! Cheers Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheBrowningFamily Posted June 8, 2007 Share Posted June 8, 2007 We started looking at schools in the areas we are looking to go, but we only very roughly know the areas, so will wait until we get there. We are lucky, as though our daughter starts school herein Sept 07, she is not due to start in Oz until Jan 09 (will be 6 Dec '08) Or so I am led to believe?! So it gives us loads of time! BUT if she were already 6 or above, we would still wait until we were there, I agree with Yvonne and Paul, far better for them to miss 4 weeks education than chop about with the schools - far too much for them to deal with after that huge move! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanthebrickie Posted July 4, 2007 Share Posted July 4, 2007 hi don't know if you got any further with your searches for schools but would be interested to know what you have found out. we are planning to go a reccee to morning peninsula in November and hopefully get a feel for schools. any ideas what years are our equivalent. can't seem to find this info out. My girls will be 8 and 10 and not sure if they will be together in primary school or if one will be going on to secondary. any ideas?? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buckbuchanan Posted July 4, 2007 Author Share Posted July 4, 2007 Hi. I'll be honest.... i've not really got any further. We hope to move over there in Nov without doing a recce, and decided to wait till we get there before doing much more research. I think I agree with one of the posts that says it is better for them to miss a few weeks rather than have them move school. The one thing I did find out is that the schools have their own web sites which could provide all the info required. They are fairly easy to find on Google. Good luck - will keep you posted if I find anything out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leedschick Posted July 8, 2007 Share Posted July 8, 2007 only just found this thread. everyone seems to be saying the things we've been thinking. our daughter will be due to start school next september (will have only just turned 4 by then - August baby!) if we were staying here. we think we will get OH a job sorted first, then find an area we like, looking at schools at same time. any body know if there is a time limit before children have to be enrolled in school once you arrive? i've a feeling there is here but not certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanthebrickie Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Don't think there is a time limit, think it's like most schools in this country. We're planning to keep our kids out of school for around the first couple of weeks after we first land and hopefully a suitable school will rear its head at us. I'm going internet blind at the minute looking through different schools. Some of the schools on the government website don't always give you anything to go on. Still haven't been able to find out myself the different ages in each school year. The link I went on from the last reply only calculated for pre-schoolers and didn't allow any birthdays to be entered pre-2000. I have another quickie question - do you have to pay for schooling out in Oz. Sort of get the impression from people we know in this country who have family in Oz that they have school fees to pay. How does that work?? Thought government schools were all free, or are they all useless and you have to pay for better schooling in private schools. Wasn't something we'd budgeted for. Any ideas anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thepriceclan Posted July 9, 2007 Share Posted July 9, 2007 Don't think there is a time limit, think it's like most schools in this country. We're planning to keep our kids out of school for around the first couple of weeks after we first land and hopefully a suitable school will rear its head at us. I'm going internet blind at the minute looking through different schools. Some of the schools on the government website don't always give you anything to go on. Still haven't been able to find out myself the different ages in each school year. The link I went on from the last reply only calculated for pre-schoolers and didn't allow any birthdays to be entered pre-2000. I have another quickie question - do you have to pay for schooling out in Oz. Sort of get the impression from people we know in this country who have family in Oz that they have school fees to pay. How does that work?? Thought government schools were all free, or are they all useless and you have to pay for better schooling in private schools. Wasn't something we'd budgeted for. Any ideas anyone? Hi Dean Government schools are free if you are on a permanent resident visa. Catholic schools charge a fee, roughly about £1000 a year. The schools charge for things like trips etc like they do here. Also the uniforms seem to be expensive, not like here when you can pop down to Sainsburys! Sarah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanthebrickie Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 presume that means £1000 per child. Is that £1,000 english pounds or dollars? My children go to catholic schools here in England and we pay a sort of fee but in the form of a donation to the school but its only £45 per child. As you seem to know your stuff, do you know if there are many catholic primary schools down on the peninsula? Do the fees increase if they go to catholic secondary? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest thepriceclan Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 Hi Dean, £1000 per child, maybe lower for the second child, and it is in pounds not dollars. The fees I looked at were in Perth. If you look on Australia migration - suburb profiles, accommodation, schools, real estate, jobs in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Darwin and Hobart and then click on the areas you are interested in you can look at the schools and some have websites. Hope this helps. Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dazorp Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 hidon't know if you got any further with your searches for schools but would be interested to know what you have found out. we are planning to go a reccee to morning peninsula in November and hopefully get a feel for schools. any ideas what years are our equivalent. can't seem to find this info out. My girls will be 8 and 10 and not sure if they will be together in primary school or if one will be going on to secondary. any ideas?? thanks We are looking at the same area and have two young children. In particularly mount Eliza area. I have emailed two schools there about putting names on the list and they have not replied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hays Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 this link may help a bit..... The Australian Schools Directory – The only online guide to all Australian Schools if nothing else, it will give you a list of the schools in the area your looking in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted August 31, 2007 Share Posted August 31, 2007 We knew the area we'd be living in and emailed the 3 local schools, one didn't reply, one sent a short email stating it would depend on our address and the 3rd sent a lovley long email telling us what year the children would go into, if we had any questions etc., He also told us about the local high schools as my daughter would be in her last year of primary. I emailed the principle countless times, he sorted out a pen pal for my daughter before she arrived to enable her to make contacts etc. before she arrived. Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Koala Konnection Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Today I finished updating the Schools League Table for both private and non-private schools on the Sunshine Coast area of south-east Queensland. We do this once a year and make it available on the Koala Konnection website. If you're reading this and ordered the previous version you will have automatically been sent an update. Peace. Paul Koala Konnection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bevvy Posted September 8, 2007 Share Posted September 8, 2007 The school my kids go to in Queensland is a government school , I have been having debates with the school because they charge me over $400.00 a year plus all books, pens ect.....IMO government schools should be free. In NSW everything is supplied and as far as I know is free. Private schools are not free, they vary in prices also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest okkanorth Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 I know what you are all going through. I have now read all the school reports for all Canberra schools and looked at ALL of their internet sites and emailed many of them for further detail. My short list is now down to 11 schools. I still can't decide so I am going to have to wait until we get there. It's really frustrating as I would love to think - right this is around about where we plan to live and my son will go to primary at xx. My rule of thumb is when in doubt don't do it so I will wait until we move and I hate not having everything mapped out. Oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 I know what you are all going through. I have now read all the school reports for all Canberra schools and looked at ALL of their internet sites and emailed many of them for further detail. My short list is now down to 11 schools. I still can't decide so I am going to have to wait until we get there. It's really frustrating as I would love to think - right this is around about where we plan to live and my son will go to primary at xx. My rule of thumb is when in doubt don't do it so I will wait until we move and I hate not having everything mapped out. Oh well. Most Canberra government schools will tell you to get an address and then approach them for a place - there are defined priority enrolment areas for each school and no school is obliged to take an out of area kid if they dont want to. Sure, there is a clause about "if you have space" but it is easy for schools to rationalize lack of space if they want to. Non govt schools have different requirements so if you want a Catholic school then they dont much care where you live and can tell you that you have a place (or not). There is a very healthy non gov school system in ACT and more kids go to independent schools here than anywhere else in Aus especially at HS level where 50% are in non govt HS! I always advised families to find their house first because you are going to have to live in it for some time and if you arent happy in the house then the other things dont work out too well either. Have you had a look at allhomes.com.au to check and see what is available in the areas you want to live in? Happy to talk to you about ACT govt schools if you need a sounding board - pm me! (worked in the sector for 25 years!). Edited to add that most govt schools have "voluntary contributions" and technically you cant be forced to pay them but most people do, if they can afford it. With school based financial management these days, these voluntary contributions are really necessary for the little things that kids need - loo roll, hand towels, tissues etc etc plus the bigger items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sally E Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Hi there, I see you have extensive knowledge of the govt schools system in Oz. I am desperately trying to get out to Perth, currently embroiled in the 'leave to remove from the jurisdiction' process for my kids, with Cafcass involved and the whole works. I have looked at loads of schools in Perth, private and state and they look great. I am afraid that the judge will ask me about the Aussie school system and test my knowledge of it. Please can you help me at all? I think if I could say in what way it differs or is better than the UK system it would help. Got any ideas? Sally E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I don't know if it's better or worse Sally but I can tell you that my 2 (12 & 8) haven't suffered here - they're coming upto the end of their first year. They're in state school. My son in particular (8) was a bit indifferent to school in the UK, even though he was doing quite well. He's really benefited from the move and has thrived, he loves school (never thought I'd use love and school in the same sentence when referring to Tom), can't wait to get there and very enthusiastic about his lessons and learning. As my hubby says, the australian education system still produces lawyers, doctors etc. so it can't be all bad. Ali Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.