schools in oz

turboted

Hi
Me my wife and 2 kids(aged 5 an 9) will be moving to oz soon and i was wondering about schools we will be moving either to VIC,QLD or NSW,we have done some research on schools, but just wondering has anyone already done the big move and whats it like getting children enroled in state schools
Any advice would be appreicated thanks

Gregsor

Hi,i have some experience as we enrolled my daughter twice in the same Primary school here in Qld first aged 7,we stayed for 2 years then we went home for 2 years then moved back and got her back in the same class just before the years end here and now she is in High school and settled real well.
The schools are state schools and first off before the first enrollment we had to be living in a certain zone of the district to be eligible to apply and luckily enough unknowingly we were renting in the right area at the time.

I think enrollment is pretty straight forward but in highly populated areas they might require you to be a certain distance as we had but they took her back in straight away the second time all smiles and the primary school was only excellent for her.

High school is going just the same and she loves it,they had a represent your country day last week and she wore the colours and bits and there was another Irish girl a year or two ahead up speaking as Gaeilge and her stand in teacher was from Leixlip Kildare too,small world sometimes!
But i cannot speak highly enough of the schools over here and your kids will love them,no half days/teacher training days/useless excuse for days off just school as it should be and very little homework if any ,where was that in my day!

I'd say they'd just look for previous school reports too and that's it,set up an interview and that should be it.

Tigerandahalf

Like anything you need to do your research. Private schooling is bigger in Australia than in Ireland. If you want a good Catholic schooling for your child you may well have to pay for it. Some schools will charge $2/3000 per year for this. It really all depends on the individual school. Many Irish people emigrating to Oz are having to live/rent in less affluent areas due to high cost of living. This may impact on your choice of school. You will have to go online to forums and even ask around the area you are in re schools. There are lots of things to consider other than the school itself, such as transport to and from the school. Will your child need to get a bus or will you drive etc.
Good questions to ask would be how long the principal/staff are teaching in the school and do their own kids go to the school. This will give you a very quick idea of whether they themselves think the school is good enough. The curriculums may also be different in the different states although there is a push towards a national curriculum.
Do your research.

Gregsor

There are 4 schools in our area and only 1 is private but yes there is more in the divide than back in Ireland with public/private and some people choose the private and we nearly did the first time but didn't see the point.
I have met the principal of the primary school on numerous occasions and could not believe how much she participated in the schooling and day to day hands on that drove the school to excellence and it's students to many awards and at a young age.
I count myself lucky as i have always had the privilege of dropping and collecting my daughter to and from school since her first day so transport and distance were never a problem and we are now located 10 minutes walk to her High school but yes it is worth considering particularly if you want to go city living,i myself like the suburbs.
But yes research and get emailing and good luck.

Not too sure what is meant by this "Many Irish people emigrating to Oz are having to live/rent in less affluent areas due to high cost of living"?

mandrake04

turboted wrote: »

Hi
Me my wife and 2 kids(aged 5 an 9) will be moving to oz soon and i was wondering about schools we will be moving either to VIC,QLD or NSW,we have done some research on schools, but just wondering has anyone already done the big move and whats it like getting children enroled in state schools
Any advice would be appreicated thanks

You haven't mentioned what visa you have, makes a big difference if you are on a 457 as in NSW you will have to pay foreigner school fees in the states schools of $4500 each child per year.

turboted

hi
Thanks for all the helpfull advice
Its will be a 457 visa i will have, i did know about the fee for the state schools in NSW
I am just worried about getting our children into a school and them settling well. What way does the holiday system work for the schools in oz

ellaq

You should be able to find a school term timetable for 2012 for NSW. School year is broken into 4 terms. Holidays are usually 2 weeks with the big break at Christmas/Jan for around 6 weeks.

Sometimes a public school won't even consider you until you are actually residing in the zone. I have 2 children in a private catholic school in WA and the fees cost around $3000per year for both of them.

Peregrinus

The big issue is that the academic year in Australia runs from January to December, rather than from July to June, so a child moving from Ireland to Australia will either gain or lose half a year. You'll want to discuss with your chosen school which would be best for your child, though to some extent it will depend on when in the year your child's birthday falls.

Wherever you live, you're likely to be within the catchment area of at least one government school and at least one Catholic school. If you're in the catchment area of a government school, your child normally has a right to go there -which is not to say that you can't go to an out-of-area school if they'll have you. Of course, the more highly the school is regarded, the harder it is to get in as an out-of-area pupil.

Normally the government schools are free but, as has been pointed out, if you're on a temporary visa you may be charged (quite hefty) fees. Catholic schools charge fees, though these can be modest - as low as $500 p.a. for a primary school (or as high as $3,500), or $2,000 p.a. for a secondary school (or as high as $10,000). Again, though, if you're on a temporary visa there can be a hefty surcharge, to replace the public funding that your child doesn't carry. You'd need to check this out with the school.

As others have said, there are four terms. The summer holidays are in December/January, Autumn holidays in April, Winter holidays in July, Spring Holidays in late September/early October. Apart from the summer holidays, they are all suppose to be two weeks, but they often get extended by a couple of days at either end, since every school has a number of "pupil-free days" for teacher professional development, etc, and there is a practice of tacking these on to the holidays rather than scattering them through the term.

Pugins

Things are slightly different in Vic than in NSW I think. For example I believe you do not have to pay fees for a state school if you are here on a 457 visa.

Private schools are much more common here in Melbourne than in Sydney. Many people send their children to private schools and it can be difficult to get in with waiting lists etc. fees can also be quite high, especially at secondary level. There are many good state schools so its not necessary to go privately. But you will have to do some local research.

If you are Catholic then the local Catholic school in your parish will take you (bring copies of baptism certs for proof). They are fee paying as well but cost significantly less than other private schools. For example our local ones are about $2500 per year.

turboted

some very usefull information,thanks a lot an as said already local research is the way to go which we will be doing when we arrive in oz,it will be june/july time when we hope to get to oz so our kids will actually be on summer hols here in ireland,they might have some look on there face if they find out that they have to start school again:D,but it would be for the best anyway:D

No6

Anyone know what the story is for WA? I'll be on a 457 with 7 year old?

Princess_N

Hi, We moved to Melbourne last year and I had no problem enrolling my daughter (5) in the school in our area, The school is amazing can't praise it enough, So much better than school in Ireland. My daughter loves it there. We are also on a 457 and we didn't have to pay any fees. The normal school fees were about $500 to cover admin, outings etc. Uniform was about $200.

We did have to be living in the catchment area to be accepted, our visa was never an issue.

turboted

I will be very happy if we can get our children into a good school an everything works good,it just a big concern of ours at the minute but hopefully everything will be ok

turboted

Anybody else with any more info on this would be appreicated