what do the kids think of the australian schools?

[wyles family]

A big big thank you to all who have replied to my post on education, its been so interesting reading it! Will take on board all you have said and we will try and make the right decision about the right school for our children, who are 12 and 8. We are looking to live around brighton,henley and glenelg areas so if anyone can reccommend a good shcool around them areas then please do.. We are looking at state schools.

We are happy that in oz kids can be kids for longer.. One of the reasons for moving... Wyles family... Ps heard brighton primary is good,????

[Jennet]

A big big thank you to all who have replied to my post on education, its been so interesting reading it! Will take on board all you have said and we will try and make the right decision about the right school for our children, who are 12 and 8. We are looking to live around brighton,henley and glenelg areas so if anyone can reccommend a good shcool around them areas then please do.. We are looking at state schools.

We are happy that in oz kids can be kids for longer.. One of the reasons for moving... Wyles family... Ps heard brighton primary is good,????

Hi
I have ranked school's and Brighton keeps coming up in the top three, I also know someone who has moved into the zone area to get their son into Brighton secondary, i have also had an e mail from Brighton school 'rather prompt too' other schools took longer to reply. That is the school i hope to have my kids in but need to rent in the zone area, my eldest has a friend who emigrated last year who also goes to Brighton and loves it, he keeps telling her to go there. There web site is good with lots of vital information on for you to look at. also if you have girls Mitcham is suppose to be a good school, but all girls i will be looking at that school too. I have a friend who has been out there 13 years and she gives me lots of information. try this site to rank schools: it has loads of schools on not just secondary you need to through the site and have a play around its quite good. I have a 15 yr and 7 yr old, i have a big age gap between them and lots to think about.
http://bettereducation.com.au/school...ol_rating.aspx

[Jennet]

Hi
I have ranked school's and Brighton keeps coming up in the top three, I also know someone who has moved into the zone area to get their son into Brighton secondary, i have also had an e mail from Brighton school 'rather prompt too' other schools took longer to reply. That is the school i hope to have my kids in but need to rent in the zone area, my eldest has a friend who emigrated last year who also goes to Brighton and loves it, he keeps telling her to go there. There web site is good with lots of vital information on for you to look at. also if you have girls Mitcham is suppose to be a good school, but all girls i will be looking at that school too. I have a friend who has been out there 13 years and she gives me lots of information. try this site to rank schools: it has loads of schools on not just secondary you need to through the site and have a play around its quite good. I have a 15 yr and 7 yr old, i have a big age gap between them and lots to think about.
http://bettereducation.com.au/school...ol_rating.aspx

also try these decscustomers@sa.gov.au

I got a good response from them, they are the schools education department they sent me different web sites, that's where i got the other website from and they were helpful but will inform you about school zone area you need to be careful where you rent. I have the Brighton school zone area, they also have it on their website.

[Rachiegarlo]

I would say look at the end result, Australian schools send their kids on into Law, Education, Medicine, Nursing, Engineering, Politics, Business, Research, IT etc and also they give them enough education to become electricians, plumbers, painters, hairdressers, childcare workers, shop assistants, etc. Australian kids win competitions to go to Gallipoli for the dawn service by writing essays around the theme of WW1 and Australia etc. Aussie kids win competitions to go to Nasa's space camps. They represent their country at all sorts of international levels.

Education at primary level is quite possibly less rigorous than what you are used to, but by yr 10 it is full on at most schools as the kids mature and begin to have ideas about their future. Besides, a school and its teachers can only do so much. A lot of your child's attitudes to education begin at home. If you look at the private schools around Adelaide, each year about 20 - 30 % of their students will get a uni entrance score in the top 10%, regardless of which school it is. It is probably the same in a lot of the state schools which have children from families which value educational attainment. They just don't advertise or publish their results as freely. Australian education and schools are meeting the needs of Australia. Australian graduates and workers take their skills all round the world, so I don't think they are less educated than their peers in other countries by the end result. It's just different. When I came here as a 10 yr old I was more advanced in some areas and this was pre - national curriculum, but I had started school at 4, whereas here my peers had started at 5 - 6 yrs old. I wouldn't worry too much. You just need to find a school that your children and you are comfortable with.

[Hutchy]

We arrived over here in December 2010. We found a lovely house to rent in Ethelton, and enrolled our boys in local schools. Our oldest boy is in Year 12 at Le Fevre, and our youngest is in Year 7, in Westport Primary School. Both schools have been great in integrating our sons, and as a result, they have settled here quickly. We worried, moving our children so far from family, friends and their comfort zone, but they've grasped every new experience with both hands, and as a result, are very, very happy, and doing very, very well in school.....

[Adelaide_bound]

Besides, a school and its teachers can only do so much. .

Just wanted to pick up on this point -
I've been involved in some research in the UK into this, and the sphere of influence a Primary school in the UK has on a child is 5%. In real terms that means there is only a 5% attainment difference in a child in their end of year 6 test results (not just QCA tests, but a range of testing) between a child attending a 'top' state school and a child attending a primary school in special measures. They only spend something like 14% of their lives at school at this age, so whatever and how much you do at home has so more of an impact - I'm guessing this is similar if not the same in Australia.

(Its a bit more marked in secondary, but the research threw up lots of other factors that made some people question the validity of the study at this age, it was something like 48% difference).

Remember, there are lies, damn lies and statistics - pick the school that makes you/your kids happy, your kids are only kids for so long.....