Guest ajr Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hi, We are moving to Point Cook area at the end of the year with 3 children. After looking at the NAPLAN website it is clear that there is only really one good primary school in the area (Seabrook) and secondary schools, well that is a whole other issue! Where do these kids go to secondary? Does anyone have kids in Carranballac College? Is it any good? What are the teacher:student ratios like, how many kids in a class? Which of the 2 campuses comes more highly recommended? I would appreciate loads of feedback from parents who have kids in Carranballac and Seabrook, or have any inside information.:biggrin: Any info, positives or negatives about these schools please. Thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janinewhiteley Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I would like to here any responses as well as we will be moving their soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hayley74green Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Hi My Son attended both campuses - After 18 months we moved him to Seabrook which was a much better school. This was before the strict zoning was brought in though. But there are better schools than Carranballac - Point Cook Primary or the Catholic primary schools would be better options. However our experiences date back to 2006/7 so things may have improved since then. The best thing is really to wait until you get there and visit each school in turn then try and rent a house in the catchment area of your preferred school. We have since returned to the U.K - However I was very happy with the education my children were receiving at Seabrook but where to send them in Year 7 was a big concern.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ajr Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Thanks for the reply. Yes this is also my concern. There don't seem to be any good secondary schools unless you pay for a private school, and well, they are quite expensive! At this stage we are leaning toward Seabrook Primary, but within 2 years my son would be going to secondary. I can only hope something good will come out of the woodwork?!?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest48800 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Hello there, i asked a similar question a wee while back and had some really good feedback from others, worth a read http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/education/136827-primary-schools-point-cook-altona-area-opinions.html?highlight= Hopefully that link will work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ajr Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 Thanks Woodster, yes I had already had a look at that link. The info is good, but I would really like some feedback from parents. The school all sound great when you look at their websites etc. but I have heard quite a lot of negative comments about Carranballac. We like the look of Seabrook too, but there are no decent high schools around and we are actually not prepared to pay fees for a good education, that you can get for free elsewhere. Are you still heading down that way or have you moved? I am starting to think we should be exploring other areas where I don't need to worry where my kids will go to secondary?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheznandi Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Hy guys ,,I've got 4 kids going callanballac and they love it ,,,teachers really down too earth and school is clean and smart ,,,,hope this helps ,,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ajr Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 Thanks Cheznandi. I appreciate that the children are happy, that is half the battle won. I am a bit concerned about the level of education though, they don't seem to score so well on the NAPLAN results. Although there seems to have been an improvement from 2-3 years back. Perhaps they are a work in progress? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheznandi Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Yes they doing ok ,,,,teachers are very helpfull ,,,,very friendly ,,my eldest was in the talented and gifted in uk and says the point cook senior is good ,,hope this helps,,,,Andi n chez x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MichelleNZ Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 My two kids (aged 6 and 8 - year 1 and 3) both go to Carranballac Jamieson Way campus) and to start with I had severe reservations about the college, mainly becuase I kept reading too much negative comments about the school!! In all honestly the school is absoultely fine, the teachers my children have this year are great and the programmes the schools offers are great too. I think people place too much empasis on the NAPLAN results of each school when trying to decide where to send there kids - the results are only based on the tests the kids take on a certain day - so I personally don't read too much into them, there are other things to take into consideration too. My daughter is extremely bright and is doing really well at the school. In NZ she was in the top reading group of her class, even though it was a split class and she was one of the youngest, but come to tests she got really nervous and didn't do so well at them, so it just goes to show that sometimes, the testing is not always an accurate reflection of how "well" a school performs. There was also an interesting article in a recent "Point Cook Weekly" about this same topic.... Our kids have been going to the school since last December - towards the end of last year we considered changing schools this year, but we have now decided to keep the kids and the school for the long term. There seems to be an emphasis on nurturing the child and providing individual learning plans for each child which is great. From year 2 they take Japanese lessons which my daughter loves! They also take separate music and art lesson as well as PE with dedicated teachers for these. I have been to both campuses and like the feel of Jamieson way much better than Boardwalk. There are little things that I don't like, but its just becuase its different to little old NZ and I just have to get used to it!!!! Good luck with your choice.... I think we will be sending our kids to PC Senior college. You could always looks at living in the Werribee schools zones as an option - the Werribee primary school also has a good reputation.