looking for advice on schools,and areas in perth

[JuiceGP]

hi

We are in the final stages of our visa,and will be moving to Perth. I would really appreciate if anyone could let us know which are the good schools in Perth to look at for my daughter,she is 5 years old.

I would also like to know where you would suggest we start looking for a place to live/which areas?

I would appreciate any info you may have

thanks

[Jordy]

Are you dependant on being near the city for work? If not then try the areas SOR even as far down as Mandurah. Alternatively if you dont mind a 20-30 minute train ride then go for Baldivis, Secret Harbour, Kwinana. Basically look up where the train line runs and follow the suburbs south. The further south the better.

[LeeH]

We are in a new area called Piara Waters and they built a school in the area this year. It takes my husband nearly an hour to get to Perth city centre by taking the bus and then the train to give you an idea of travelling times. Piara Waters is near Canning Vale. We are very happy with the area and the school. They are apparently building a high school in the area in 2015.

[Gizmo]

We spent 9 months scouting Perth for the right suburb within our budget. Honestly, south of the river just didn't grab us at all - this was compounded by the freeway traffic from the south being far worse than the freeway traffic from the north. But, this is just how we felt - I would suggest you initially get a rental close to the city/your work and then spend a few months scouting areas and talking to locals.

It also helps to have a list of requirements.

Ours were the following:

-Price - up to $600 000 for a 4 bed, 2 bath, double garage with pool, across road from a park in quiet close or cul de sac

-Low rental neighbourhood (ie, people who live there own - this is easy to find out via agents or just look at the upkeep of the gardens and houses in the area - if many look like hell, chances it is a high rental area)

-Good government primary school (call up any school - if they have places available to people outside the catchment, its not a great school, because people move to be in the catchments of the good schools, hence the demand)

-Daycares with available places close to school for before and after school care (Perth does not have enough daycares - some have up to 2 year waiting lists)

-Close to the train

-Quiet neighbourhood with no through traffic

-Nice family area (as bogan-free as possible)

-Well maintained properties

-Nice parks

-Between 3-7km to the beach

-Not further than 25km from the city

-Close to major mall and shops

-Must have some kind of major recreational area nearby, like a lake or bushland with, lawns, parks etc with a good cycle route aroun.

-Low crime rate

One area ticked all of our boxes - Edgewater which sits next to Lake Joondalup. We bought as specified above for $550 000. Its 30 - 35 minutes drive to the city in traffic and 22- 25 min by train (depending on whether you take an express or normal train).

A close second would have been Woodvale

Edited June 14, 2012 by Gizmo

[Milish]

It also depends if you prefer public or private.

My sisters and nieces have steered me towards private (catholic/anglican) and have therefore researched the following schools according to areas……

Mandurah Area - Frederick Irwin (My niece went to high school here, it does start from Kindergarten – she loved it)

Rockingham Area – Star of the Sea, St. Bernadette’s, Kolbe (Though Kolbe starts from year 7). My opinion, Rockingham is a nice starter area. Rental’s are reasonably priced, good schools (so the ones mentioned are from the top of my head), love the foreshore. It is a distance into the city; however, there is the train.

Baldivis – Tranby College

Further towards the city, I have only concentrated on the schools starting from middle school as my daughter is in year 7 i.e. Corpus Christi, Iona, Emmanuel, Rossmoyne (is public and has primary and high, have heard the high school is fairly good).

I am sure those who actual live in Perth have a better perspective, I am still in SA and will be leaving in July.

[Gizmo]

Pretty much all the areas in Perth have good access to the private schools.

With private schools, you don't get automatic entrance if you live in the area like with government schools, so be careful to check the schools placement availability before you buy.

Telling whether a private school is a good one is a bit trickier than public schools (you don't have to live in the catchment, so people don't move to the area because of the school, so the school having places doesn't reflect whether it is a good/bad school necessarily). You can go purely by the academics - the following websites will give you an idea of the schools academic level - every school's year 3, year 5 and year 7's are tested each year and compared to the national average. The websites with the info are below:

http://www.myschool.edu.au/

http://www.myschool.com.au/

BUT, don't go on this alone. A good school is far more than just a good academic record! See what additional programs they have available - sport, music etc. Also, be sure to get peoples actual experiences with the schools. Bullying is a BIG problem in Aus and some schools have a terrible problem with it, so ask around.

