HenryJones Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 Hi, We are a (French) family landing in Brisbane in 2 weeks with a 175 visa. Our 2 oldest children are being enrolled at Indooroopilly State High School but we need to find a primary school for our last son. We heard about 2 primaty schools in Indooroopilly area : Ironside State School and Indooroopilly State School. Does anybody have any advice for one of these 2 schools? BTW, if a family is arriving in Brisbane for Christmas with a 175 visa, it could be nice to get in touch! Thanks. HenryJones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 I have no direct experience but when I was looking I heard that Ironside have a very international student base given their proximity to the university of qld and homes where visiting lecturers live. I heard lots of good noises about Ironside and would lean towards it...though note I did not look at Indooroopilly State School so that may be just as good. I would imagine both would be good given the area...both schools are catchment controlled. Here is the catchment map for Ironside: http://education.qld.gov.au/schools/catchment/pdfs/ironside-ss.pdf I guess Ironside being closer to ISHS would also be an advantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryJones Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 Hello Fish.01, Thank you for your prompt response! I am currently trying to contact both schools to get an appointment with the principal to make up my mind. As school holiday is starting tomorrow in Queensland, I am not sure if I will get any reponse before January? Anyway, the harder might be to find a rental (nice but cheap!) in Indooroopilly catchment area... Any tip for that? Have a nice day! Henry PS: If you can read French, you can check our blog about our pre-migration "preparation and travel-around-the-world" http://magicnomade.wordpress.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina2 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Hi Henry An alternative if you cant get a rental in Indooroopilly is to cross the bridge to Chelmer, Graceville, Corinda, Sherwood. All those suburbs have fantastic primary schools and Corinda High is a top school. Also lovely area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaz36 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Hi Henry, I know people at both primaries you mention who are both happy. I am over the bridge in Corinda and my daughter is at Corinda State School. Sherwood and Graceville have very strict catchment rules so you would have to be in the area for those. If you have any questions I can answer, just let me know. I couldnt get a response when emailing last year during the summer break but the principals I contacted replied when schools went back and I got appts to see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Hi HenryAn alternative if you cant get a rental in Indooroopilly is to cross the bridge to Chelmer, Graceville, Corinda, Sherwood. All those suburbs have fantastic primary schools and Corinda High is a top school. Also lovely area. I think the OP is after a high school that offers an IB programme so may be tied to Indooroopilly State High. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryJones Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 Hi Tina2, Shaz36, Thank you for your comments! Fish.01 is right: we have been targeting Indooroopilly State High School because of the IB diploma. We think that our kids might want to go back to Europe for the University, so an IB could be useful to them. Also, there must be more international students at ISHS, so the integration in the Aussie curriculum could be easier for 2 French kids. I had a close look at ISHS catchment area: it looks like that there are also other primary schools, like Chelmer (other side of the bridge, thank you Tina2) but also Toowong SS. Any comments on Toowong? Speaking about Corinda HS, the website looks attractive. Do you know if there are many international students or if there is a ESL (English as Secondary Language) department to make the integration easier for non English native speakers, like in ISHS? Coming back to Ironside and Indooroopilly SS, I had an answer from them saying that it is the holiday period and that I should contact them again from January, 16th... So I have a few more weeks to get advice from you before taking the appointments! Cheers. Henry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina2 Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Morning Henry Been a little while since i had involvement with Corinda High Shaz 36 will i am sure be able to give you more help, but i am sure a phone call to the school would answer many questions. All i can tell you is it is one of the loveliest parts of Brisbane, Older traditional homes and lovely big trees, a very sort after area especially with a 15 minuet train trip into the center of Brisbane. Great shops, coffee shop etc and the primary schools are superb both government and private. