Help! Primary schools in Perth North

[KarinS]

Hi there

I know this question has been asked a million and one times before.... But please help me!

We have been in Perth now for 3 weeks and have just signed a 6 month rental for a house in Connolly.

Originally we were looking at Hillarys, Ocean Reef, Iluka, Sorrento etc and i had done quite a bit of reading up, although it never feels enough, about schools in those areas. So now I am totally thrown and in the dark.

Can anyne please tell me a little bit about Connolly suburb and the community. Is it a nice suburb to live in?

And then most importantly please can you give me advice about Connolly Primary School. It is just round the corner within walking distnce from our home. Is it a good happy school? I cannot find any comments here on this site or elsewhere about this school. The other schools in the neighbouring suburbs are Beaumaris and Currambine. Currambine have told me they will accept my son, 6 years old, as well as my daughter, 5 years old, although not actually in their catchment area. I approached Beaumaris and they seemed strict on catchment areas, but told me I could submit the application anyway but that I may not get in if out of the area.

I dont know what to do.... Which one would you recommend? Or which one should I steer clear of?

Regrading public vs private, i know opinions differ and situations differ. The general consensus from what we have heard seems to be that one one can send your children to govt primary schools, if you are in a good area with good schools, and then consider private high schools. I did approach Lake Joondalup Baptist, also closeby, to find out what our options are, and they indicated that they would probably only have place for my son from grade 4 but also advised i submit the application sooner than later in case a place opens up for him. So, right now, it looks like we will go govt for now and see how that goes.

My son was in pre-primary in SA but would have to go to Grade 1 here, so would skip a year. Although he is very bright and was top of his year at his school in SA, a year is a year and a big jump, and I am worried about that, but will do my best to help him bridge the gap. This makes me even more concerned about getting him into a school where the teachers and support is really good.

Part of me is trying to keep in mind that our rental is for 6 months only which means we can figure things out in the next 6 months and if by then hubby, who is a chartered accountant, has found work, we will be in a position to buy a place and i will hopefully by then have a better idea of schools. But I was hoping that we would not have to move kids again as worried about it being unsettling for them and i would prefer to get them into a good school now and keep them there if possible....i feel quite daunted and lost...what do i do???? I plan on going and doing a work around at the schools tomorrow, but even that doesnt really let you know what is going on in the classroom!

Sorry i am waffling!!! Just such a big decision for me right now with limited knowledge! Please help! I woudl appreciate any insight into the schools mentioned above or any other you think i should consider, as well as your veiw on the suburb we are moving to!

Thank you!!!

[Drought]

Can't help with the specific schools, but I would happily live in Connoly

[KarinS]

Thank you! It makes me feel so much happier to hear someone say that!

[ronfire]

Connolly Primary School is quite good, from what I've heard from others. It's a really nice suburb, with the Joondalup golf course on your doorstep, more or less!

We have friends whose kids went to Currambine Primary, until they moved further north and put the kids in Quinns Baptist near Clarkson. They were happy with the school and the kids enjoyed it. We have a friend who works as relief teacher and she's done a few stints at Currambine with Yr3s. She likes the setup too.

Dunno too much about Beaumaris, unfortunately. I'd be surprised if it was markedly worse than Connolly or Currambine, though.

Lake Joondalup Baptist is pretty good, but hard to get in even with the double stream in the early years. My older son goes there and the younger one is starting next year. I have only good things to say about the school so far. My son absolutely loves being there. Which is always a good thing!

If your husband is more inclined to work in audit, he'll most likely end up working in or close to the CBD as most of the larger and even some of the boutique accounting firms tend to be around there. Just something to keep in mind vis-a-vis where you might end up living and schools, etc.

Edited October 18, 2013 by ronfire

[JuliaClaire]

Hi, a lot of our family live in Perth and I have always heard good things about Connolly. It would be one of my first choices to live.

My nephew and niece had a very positive schooling experience at Currambine primary and are now at Lake Joondalup and very happy there.

My other nephew and niece were very happy at Mindarie primary and went on to love St. Stephens Carramar in Tapping.

I have also heard good things about Padbury Primary (Kingsley or Padbury?) and Sacred Heart which is in Sorrento.

Seems to be a lot of choice in Perth!

[KarinS]

Thank you so much to both of you for giving me some advice. It gives me a sense of peace and i feel so much better!

I went to see Connolly Primary today and it looks like a very loving and happy little school. The headmaster took us around and it was amazing to see just how many kids ran up to him and gave him hugs and he greeted every child by name and chatted to them. The children were so well behaved and polite. It was clear that he is personally very involved and very well liked by the kids. The teachers all seemed to be very friendly and welcoming! It was wonderful to walk into every classroom - there is so much going on in each class evident by the pictures, activities and work all over the classrooms. It looks like a happy little school where eductaion is key and children are being taught and educated in a loving yet firm environment. What a pleasure to see! I feel so happy to have seen it with my own eyes.

[Gizmo]

If you are going the route of government high school (later on), check out info about the high school in your catchment. When we moved to Edgewater our daughter wasn't even in primary school yet, so that was my sole focus. We chose Edgewater for the good primary school, beautiful parks, the lake, the awesome community, the proximity to transport and the big trees and topography. We LOVE living here, but, what we didn't check was the high school. Unfortunately our catchment high school is a couple of suburbs away (unusual) and it has a terrible reputation. This is disappointing as in just a few years time we will either have to send our daughter to private school, or try and get a scholarship, or, most likely, have to move. I love where we are, we have fabulous friends in our street and it will be awful for our daughter to have to make friends all over again somewhere else.

[SurferMan]

KarinS,

We use Quinns Baptist, an awesome Christian school with Saffer teachers (not all) who raise the kids in a safe and great environment. School like I recall it! Really nice, clean, safe and well resourced.

[Kanniewagnie]

I guess Quins Baptist is private?

[Drought]

yup- Quinns is part of what is classified as "low-fee paying private schools". There is a range of Anglican, Baptist and then some independent private schools that would all fall into the low-fee paying category. These schools are probably the closest to the traditional SA schools and almost all are heavily populated by SA teachers- no wonder that a lot of them have introduced rugby as a sport! Fees in high school range from $4500 - $7000 per year, then you move into the next bracket ( not many schools fall into this one) and then the big boys and girls come out- here you are looking at $19000 per year!!!!!

[Kanniewagnie]

Ouch