explorer Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 (edited) Need info about schools in Sydney. I also need to motivate the wife a bit about life in Sydney. I would appreciate any help. We will be on a 457 applying for a PR , kids 5 and 8.Cobus Edited July 12, 2007 by Cobusp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Hi CobusI'm probably not in the best position to give you the best advise regarding schools in Sydney, as I don't live there. But, from what I've seen from visits and in discussion with old teaching mates living in Sydney, is that the subject is open to a huge amount of commentary which I'd summarise as... "wherever you live, there will be a goverment school close by which you could safely compare to any Private South African school."Private schools in Oz are expensive but if you're inclined to go that way, go and check out Reddam House (www.reddamhouse.com.au) - it was started by the same guy who started the Crawford Colleges in South Africa and there are quite a few South African teachers on their staff.CheersNorm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sa2auz Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Hi CobusI would be happy to answer any questions regarding school or anything else regarding Sydney. My boys 4 and 8 and we moved here 18 months ago. My boys have settled so well and we have had no hiccups whatsoever, I just wish we had moved sooner. We chose to put my eldest son into a Independant School the fees are about $2500 pa compared to public schools in NSW at $4500 if you are on a temp visa.You have many options public, independant (usually religious) or private. The public schools I have visited are extremely well equipment and their technology very good. We live on the North Shore and I would send my boys to any of the public schools. The high school options are different though and for boys more tricky. We have found at my sons school and alot of the other schools that boys who are going to private high schools will only be accepted if they go in either year 3 or 5. The problem with this is that in years 4, 5, 6 the numbers of boys start to decline. I have found that there are far more options for girls as far as high schools go if you are not going public. There are alot of very good public high school also.Alot of the public schools will accept you if you are out of area but it obviously depends when you put their names down. A friend of mine but her girls name down at 3 schools all out of her zone in the July and was accepted to all 3.If you go public you will be requested to pay $4500 to the education department on enrolment. You can be accessed financially by the department to pay off this amount in installments or in some cases you can be exempt depending on income.As far as your wife goes what can I say Australia is wonderful, the suburbs are incredible you feel like you are in a real community. The women in Australia really live life, there are tons of people walking, meeting for coffee, playing tennis, craft groups, church groups, mothers groups etc. There are plenty of job share positions out there and the focus really is on family in most companies.I have found it a little difficult to initally make Aussie friends as they already have their established networks. There is a group of SA women who get together once a month for tea and great friendships have been formed, quite a few ladies from the forum have joined and we really have a good laugh.Having children definately helps with making friends and you soon meet up with other mums and dads at the schools. The schools are very community orientated. I have found the schools in Aus alot smaller also.Australia is really an outdoorsy place and Saturdays there is tons of sport going on, you name it, its happening, with cricket, soocer, netball, rugby, baseball etc. The clubs all have their leagues on a Saturday and most kids enrol and that is also a nice way of meeting people and a good way for the kids to feel included. The schools do not generally have sports teams etc but are big on debating, dance, music etc.I am sure you will settle in very well and if your wife would like to chat please feel free to pm me.Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
explorer Posted July 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Thanks for the replies.Sa2auzWe would be looking at Catholic schools if possible. If you could be so kind and send me some names of schools in the area. We not sure yet on which area we will stay but not central Sydney. Maybe 10 - 20 km out of Sydney. Also not sure about the diff suburbs in Sydney.Cobus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ajay Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Hi Cobusp,I live in the North-West suburbs of Sydney (edited from originally reading Perth for some bizarre reason.....sorry to anyone that I confused:-)), in an area generally referred to as the Hills, and have been here for around the same time as sa2auz. I also have 2 kids, both attending public school. One is in primary school and the other in high school. Both attended private schools back in SA, and I generally have found the standard of education here to be comparable. The classses are certainly bigger than you get in private schools, but in primary school, there is definitely less pressure than what my boys were used to, and far more effort is put into allowing the kids to be kids - a healthy balance of work, sports and play, as opposed to the strong academic focus back in JHB. This has worked beautifully for my younger son and he enjoys school more here than he ever did in South Africa. The high school that my older