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaz36 Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Hi Henry, Sorry, but my kids are too young for the HS right now, so not sure but from people around here have been told that Corinda SHS is a highly regarded school, and I must admit, looks very impressive. I am not sure about the ESL offering, but do know that they have international students attend when they ask families if they can have them as homestay pupils. They are mainly from Asia, I think. As Tina said, try emailing and the calling them when they are back. This is from the website: Student Support Our international Student Program has several officers to assist students and parents. Guidance and Counselling The School Guidance Officer plays an integral role in supporting International Students. This officer overseas the educational and personal welfare of the students. On arrival the Guidance Officer takes time to plan the curriculum program with the student and assist them in becoming acquainted with the school and Australian life. English as a Second Language (ESL) The ESL teacher is dedicated to working with international students along with subject teachers and support staff to help students with their English skills and their transition with study programs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkk8 Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 I don't know anything about Ironside but I know students and teachers and Indro HS and I would recommend it. It is one of the best schools I have come across in Brisbane - when I looked around I felt it had the most European feel to it, particularly because there is no uniform. It does run the IBDP but only a very small number of students take it there. Other schools close by that run the IBDP include John Pauls, St Peters and the Queensland Academies (QA are state schools, the others are private). As a state school Indooroopilly will only have a small number of international students and the rest will be 'Australian' - but the 'Australian' students often have international backgrounds. PM me if you want more information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina2 Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Hi Henry As one of your issues is rentals, and the fact you may need to look further afield for accomadation, ST Peters is a Lutheran School so does not have a catchment area. It is a fantastic school and goes from Prep (5 year olds ) right through to Gr 12 on a superb campus so may be worth looking at but as Pinkk8 said it is a fee paying school. The whole area around Indooroopilly, corinda etc is a really top area so i am sure you will be happy where ever you end up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HenryJones Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 Great thanks to all of you for your informative comments! Shaz36, thank you for thinking about Corinda HS: we will definitely consider it if ever Indooroopilly HS resists us ;-) Tina2, yes, we do not know the area but we already feel we will enjoy it :-) Pinkk8, will definitely come back to you if needed about Indooropilly HS. In fact, we also had strong recommendation for this school... And now for our little story, we used to live 3 years in Mumbai (India) and our kids attended the DSB International School, whose principal was Australian from Brisbane! He told us that his kids were at Indooroopilly and they enjoyed it a lot! So, the great adventure will start for us in a few days now, as we land in Brisbane on Wednesday, December 21st! Will keep you posted about our first steps regarding school enrolment! Henry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Bon voyage Henry and family!! :wubclub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest annaok Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Hi Henry, We are a family of five departing the UK for Indooroopilly, Brisbane in June 2012. My husband (Nige) has been offered a job sponsorship visa (457). We were over in Brisbane in August last year, doing a recce of schools, areas etc and also chose Indooroopilly State High for my daughter (age 12) - she does not want to go anywhere else but there and thats fine with me as I thought it had a great international and creative vibe about it, which would suit Hannah entirely! My son (another Henry), is 16 so although he also liked Indooroopilly SH too, it was decided after talking to the admissions guy, that he would be better off going straight to a Tafe College, so hopefully will get him into Southbank for July (so much to organise isnt there?!). We looked at Kenmore State School and Indooroopilly State school for my youngest (Isabelle) aged 6yrs. We liked Indooroopilly SS, however it is a bit annoying it is not that near the high school, and I think might even be a different catchment area! I heard about Ironside SS whilst we were nearing the end of our visit to Brisbane last year and unfortunately did not manage to organise a visit to the school. I have heard very good things about it - one thing though, they are the only school who have not responded to my email request for information! (something all the other schools were very good at!). I would be interested to hear what you decide! We are also searching the internet for rental properties in the Indooroopilly catchment area and for a family of five, there isnt a lot of choice (if you want the accomodation to be clean, nice, have a pool, and be reasonably priced!)...we also have the added difficulty of finding a "pet friendly" rental as we are bringing a small dog and one cat :wacko: Best of luck with the move! Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Hi Anna, Recent Brisbane Westside News reports that "westside schools average much higher results than the rest of the state". (NAPLAN testing) On the 10 ten list of westside (primary?) schools Ironside was number 2 and Indooroopilly number 4. Thought this might reassure you. Hope the HenryJones family has settled well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest annaok Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Hi Anna, Recent Brisbane Westside News reports that "westside schools average much higher results than the rest of the state". (NAPLAN testing) On the 10 ten list of westside (primary?) schools Ironside was number 2 and Indooroopilly number 4. Thought this might reassure you. Hope the HenryJones family has settled well. Thanks very much! Leaning towards Ironside more now - just wish we had had the chance to visit first! Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrisMum Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Hi guys, I found this thread when I was googling - so I'm not really a "PomsInOz" but actually an Oz in Oz and thought I would share some local knowledge. We have sent our 4 kids through Ironside (one still there) and it has great results over the long haul and a nice multi-cultural feel/tolerance and a high representation of university educated parents (including temporary families attending the University of Queensland). However, this is not much different to a lot of the Western suburbs primary schools. It is probably not replying to your enquiry because their good results have put them on the radar and they are getting swamped and are currently 15% over capacity. If you are only in for a short time, Indooroorpilly SS would be as good and may offer cheaper local rental. We have sent our 2 boys through Indooroopilly High School and we have found it to be a school for young adults ie students who are prepared to accept that their choices affect their lives. That matches our family values and is all good. If you want a school that provides more coaching or control, then the state schools (Kenmore, Corinda) are fine and St Peters is close also. I hope this helps. regards, BrisMum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest55385 Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 I know this is a REALLY old thread, so apologies.... My husband has been offered a job in Brisbane (having handed in his resignation and us having packed up the house to return to the UK!). I'm now here in Brisbane and looking at Indooroopilly High School and Bardan Primary School. Does anyone have anything on these schools? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina2 Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Been out of Brisbane for a couple of years now but both were great schools and the area in General is a top place to live. Well done on your husband getting a job in Brisbane, lovely place to live. Best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaz36 Posted September 22, 2013 Share Posted September 22, 2013 (edited) I know this is a REALLY old thread, so apologies.... My husband has been offered a job in Brisbane (having handed in his resignation and us having packed up the house to return to the UK!). I'm now here in Brisbane and looking at Indooroopilly High School and Bardan Primary School. Does anyone have anything on these schools? Thanks Hi. I cannot comment on Bardon State School but have also looked at Indooroopilly High School. I went to the open day and tour of the school, and also to a few information evenings. I have applied there and my daughter has an interview in a few weeks time however ,am not decided on schools yet so am making sure I have a few options. The reason I looked at this school is that it performs very well academically and is in my local area. It is one of the only schools around here without a uniform, the reason being, they aim to have a university campus feel about the school, with the kids being encouraged to take responsibilities for their actions and not follow a strict regime. The kids I met were all very confident, polite young kids, who took their education very seriously. I was shown round the school by the Head Girl who was on the Spanish Immersion programme and doing very well academically. She was an articulate young girl who had her head screwed on. This is the special programme that I am looking at for my daughter. They have a few special programmes such as an engineering and maths course for high maths achievers, which fast track their learning so that they are studying university level in year 11 or 12. My only concern is that people who live in the area have expressed their experiences of the school as being one which due to the lack of discipline and uniform, they feel attracts kids who dont want to conform to a traditional schooling system and they have said that the school attracts 'problem kids' who are badly behaved. I didnt see this personally but guess you only see the kids the school want you to see on an open day. It offers the International Baccaulaureat programme which is very highly regarded too. I also felt that it did not seem very big on sports, although has a strong performing arts department. It all depends on what your child is interested in and if you feel they are the kind of child who does not need to be spoon fed at school or prodded as I feel this school allows the kids a lot of independence and creativity. Its so hard to pick a high school I think when you have not lived in the area long. I have been here 2 1/2 years and still am not sure which one to go for. I have another year and half to make up our minds. If there is anything you would like to know, I could ask at the interview if you wish? Which area will you be living in, as Bardon is not in the catchment for Indooroopilly its in the area for The Gap State High School. Its not a big deal getting in out of catchment tho as I think the non uniform