Also, check prices - private schools can cost anything from $5000 per year to $25 000 per year!!! In many cases, they do not offer anything better or more than the good government schools, which cost $65-$100 per year. (If you are a PR).

Edited June 14, 2012 by Gizmo

[JuiceGP]

Thank you for all of the advice and information! It really helps us out a lot! To make a big move can be very overwhelming so to be able to get this kind of info from you guys is so valuable! Thanks

[Sibella]

Gizmo I love reading your posts. I can see you are just as thorough in your research as I am!!

[Gizmo]

Gizmo I love reading your posts. I can see you are just as thorough in your research as I am!!

Thanks Sibella! (blush)

[Chocaholic]

We went by what we heard from people we had contact with over the forum, which worked out extremely well for us in the end. We had a look at all the areas suggested before we moved here and ended up in Hillarys, Our kids are at Sorrento Primary and Duncraig High School and seem to be very happy there. As it turned out we ended up making really great friends with the people who had recommended the area and as we are now living close to them, this made socialising with all of them and therefore settling here extremely easy for us. Personal favourite areas up north are Hillarys, Sorrento, Connolly, Mindarie (a bit far out though), Kallaloo, Ocean Reef, but also certain streets in Carine and Karrinyup.

However, having said all that and again,we are very happy where we are, having lived in Perth now for one and a half years and having seen a lot more of it, I must say - there are sooooo many really nice areas all over Perth, so it really depends on what you are looking for, what your budget is, whether you mind driving for 45 minutes or even more to work or would rather stay as close as possible to work, whether you would like to live as close as possible to the beach or don't really mind driving a bit to get there and - most importantly - find out where the good schools are, best is to look on the government websites to see the schools ratings according to the Naplan results. To figure all this out while still in South Africa is rather daunting of course, so if you can at all afford to fly over to have a good look around, it certainly would help you a lot.

The school's ranking is certainly a good indication, however, so is the area the school is in as well. If you can find out, whether it is a decent area, it usually helps a lot, especially in the case of public schools, as the majority of kids will be from the area. The best would be to find out from people on this forum what they think about certain areas and schools that you are interested in.

We have repeatedly heard great things about Churchlands (both high school and primary), which is in a very nice area, not too far from the beaches and quite close to the city, about Duncraig Senior High School, Carine High School - both in the North of Perth, which I personally like a lot, however, I do have to admit, that I do not know a lot about the South of Perth, Rossmoyne and Perth Modern have both also been repeatedly mentioned to us (for Perth Modern your kids have to sit a special entrance exam, as this is a school for academically gifted kids only). St. Mary's (a girls only school) and Hale (boys only) are both excellent schools but also THE most expensive schools in Perth. There are arguments for and against spending a lot of money at private schools - the negative comments I often hear (even from some teachers!) is that a lot of the money you spend on private schooling goes into the upkeep of the school's properties and salaries, and that your kids do not necessarily get a much better education at the schools. On the other hand an argument for spending so much money, especially at a school like Hale seems to be "that you buy your kids opportunities" - I gather as in networking etc.

I have the feeling that if you choose your school wisely and do your research and your kids generally do well at school, they will be fine at a public school. I do have to admit though, that I sometimes am a bit jealous when I see the kids from independent or private schools in their smart uniforms with nice shirt and tie etc., however, my kids disagree whole-heartedly and love their school uniforms much better - they are basically polo shirts and shorts or skirts and/or dresses, and any closed shoe they like ..... it's really not that bad once you get used to it. In fact I quite like Duncraig's uniform with their white polo and navy shirts, dark blue knee length shorts, dark blue skirts and blue checked dresses.

Oh dear, I am rambling now, I hope some of this at least helps a bit. Good luck.

Edited June 17, 2012 by Chocaholic

[JuiceGP]

thanks,really appreciate all the info !

[Gizmo]

Fantastic post Chocaholic! The areas you posted are all wonderful areas - some very good advice there JuiceGP.

[SA Aussie]

Please also look at the areas of Carramar , Tapping , Quinns rock , Darch , Madeley (kingsway christian college is in darch - BIG south african favourite) , Iluka , burns beach , Curumbine and kinross which all have a big south african presence. You just received half the information in above post.

[Feetjie]

Agree with SA AUSSIE. I a m a teacher at Kinross prim and it is a lovely community.

[Chocaholic]

Yep, have to agree, the area around Kingsway Christian College and the Kingsway Sports Complex is very nice too and probably a lot cheaper than areas closer to the sea. Definitely a good option too....