Freckleface Posted November 25, 2011 Share Posted November 25, 2011 I agree with p182 Canberra is a friendly place :yes: Great for families with heaps to do (and a lot of it is free). Also, it's an easy drive to the beach in summer and an easy drive to the snow in winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Thanks Angela, I'll add your info to my file. We're probably not going to arrive until next year now and I've found it really tough to sort out what's what school-wise. Just need to sit down and analyse the info available but not had the urgency yet. And of course I know that everything I think on paper will change when we arrive! For what it's worth, in case its of any use to you, I've been collection quotes from here and bits of info. Bit of a brain dump but here goes anyway: School starts Feb 3 1012 in Canberra Quoll recommended schools - Alfred Deakin Melrose High Belconnen High Canberra High Lyneham High; Aranda PS Kaleen PS - Dont go for Kaleen HS though. You might think of Burgmann for HS if you are living in the Gungahlin area Quoll on Belconnen/Gungahlin schools in 2009 - Well just having had a look on Allhomes for houses in that price range, I would be checking out Cook, Aranda, Fraser, Weetangera, Kaleen (but not for the local HS in years to come), Latham and possibly Hawker (although the only one there is a townhouse). However most of the ones in that price range were 3 beds and you probably wanted more than that. My favourite would definitely be Aranda - close to the city and to Belconnen with a nice bush surround and a good school both for PS and HS - however you may find it just out of your price range. Aranda PS Kaleen PS - Dont go for Kaleen HS though Palmerston always had the "better" rep with those from Ngunnawal tending to have more problems in the school. Kids from Palmerston tended to go to private HS and kids from Ngunnawal tended to go to Gold Ck. All gross generalizations of course and things have changed from the first demographics as the cheaper accommodation is now further out at Harrison and Amaroo. Another person says Amaroo has own school and Nicholls is quite new but Forde is quite far to walk/bike to school Avoid Charnwood and Dunlop next door is borderline iffy imho. Gungahlin is OK but it is a bit "new" and some of it, especially Amaroo, Franklin, Harrison, looks like a moonscape as the trees havent grown yet. The schools up there are OK though. Holt and Higgins feed into the new school in Holt which is a k - 10 school and it has had a few teething problems and a lot of people they thought would send their kids there have chosen not to. canberra grammar very good private school My primary school preferences include Majura (Watson, Downer, Hackett), Ainslie (not North Ainslie), Aranda, Torrens, Farrer, Fadden (if you desperately want to go to Tuggeranong) Majura PS which serves Hackett, Watson and Downer is a lovely little school with a very nice community feel Personally I would stick with inner north or inner south but you probably cant afford it on your budget (always easier to travel out of the centres to get to work than it is to travel into the centres so Civic to Tugg in the rush hour is a doddle whereas Tugg to Civic is a nightmare. If you can opt for places like Ainslie, Hackett, Downer, Dickson (Phil Downunder picked Dickson as the place to buy interestingly enough), Campbell, Griffith (and the Griffith side of Narrabundah eg Caley Cres), Yarralumla (though that is getting a bit expensive), Aranda then you will be doing well. The newer suburbs have bigger houses but are all a bit martian to me - no soul yet. Just avoid Charnwood, Chisholm, Richardson and the Fyshwick end of Narrabundah and you should be fine. Griffith has a bit of an issue with schools - the k - 2 are zoned for Narrabundah early childhood but then go to Red Hill for 3 - 6 which might not appeal (head for Red Hill!) Chapman is one of the "up market" suburbs and the primary school generally has a good reputation. Not sure you'd get much for $500 though in that area. Waramanga might be a good other option and Curtin isnt too bad but being close to Woden the rents are going to be higher. Torrens and Farrer are also usually well regarded especially if you want better than average primary schools. Avoid Charnwood and probably the new Kingsford Smith super school and check out the NAPLAN results for the others but probably head for Aranda, Hawker, Weetangera, Fraser or Kaleen PS (Kaleen has two PS, one has different programs to the other). In general the schools are a good reflection of the suburb they serve so if you dont want to live in a suburb you wont want your child going to school in it (and vice versa). The Catholic system runs pretty much parallel but they arent as strict about catchment areas, more about your faith (or lack thereof) If you can afford it and they have places then head to Radford junior school or Canberra Girls Grammar (in Deakin but kids travel from all over). At 5 she could go to Boys Grammar until year 3 (all the Grammar infants schools are co-ed) and they have campuses in Campbell and Red Hill. Majura 2602 Aranda 2614 Kaleen 2617 People tend not to get strung up about primary schools here but at HS they do tend to make different choices and close to 50% of the population go to private HS. McKellar Curtin and Mawson ARE great but pricey I have heard that Garran and Torrens are great primary schools, these are in the Woden area. http://bettereducation.com.au/school/Primary/act/canberra_top_primary_schools.aspx'>http://bettereducation.com.au/school/Primary/act/canberra_top_primary_schools.aspx Telopea, Kaleen, Aranda - 96 Curtin - 95 Fadden - 94 http://www.mawsonps.act.edu.au/our_curriculum/languages - mawson does mandarin Quoll: Mawson PS advertises itself as being a bilingual Mandarin/English school but here are all the schools with their second languages http://www.det.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/123396/Languages_2010.pdf There is also a Chinese Australian preschool also in Mawson http://www.careforkids.com.au/pre-school/chinese-australian-early-childhood-centre/2607 for the 3 year old Link above indicates at least Mawson (92 rating at http://bettereducation.com.au), Torrens (92), Latham (70) do Mandarin Garran Primary gets top score at bettereducation.com.au Garran 2605 get top scores and is in Woden in an area where prices are fine but houses look old Mawson 2607 and Torrens 2607are in Woden and there seems more houses near Mawson check ratings at http://www.myschool.edu.au school term ends 30/9 and starts back 17/10 to 21/12 then starts back 1st Feb primary school PEAS - http://www.det.act.gov.au/school_education/enrolling_in_an_act_public_school/priority_enrolment_areas Hackett, Watson, Downer, Ainslie, O'Connor, Lyneham, Campbell, Reid then the local schools are generally going to be quite good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela820 Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Hello