puts a lot of the catchment area people off. A lot of them go private in Indooroopilly. The area, and surrounding suburbs are a great place to live. A feeder primary for Indro would be Ironside State School which has a very good reputation. Shaz Edited September 22, 2013 by Shaz36 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrisMum Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 @Chocolate Orange: As others have said, most schools in the western corridor are all good quality. Bardon and Indooroopilly High are fine but so too is The Gap State High School. As an Oz-in-Oz I'm not sure about the UK system but here the state schools are free and private can cost around $15,000 per student per year. If you can use state schools for free, then what you save on school fees you can put towards accommodation/rental since the good schools usually have higher rental areas. It also depends on how long you are staying. If you're only here for a few years, then a school that is flexible enough for the child is important. If you are here for the long haul, then options around instrumental music, sport, and creativity are all worth exploring to suit each child. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest55385 Posted October 4, 2013 Share Posted October 4, 2013 Hi, Sorry for the delay and thanks for responding, my kids are currently homeschooled so I'm not even sure that sending them to school is necessarily the best thing. We'll only be here until Sep 2016 as that is when our visa runs out and we want to go back. I like the concept of Indro and the IB although we won't be staying long enough for my 10 year old to benefit from that. I think ppl here like conformity and Indro with it's no school uniform doesn't conform, so ppl like to form 'judgements' about that. I'm still looking at Bardon and The Gap and will do more when we get over from WA next month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cogitator Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Hi Henry We are currently in Delhi (kids in The British School) and are planning a move to Brisbane. I was wondering if you could give some feedback re ISHS, especially in relation to the schooling back in Mumbai. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest55385 Posted October 4, 2014 Share Posted October 4, 2014 Hi Henry We are currently in Delhi (kids in The British School) and are planning a move to Brisbane. I was wondering if you could give some feedback re ISHS, especially in relation to the schooling back in Mumbai. Thanks! Hi, ISHS appears to be quite good. My eldest has just been accepted onto an Immersion program there, of which I think they offer 4; Spanish, Chinese, Maths/Engineering and I think Art? Brisbane State High School is the ONLY selective high school in Brisbane area and its Naplan results are some of the highest within the locality. If of course, Naplan actually means anything to you. My experience of primary schools in/around both Brisbane and Perth, have been poor. I find Qld education system to be dreadful and focuses far too much on testing inanely. My 2 children who were homeschooled, have been attending Ironside and I have nothing of any positivity to write about. Academically they have slipped back to their Australian peers because teachers refuse to differentiate work a huge amount, bullying is a constant problem and teachers are ineffective. Senior management is good. Lots of focus on parents providing constant money. We get a termly bill of about $100 per child and you're expected to fund raise a huge amount. There is virtually no art program and creativity is minimalised to colouring print outs. They have a specialised art teacher come in for 4 lessons in 2 terms - and you have to pay for that. Ironside is also a small school with very limited areas to run around. As soon as a better job comes up, we will be leaving, but sadly the children are already far behind British counter peers. You also need to take into consideration the cut off dates for DOB and starting school, which here is June. If you have a July or August baby they will be in a year below. It has proved a nightmare for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish.01 Posted October 5, 2014 Share Posted October 5, 2014 (edited) Hi, ... Brisbane State High School is the ONLY selective high school in Brisbane area .... Brisbane State High must take all students from within the catchment and then applies it's enrolment managment plan for applications from students outside the catchment only. It is at this point that any Brisbane govt high school is allowed to apply selective criteria depending on demand from out of catchment enrolments. Schools like Kelvin Grove College have schools of excellence which are selective and include: - Queensland Dance School incorporating Queensland Ballet senior programs - Queensland Golf School of Excellence - Queensland Tennis School of Excellence - Queensland Football School of Excellence - Aviation School of Excellence - Art and Design School of Excellence - Engineering School of Excellence - Music School of Excellence Mansfield state high is selective for out of catchment enrolments for its full French immersion and music excellence programs. The only fully selective govt high schools I know in Brisbane are: - Queensland Academy for Maths, Science and Technology at Tooowong - Creative Industries Academy at Kelvin Grove Edited October 5, 2014 by fish.01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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