Highbury primary school ?

[JayneyB]

Hi

I've just joined PIA ... My family are moving to Adelaide in the new year and are hoping to come and visit primary schools in a couple of weeks .. Do any of you live in Highbury or have kids at Highbury Primary? Any thoughts on living / schooling there are much appreciated.. We have 2 daughters aged 11 and 7.

Thanks in advance .. Looking forward to our move ?

[newlife]

Hi,

I do not know about Highbury primary from personal experience but have heard that it's a very good school. Highbury as a place to live is in my opinion an excellent choice, linear park on your doorstep and views to the hills are fantastic. Contact Diane, a mod on here as both her children went to Highbury primary and she lives in Highbury.

good luck with the move

wendy

[JayneyB]

Thanks Wendy! We've been checking out some of the school threads on here .. We really are going to come over with an open mind on where to live/school.... We are going to try and visit a couple of school from all areas .. So any other family friendly areas are also an option !!!

[Leeds1877]

Hi- we looked at high bury when we arrived and tbh preferred athelstone. High bury is a very large primary school and was too big for our kids, moving from a school of around 280 in the uk. It had nice facilities but there are better schools nearby in my opinion. Admissions are really quick in Oz so just book a few visits for when you arrive and form your own decision based on you and your family.

[NicF]

As your oldest is 11 you might also want to consider what senior school the areas are zoned for as well. Highbury is zoned for Modbury and Athlestone is zoned for Charles Campbell. We actually ruled out Athlestone as a place to live because of the senior school it's zoned for (and all other areas in that zone). I'd suggest having a look at the senior schools for the areas you are considering as well.

 

Of course this isn't an issue if you are considering sending your kids to a private senior school but as my OH is anti single sex and/or religious schools our private school options are more limited and we didn't think we would be able to afford them so made sure we are in the zone for a senior school we are happy with.

[JayneyB]

Thanks everyone ! My eldest has just turned 11 so I'm thinking she has 2 yrs before high school..? We are moving from singapore but are more than happy to place the girls in a state primary .. Tbh we are still undecided where to live in adelaide .. Beach or hills? Also friends of friends live in west lakes and mclaren vale who both love it !!!

[NicF]

Thanks everyone ! My eldest has just turned 11 so I'm thinking she has 2 yrs before high school..? We are moving from singapore but are more than happy to place the girls in a state primary .. Tbh we are still undecided where to live in adelaide .. Beach or hills? Also friends of friends live in west lakes and mclaren vale who both love it !!!

 

If she's just turned 11 then she will be going in to year 6 in 2014, giving her another two years in primary. Sounds like a lot but you have to apply for state senior school part way through year 7 so you need to be in the zone for the senior school at that point. Unless you want to be moving areas within a year of getting here simply because you don't like the zoned senior school then it's worth thinking about it before deciding where to live.

 

No reason why you can't wait until you get here before deciding for definite on an area. I'd do some research on things like schools, house prices and distance to likely work areas and maybe put together a short list of possible places to live and/or rule out areas you wouldn't want to live in. We ruled out quite a few places because they were too expensive, too far away from my Mother in law, in the zone for a senior school we didn't like and/or too far away from the CBD. Made for a much easier decision about where to live (not many places left )

[Diane]

It's a few years since ours were at Highbury, and a few changes of head teacher since then, but from what I hear with friends who have children there, or children that have been there more recently than ours, it is still an excellent school. Certainly I credit the teacher both our kids had there in Year 6 and 7 with the fact that both were very successful at the ACER scholarship exams which resulted in very valuable scholarship offers to one of the best private high schools in the area (details here if anyone has kids interested who are in Year 7 next year http://www.acer.edu.au/scholarship/state/sa)

 

If you'd like to be put in contact with parents who have kids there now, drop me a PM. I will ask their permission first of course!

 

Incidentally, my kids were at a school in the UK with less than 100 pupils and the size of Highbury did initially give us cause for hesitation, but in the end it was an excellent choice - the school is big enough to field sports teams, take part in chess competitions etc, and when we were shown around the deputy that took us round knew every single child by name and something about that child's interests and progress, which won us over completely. I think that member of staff is still there by the way - she was an excellent ambassador for the school!