Malcolminthemiddle Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hi everyone, Only my second post here but wanted some advice on schooling in Sydney. We have two boys, one 2 ½ year old and one 10 month old. We are moving to Sydney next month and we have started looking at school options; we have been shocked to discover that many of the private schools in Sydney require you to have your name down at birth. We have obviously not done this and now we are being told that we will be unable to get our boys into either kindergarten or even join the school at 7 or even later. We have heard that some schools have a more flexible approach for families that have just moved to Australia but this has not been our experience so far. Does anyone out there know of any top performing schools in the Sydney area that are willing to accept children who haven’t got their names down at birth? We are looking at living in Manly. Thanks in advance, as education is our top priority this will have a major bearing on whether we go or not. Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fashionably Late Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 We were offered spaces at Pymble Ladies College for our three daughters without ever being on a waiting list. A lot depends on when you call and so forth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Surely they would have waiting lists? It's all very well to put the name down at birth but there must be some cancellations due to unforeseen family relocations between birth and starting school. Which schools have you tried? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintpot Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 There's a lot of snobbery involved in Sydney private schools IME - the "old money" schools like Shore and Knox are like this and people do put their names down at birth. At lots of these you're also competing against families who have history with the school, which counts at places like that. But it's very common for people to put names down at 3 or 4 schools (and pay the relatively modest application fee) and decide later which one they want to send their children to - or even if they can get them in. And what people think is a "top school" may not actually be the best in terms of education, and/or may not suit your children as they develop either We've just come over a few months ago with our 4 year old son and were advised to try and get him in to one of the feeder prep schools, as most people try and send their kids at Yr 5 to save on fees, and use government schools for the primary years. But if you get them in earlier, you're already in, if you see what I mean. I would't panic too much - your kids are very young and there's plenty of time, hey, you might well not even stay in Australia long enough for it to be an issue. But I would try and take some independent advice. The websites and directories are hopeless I think - they're either biased or just listings, so how do you know which are best? The myschool website (www.myschool.edu.au) covers private schools as well as government ones but it's a bit clunky to use, you'll need to draw up a shortlist or longlist if you can. But if I were you I would try and take advice from a professional relocator, one who deals with executives and similar coming to Australia to work and is therefore well used to people in the sort of wealth bracket you need to be to consider some of these schools. Lots of them have very good contacts and can give you good, informed, objective opinion about which schools might suit you and which schools might be easier to get into. fwiw we were in a similar situation to you about 9 months ago whilst deciding whether or not to move over; we have applied for our son to go to Sydney Grammar prep next year, but he has to be assessed as it's a selective school and an academically biased one (which will suit him, we think) - the assessment won't be until March. One advantage of the selective schools of course is that they choose largely on merit/potential rather than who your dad was or how long you've been on the waiting list, so that can be a good way into a very good standard of education if your kids suit that - too young to tell for yours though I would guess. We're going to come up with a back-up plan over the ext month or two and possibly put his name down for another one or two schools in case he doesn't get in. I can PM you the name of a superb relocator who knows all the schools on the North Shore and in the Northern Beaches area, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pintpot Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 We were offered spaces at Pymble Ladies College for our three daughters without ever being on a waiting list. A lot depends on when you call and so forth. That too You might also consider some of the smaller prep schools (that are not necessarily part of a school that goes to age 18). Lots of these have close relationships with high schools which helps for entry, and for the primary years they can be great. Much easier to get in than the big old money schools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolminthemiddle Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Thanks for the replies. Pintpot, many thanks for the comprehensive reply, a lot of what you said rang true, and it’s reassuring to hear from someone who has been there before. Shore seems to be pretty much a closed shop. The situation with places seems to be getting worse as we know of two Shore old boys who applied when they were 5 and were admitted at 7 which was the norm back then; I guess the world has moved on. I agree the selective route is definitely preferable anyway and we are still waiting to hear back from Sydney Grammar. I would be grateful if you could PM the name of the relocation agent as we are starting to look at nurseries which I understand are also fairly difficult to get into. Thanks, Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Dont give up hope - one trick is to say that you will take a place whenever one becomes vacant. A lot of families are hooked into the Pre/K/3/7 entry points but if, for example a place comes up half way through year 1 a lot of them wont want to take it up whereas you might be quite happy to do that. Put their names down for your choices anyway - the finances of many families may have changed quite significantly in the next 4 years or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AJM71 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Hi i too am planning a relocation to the North Shore or Northern beaches and would really appreciate the recommendation of a relocator for advice on schools. would you be kind enough to PM me too? many thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Relocate Northern Beaches Posted March 7, 2012 Share Posted March 7, 2012 Hi i too am planning a relocation to the North Shore or Northern beaches and would really appreciate the recommendation of a relocator