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest48800 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Thanks Woodster, yes I had already had a look at that link. The info is good, but I would really like some feedback from parents. The school all sound great when you look at their websites etc. but I have heard quite a lot of negative comments about Carranballac. We like the look of Seabrook too, but there are no decent high schools around and we are actually not prepared to pay fees for a good education, that you can get for free elsewhere. Are you still heading down that way or have you moved? I am starting to think we should be exploring other areas where I don't need to worry where my kids will go to secondary?? Apologies for not replying sooner ajr. We too are looking at a move to the area at the end of this year / early part of 2013, also considering Altona as an option due to the established transport links. We're off on our validation visit at the end of this month, and though it will also be the school holidays in VIC, we're hoping we may get lucky and manage a couple of walk rounds while we're there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest48800 Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 My two kids (aged 6 and 8 - year 1 and 3) both go to Carranballac Jamieson Way campus) and to start with I had severe reservations about the college, mainly becuase I kept reading too much negative comments about the school!! In all honestly the school is absoultely fine, the teachers my children have this year are great and the programmes the schools offers are great too. I think people place too much empasis on the NAPLAN results of each school when trying to decide where to send there kids - the results are only based on the tests the kids take on a certain day - so I personally don't read too much into them, there are other things to take into consideration too. My daughter is extremely bright and is doing really well at the school. In NZ she was in the top reading group of her class, even though it was a split class and she was one of the youngest, but come to tests she got really nervous and didn't do so well at them, so it just goes to show that sometimes, the testing is not always an accurate reflection of how "well" a school performs. There was also an interesting article in a recent "Point Cook Weekly" about this same topic.... Our kids have been going to the school since last December - towards the end of last year we considered changing schools this year, but we have now decided to keep the kids and the school for the long term. There seems to be an emphasis on nurturing the child and providing individual learning plans for each child which is great. From year 2 they take Japanese lessons which my daughter loves! They also take separate music and art lesson as well as PE with dedicated teachers for these. I have been to both campuses and like the feel of Jamieson way much better than Boardwalk. There are little things that I don't like, but its just becuase its different to little old NZ and I just have to get used to it!!!! Good luck with your choice.... I think we will be sending our kids to PC Senior college. You could always looks at living in the Werribee schools zones as an option - the Werribee primary school also has a good reputation.. Really good to hear your children are doing well at Carranballac Michelle, I'll be trying to get in for a look round in April if I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ajr Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Thank you for your info, may I ask why you were considering changing school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MichelleNZ Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 Thank you for your info, may I ask why you were considering changing school? Only because I had a moment of getting really upset about all the negative comments I kept hearing and reading on forums and I based all my decisions on this information rather than on my own feelings and perceptions of the school. Once the holidays were over and I REALLY thought about it clearly with my own mind and once the new year started I felt a lot better about the school. Basically, I let other people's opinions get the better of me!! My kids both love the school and are really happy and have settled really well there. We are happy with the school too. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MichelleNZ Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Hopefully you will get in for a visit Woodster - school breaks up on Fri March 30th and begins again on Tues 17th April :-) Other schools in the area start again on the Monday I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ajr Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Thanks Michelle, I appreciate your comments. Good luck on your trip Woodster, I hope you find out everything that you want to know! If we ever get our visa we won't be doing a validation visit, we will just be jumping on the plane into the big unknown. Scary thought. Please let me know if you have found out any other information about the schools from your visit. I am still tending towards Seabrook primary, however they have recently changed to the Primary years program, which I feel is a whole lot of fancy talk. (Have you read the intro of the school's homepage?) I am a teacher and have not worked with the program personally, but have also heard alot of negative comments about it. I just want a NORMAL school! LOL. We will also be renting for a while, so we kind of need to arrive in the right zone. But like you mentioned in another post, Seabrook looks a little dated... decisions, decisions. How old are your children if you don't mind me asking? Another concern for me is how the age groups are split. In Belgium my kids are amongst the older ones in their class, which suits them well. In Vic, they would be the youngest, my son actually being born on the 30th of April. Another one of those choices - keep them back and repeat a whole lot of work or push them forward and have to cope with the pressure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ajr Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Michelle, you mentioned your daughter was one of the youngest in her class in NZ, is this also the case now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest48800 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Happy to let you know our impressions post visit ajr. I'll be making a few calls tonight to see if we can arrange any walkrounds. Our daughter is 6 and will be almost 7 when we hope to move early next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ajr Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Woohooo, we got our visa grant this morning! I am so relieved, and THRILLED! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest48800 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 That's fabulous news ajr, congratulations!:biggrin: So, when are you planning on moving over? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ajr Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Thanks Woodster, I am soooo relieved! We would like to move in November, we were hoping to skip another dreadful winter here! We will definitely be heading out to Seabrook, or anywhere near enough to get the kids into Seabrook Primary. I figured we may as well start there as it is a good school. Gives me a couple of years to figure out what to do about high school... It has been such a huge factor in deciding where to go, and at the end of the day, if we are going to have to pay for a good secondary, so be it I'll figure that out along the way. Good luck on your trip, it's just around the corner now. You must be excited about it too. Enjoy it Woodster! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ajr Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Happy to let you know our impressions post visit ajr. I'll be making a few calls tonight to see if we can arrange any walkrounds. Our daughter is 6 and will be almost 7 when we hope to move early next year. Hi Woodster! Have you returned from your visit? I was hoping to hear all about your impressions of the area and the schools. It turns out that we will be moving a little sooner than we initailly thought, we will be going at the end of August. So I am quite desperate for some info on the schools. At this stage we are really leaning towards Seabrook Primary, but finding a half decent house to rent is a slight problem Hope you had a great time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest48800 Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Hi ajr, sorry for the tardy reply. We had a fabulous time thanks!:biggrin: We've been back for a week now and I still haven't fully unpacked (very naughty I know!). Apart from initial 'wobbles' when we first landed, (think our first impressions may have been slightly distorted due to tiredness), we're now totally sure we want to make the permanent move. I'll have to write a full report later on as my battery is about to give out and due to my totally lax attitude to unpacking :embarrassed:the charger is 'buried' upstairs somewhere (can mentally hear husband tutting loudly). Will be back later, just didn't want you to think I was ignoring you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest48800 Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Well having shamed myself into unpacking, much to oh's relief, here's my report. Unfortunately we didn't actually get in to have a look around any of the point cook schools due to the holidays, which was a bit disappointing but couldn't be helped, so I can't help on that score. I must say though that if I was to base my choice on my first impressions gained from the calls I made then seabrook wouldn't be at the top of my list! Lady I spoke to wasn't overly friendly, maybe she was having a bad day or maybe a bit fed up with poms who haven't moved over yet asking for walk rounds! I was told, rather bluntly, that unless you live in the seabrook zone then you're not likely to get a walkround. The lady at carranballac however was very friendly and most helpful and if the school had been open then we would have been welcome to visit. We made a point of driving round the housing estates in each catchment area and also having a good nose through the fence at all the schools. Seabrook seems like a nice little area, although the school is on the main road through to point cook, there was a lot of roadwork going on while we were there to alter the pathways we think. We liked point cook and altona, though we didn't 'warm' to altona meadows or hoppers crossing, but this is just our opinion of course. The only thing we could really do was get a feel for the 'look' of each school, we weren't overly concerned they were all tidy and looked welcoming, though the main road next to seabrook was a bit of a concern. we also saw a rather large billboard advertising the fact that there will be a new prep-nine school opening in point cook in 2013, we weren't quite sure where this would be located though. i'm sorry I cant' give you anything more specific regarding seabrook or carranballac ajr, but If it helps at all we were reassured by our recce and now know what to expect to see when we move over and do book the walk rounds! Choosing your kids schooling is a huge decision I know, but our personal view, based on what we saw and those we spoke to, both poms and local Aussies, is that none of the schools, including carranballac, have enough of a negative reputation for us to rule it out completely so we're keeping an open mind..... for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ajr Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Hi Woodster, Thanks for all the feedback! Here I am bothering you while you probably having a mountain of washing and all sorts of other things to do!! It sounds like you had a great trip. Thanks for the info on the schools. I had a look at that main road outside the Seabrook school..I hadn't actually noticed the before (in all my thorough examining of google maps!! lol) I do think the school gets bombarded with requests... The first email I sent them I never got a reply. The second I did get a reply, saying I needed 3 pieces of evidence to prove I lived in the area before my kids could be accepted. No oozing of friendliness there. I know about the new school that is opening, it will be near/in the Alamanda estate apparently. I would be tempted but as my kids finish here in June, they would go 7 months without school! Don't think that is ideal I think I will pay both Seabrook and Carranballac a visit but I have such limited time. We have booked a temp accommodation for 10 days, within which time frame we need to find a rental in the area where we want our kids to go to school. I'm already breaking out in a sweat just thinking about it! STRESS! Anyway, thanks for the update! I'll keep in touch, we might end up being neighbours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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