again One thing to note is that "Better Education" website uses 2009 figures. This is kind of why we were happy with North Ainslie but when you look at the 2010 figures (which is not taken into account in this list), North Ainslie Primary dont do as well compared to others. They are good but certainly not the best - in fact Ainslie (not featured in the better school list) scores better in 2010 than NOrth ainslie which I only discovered afterwards.... maybe Im taking it all too literally. I would love to hear any opinions n the NAPLAN score as all schools were pretty critical of it and Im not sure why or how they are measured but used it as a guide alongside the better schools list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Hello again One thing to note is that "Better Education" website uses 2009 figures. This is kind of why we were happy with North Ainslie but when you look at the 2010 figures (which is not taken into account in this list), North Ainslie Primary dont do as well compared to others. They are good but certainly not the best - in fact Ainslie (not featured in the better school list) scores better in 2010 than NOrth ainslie which I only discovered afterwards.... maybe Im taking it all too literally. I would love to hear any opinions n the NAPLAN score as all schools were pretty critical of it and Im not sure why or how they are measured but used it as a guide alongside the better schools list. Schools change all the time especially when principals come and go and you have a major change in teachers (there is a time limit on teacher placements and if a school gets a load of new teachers in one hit then they have a major change 3 or 5 years later). I was surprised that Ainslie scored so poorly on recent NAPLAN results compared with NAPS to be honest. Of the two I would have gone with APS but NAPS now has the baby IB which may be a good attraction for some parents compared with the music program at APS which has been under threat on and off for some time. I think you can overthink the school thing - basically because schools do go in cycles. Sometimes you get established principals who are there for the long haul and not subject to mobility clauses and so you know what you will be getting for a few years to come but, increasingly, principals are on mobility clauses or highly ambitious and a change of leadership does tend to destabilize a school for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 My take away on NAPLAN on the very few schools I have spoken to would be - don't read the results at face value since a school that had poor results but now has good results (or even one that always had good results) is just one that's got better (or was already good at) teaching kids to do well in NAPLAN tests. I guess a school that has deteriorating results is doing something wrong but is the school whose results are improving really offering an improving standard of education for the kids or just teaching them to do well on NAPLAN (at the expense of what maybe used to make it a great school??) I'd have to say that I value nurturing confident, socially and environmentally responsible, self-reliant, healthy, enquiring, rounded kids is more important to me than any NAPLAN result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 Quoll recommended schools - Quoll on Belconnen/Gungahlin schools in 2009 Quoll: Blimey, I'm going to shut up now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottM Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 No don't please! I promise not to dredge up any more 3 year old posts! and I'm certainly not holding you to any of your advice. Its just great to have things to throw into the mix. Rest assured I'll be making up my own mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine please Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 Please keep going quoll. Its great to get everyones opinions and ideas especially those living there already :-)) I have stopped panicking about schools now. Going to have a few lined up and see which one seems the best when we look at them. We dont have much choice here in rural ireland and our local school is capable of churning out smart and confident kids yet the school looks as old fashioned from the outside, u really would drive past before u realised it was a school. Due to a great principal and teachers it is a fab place for kids to learn. We sent mia to privaye school in the city for the first 2 years as it was easier for me to collect when she finished at 1.30 then moved her when her time went to 2.30. she really had to work hard to bring up her maths and irish (now thank god almost top of class) 2 other kids that were in mias class were the same when they moved schools. Just goes to show the school with the highest results and private funding arent always the best!! she was in a class of 9 with teacher and classroom assistant and yet their learning was sub standard. Crazy. Hubby was talking to director of new company and the money should be on the up. We discussed the fact we bring home almost 150,000 euro a month...mostly him mind u as i only work part time for sanity :-)) and i was saying i dont want to drop our living standards even for the better outdoor life. So hoppefully the new salary review will be in our favour :-)) thanks again everyone for reading my blah blah blah xxxccc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunshine please Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 A year i mean 150k a year!! i dont even think i could spend 150k a month!! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 A year i mean 150k a year!! i dont even think i could spend 150k a month!! lol LOL you had me worried there - and you are thinking of going to Canberra???? Wow, dont think I would be moving away from that sort of money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ex Battersea Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Hi, I live in Kaleen (a fabulous suburb) and have three children at Kaleen Primary (a fabulous school). I have to take a moment to defend Kaleen HIGH school. As I said my children are still primary but many friends have sent their children to Kaleen High. The bad reputation for behaviour is 20 years old and no longer valid. The bad NAPLAN results are due to it being a very small high school with a large Autism unit. The autism unit severely affects the schools average and makes it results the worst in the ACT. This is not a true reflection of the schools actual results for normal mainstream students. Kaleen High has a new motivate principal and a new partnership with Canberra University, in fact the school has changed it's name to University of Canberra High School, Kaleen. I am married to a pom but I am born and bred in Canberra and would be happy to provide acurate local info for people researching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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