State or Private

[caoimhe]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone knows any web pages to check out schools ie stats etc.
I have family in Adelaide and both sent their children to private schools as they didn't think the state schools were as good as UK. We live in Northern Ireland and our education system here is excellent and known to be among the best in the UK. Having 4 kids I worry that we may not be able to afford private but also worry that I am selling the kids short by moving to Oz if they won't get as good an education there as here.
We are considering moving to North-East areas of Adelaide, Salisbury Heights, Gulfview Heights/Wynn Vale areas so if anyone has any info on schools around these areas or web pages to check out would really appreciate it.
Thanks

[Libby1971]

Have a read around the threads for more info as this is a regular topic.

However in a nutshell, private schools are not regulated in anyway and some of the teaching, and I use the term loosely, that I saw going on was shocking. Some private schools are trading on reputation only and are very poor in standards of behaviour as well as the work produced by the kids.

Some state schools are poor, some are good. Same as UK. There are no statistics here which is right and proper as kids are not identical and they should not be treated as if they are.

The education system here is different. The IB programme means that the kids are marked harder so that they are in line with education around the world. Not all schools here apparently offer it but I think most in UK do.

Hope this helps

Libby

[caoimhe]

Thanks Libby,
I think my prob is that I didn't have to give any thought to the school we choose here as they go to our local parish primary which happens to be a great school and I am afraid that I don't know what to look for in choosing a school.

[salisbury massive]

Hi

Here is the South Australian Website for the Department of Education.

http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/

You can access all the state schools on this site.

Click on find a school/preschool on the right. Then click on the red bit that says Adelaide.
this will then take you to a map of Adelaide split into sections. By clicking on a section ie. Tea Tree Gully, it will show you all the state schools in the North East.

for private schools try this website
http://www.ais.sa.edu.au/html/home.asp or this one
http://www.privateschoolsdirectory.c...de-schools.php

Once again you have to make a choice of North, South, East or West but it will give you a general indication of the standards.

My only advice, you MUST look around and get a feel for the school. I had virtually decided on a school for my girls from the website, it looked fantastic. When we went and looked it was a complete shambles, Principal missing, vice principal only been there a month and couldn't talk about the school or the curriculum in any professional way at all. There was building work going on and we couldn't find the office.

its a hard choice but the suburb you decide on will help you with the school.

Jo

[caoimhe]

Thanks Jo,
Great to get advice from someone who lives in the area we want to live in. I have family in Salisbury and Salisbury Heights so want to stay somewhere within reasonable distance to them until we get on our feet.
Will check out all web sites and make sure we have a good look at the schools. It's a big decision and it scares me!!!

[salisbury massive]

Yes, it is a big decision and to be honest you couldn't go wrong looking in Salisbury East and Salisbury Heights. No disrespect to your family but Salisbury Plains & North are a bit rough.

for local schools have a look here,

http://www.shsr7.sa.edu.au/ This is my local Primary, its just at the bottom of the hill I live on on Target Hill Road. There is also Salisbury Park on the other side of Main North Road http://www.salsparkps.sa.edu.au/

The high School is Salisbury East, its a school I'm looking into and has had a lot of money pumped into it over the last few years. http://www.salseast.org/

Have a look at Greenwith Primary on the DECS site as well.

I think its a great location, Main North Road takes you into the City and into the Hills without having to leave the road until you hit the end. I've got fantastic views over Parafield Airport and the surrounding suburbs from the top of the hill and we get nice cooling gully breezes through on hot days. If you need anything else, just let me know.

Jo

[caoimhe]

Thanks for all the info Jo, I will check all this out
Don't worry I have already heard Salisbury can be a bit rough
Jacqui

[zx6roo]

I know that both Blackwood high school and Mitcham girls school are both excellent public schools, well on par with some private schools. BHS is even geting a big light & sound studio with local mixers coming in to teach if your kids want to get into that.

If you live around there it'about a 20-30 min drive up to Salisbury, 5mins to city.

[Rachiegarlo]

Hi when you are checking out the state schools websites don't forget to look for and read the context statement for the school, also available on the decs website. This gives you valuable background info about the school and its community. It lists how many non english speaking students there, how many are on school card, whether the teachers get extra points for teaching at this school, ( read not many want too), what facilities are available and what is offered extracurricular wise. It lists the feeder kindergartens or primary schools and gives an indication of the area the school is in.

The catholic education authority states that no child shall be denied a catholic education because their parents can't afford it. They also have discounts depending on how many of your children attend catholic schools. You may be able to get some discounts if you pursue this line and if you want your children to continue in catholic school. The schools are not allowed to publicise which children are being helped in this way.

Another option is the Christian schools which often offer a sliding scale of fees depending on what the parents earn and more reductions can be had by attending working bees etc.

The main thing when you come and have chosen your school, enrolled your children, is to NOT compare it too muchwith what you have left behind. The Australian education is similar BUT it is different as it aims to educate its future adults in a way that suits the country's needs. When my children began High school the first thing we were told was the education we had had was not necessarily the best for our children in their future lives and that education now is about preparing those children for what may occur intheir lives, they used computers and the jobs that have been provided by this development.

Rachel

[muppetbro]

depends on your expectations - as a parent and teacher i find the public schools here totally pathetic in terms of the quality of staffing and curriculum design - no surprise the % of kids is so low that go onto university from public schools as compared to private schools - they are unchallenged unmotivated and totally out of control kids - changes are needed a nd a few years from now national curriculum in australia will be adopted rightly so for the future of the youngesters here

remember adelaidians consider the more southern and northern suburbs as the tough areas with many social problems - ive worked 6 months in southern suburbs and the standards of "people" are no different to a ****ty rough suburb in blackpool - apart from the houses looks nicer and the beach is nicer !!!

forums are good for people whose lives here evolve around a forum and little more

brighton is one of the best public schools simply because it has nice kids from stable family backgrounds attending it - hence house prices are high

same as in uk - nice areas nice people nice house prices!

expectations - if you want a school where kids swear every other word at / to staff not challenged and mess around then sure your kids will love school here

the quality of teacher in private schools is more professional also - they are under some pressure to deliver and any teacher with nouse gets out of the crappy public school recruitment policy

my opinion working full time in an average public school - but i am working in a very rough southern suburb which forum p osters regard as a desireable area to live which is alarming

drugs is rife, bullying and aggressive kids have more free reign here but...."no worries"

p.s. the english are most happy when complaining about things in the uk