for advice on schools. would you be kind enough to PM me too? many thanks! There are many other private schools other than Knox and Shore at least 4 on the Northern Beaches . As for nurseries also fairly difficult to get into and it would be a good idea to try to get on wait lists asap. Many of them do not have websites either so can be hard to contact if you overseas. There ar two types of Pre school Those that exist within a Long Day Care Centre which usually cater for 0 to 5 years and have extended hours Dedicated Pre schools that operate from 9 to 3 pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Relocate Northern Beaches Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Just a note to let you know that as far as I am aware in NSW 457 visa holders cannot access the selective school system only PR and Citizens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolminthemiddle Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Just a note to let you know that as far as I am aware in NSW 457 visa holders cannot access the selective school system only PR and Citizens Thanks - we have PR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Saidi Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 There's a lot of snobbery involved in Sydney private schools IME - the "old money" schools like Shore and Knox are like this and people do put their names down at birth. At lots of these you're also competing against families who have history with the school, which counts at places like that. But it's very common for people to put names down at 3 or 4 schools (and pay the relatively modest application fee) and decide later which one they want to send their children to - or even if they can get them in. And what people think is a "top school" may not actually be the best in terms of education, and/or may not suit your children as they develop either We've just come over a few months ago with our 4 year old son and were advised to try and get him in to one of the feeder prep schools, as most people try and send their kids at Yr 5 to save on fees, and use government schools for the primary years. But if you get them in earlier, you're already in, if you see what I mean. I would't panic too much - your kids are very young and there's plenty of time, hey, you might well not even stay in Australia long enough for it to be an issue. But I would try and take some independent advice. The websites and directories are hopeless I think - they're either biased or just listings, so how do you know which are best? The myschool website (www.myschool.edu.au) covers private schools as well as government ones but it's a bit clunky to use, you'll need to draw up a shortlist or longlist if you can. But if I were you I would try and take advice from a professional relocator, one who deals with executives and similar coming to Australia to work and is therefore well used to people in the sort of wealth bracket you need to be to consider some of these schools. Lots of them have very good contacts and can give you good, informed, objective opinion about which schools might suit you and which schools might be easier to get into. fwiw we were in a similar situation to you about 9 months ago whilst deciding whether or not to move over; we have applied for our son to go to Sydney Grammar prep next year, but he has to be assessed as it's a selective school and an academically biased one (which will suit him, we think) - the assessment won't be until March. One advantage of the selective schools of course is that they choose largely on merit/potential rather than who your dad was or how long you've been on the waiting list, so that can be a good way into a very good standard of education if your kids suit that - too young to tell for yours though I would guess. We're going to come up with a back-up plan over the ext month or two and possibly put his name down for another one or two schools in case he doesn't get in. I can PM you the name of a superb relocator who knows all the schools on the North Shore and in the Northern Beaches area, I think. Hi Could you please PM me the name of your Northern Beaches relocator contact? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NatsB Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 We thought the same, but after speaking to a teacher friend of ours, we applied at our school of choice and our son was accepted immediately to start prep after Easter. The teacher said we were lucky because of when we applied. They had a space because one of the children accepted was moved to another school at the last minute, and all the other children on the waiting list had just started prep at other schools and their parents didn't want to move them. If we had applied mid year, there would once again be a waiting list because after 6 months some parents decide the current school they are at is unsuitable and want to move. Apparently some schools also keep a couple of spaces in reserve for children who need to repeat a year... So if these spaces are not used it opens up a spot. Basically if you are prepared to wait it out (worst case, home school and start prep a couple of months late) then you should get a place. Once one child is in, getting the others in in easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annika Posted March 10, 2013 Share Posted March 10, 2013 Hi Malcolm We are also heading to Manly but in December. We have just secured a place for our daughter at Pittwater House. It certainly is possible! Best of luck. Hi everyone, Only my second post here but wanted some advice on schooling in Sydney. We have two boys, one 2 ½ year old and one 10 month old. We are moving to Sydney next month and we have started looking at school options; we have been shocked to discover that many of the private schools in Sydney require you to have your name down at birth. We have obviously not done this and now we are being told that we will be unable to get our boys into either kindergarten or even join the school at 7 or even later. We have heard that some schools have a more flexible approach for families that have just moved to Australia but this has not been our experience so far. Does anyone out there know of any top performing schools in the Sydney area that are willing to accept children who haven’t got their names down at birth? We are looking at living in Manly. Thanks in advance, as education is our top priority this will have a major bearing on whether we go or not. Malcolm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sustain Posted March 11, 2013 Share Posted March 11, 2013 We have two boys, one 2 ½ year old and one 10 month old.Malcolm Consider the amount of relocations that could take place before your sons start Prep. Plenty of senior executives move interstate and they all appear to get their children in respectable schools. If your lucky you might get a relocation to Melbourne:-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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