son attends, Cherrybrook Technology High School, s fabulous and I can't speak highly enough of it. I also looked into Catholic schools initially, but my younger son was very nervous of going to a "church school" and I decided not to push the point. There are some good ones around as well, but for lots more information on the Catholic schooling system as well as links through to the various schools, have a look here, and here which is the link to the Catholic Education websites for Sydney and Parramatta. For information on the public school system go here. From a fee point of view, you are required to pay $4500 per child if you are a temporary resident and want to use the public school system. If you use the Catholic school system, the fees are dramatically less (under $1000 per year per child) but this fee remains in place even after you become a permanent resident, whereas public schools are free to residents.I hope I haven't confused you even more now! Get your wife to become part of our SAAustralia community as a starting point. She will find lots of encouragement and support here LoveAjay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
explorer Posted July 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 I have read that the starting age is 6 years, my boy is currently in grade 00 in South Africa. How will this affect him seeing that he now must go directly into grade 1 in Australia? Also My girl is in grade 2, will she go to grade 3 next year or grade 4?CobusPS I am also looking at Melbourne. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riekie Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 I live in the North-West suburbs of Perth, Love Ajay You mean Sydney..... (You need a chokkie boost - wanne share a block?..... )CobusP, I'm an ex South African Public School parent with 12 years "experience". After a few years in Aus (with a child attending public school), I think I can make a fair comparison. You won't in any way be any worse off than what you'd be in RSA. Maybe not the right choice of words, but what I'm trying to say is : if you are happy with the Public Schools in RSA, you will at the very least be equally happy with the Public Schools in Aus. In our case, I can only rave about how fantastic the Public School system is here in Aus. And it is not just a case of landing it lucky - my child attended Primary school and now high school, here and I'm still raving!! In short, I find the schools here (in general) more slack on discipline (but then again, is it really discipline to throw a child's books out the classroom window because they forgot to do their homework, or shout at them at the top of your lungs?... ) I also find the schools here much more advanced in technology, IT, facilities (labs, kitchens, workshops, art rooms etc.) and their teaching much more in keeping up with the times. (My 11 year old daughter designed her own website after 3 months in Aus. - in RSA they were still teaching them where the "enter" button was.....). The choice of subjects, things like work experience and job related training makes the school system here much more effective in preparing you for your future career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sa2auz Posted July 13, 2007 Report Share Posted July 13, 2007 Hi CobusChildren are supposed to start Kindy (grade 0) the year they turn 5. Your son could go into Kindy in 2008 as he would in SA go into Grade 0. We left SA when my son was in grade 1 and he finished yaar 1 in Aus. I would keep your child in the same year they would normally go into although if you go according to age they could skip a grade. In Aus they learn to read and write in Kindy so I find the kids have an early start. I was advised not to wait the school year out in SA as it would be far more beneficial for us all to be together in Aus than seperated for a long period. There were no issues starting half way through school years either the boys settled very well and it was easier for them to make friends etc.Good Luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
explorer Posted July 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Hi sa2auzPlease if possible tell me about the rules re car seats for children (age 6 and 9 next year) and prices if possible for the car seats in Australia, amount of people in the car when travelling.RegardsCobusHi CobusChildren are supposed to start Kindy (grade 0) the year they turn 5. Your son could go into Kindy in 2008 as he would in SA go into Grade 0. We left SA when my son was in grade 1 and he finished yaar 1 in Aus. I would keep your child in the same year they would normally go into although if you go according to age they could skip a grade. In Aus they learn to read and write in Kindy so I find the kids have an early start. I was advised not to wait the school year out in SA as it would be far more beneficial for us all to be together in Aus than seperated for a long period. There were no issues starting half way through school years either the boys settled very well and it was easier for them to make friends etc.Good LuckHi sa2auzThanks for the reply on the schools, what time is school from to what time, and the same for Kindy?RegardsCobus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ajay Posted July 15, 2007 Report Share Posted July 15, 2007 Hi Cobus,I think it would be more beneficial for you to have a look at the websites that I referred you to for schooling in general - all the information you need should be there.The question about car seats is also dealt with somewhere else here on the forum - try the search facility.Ajay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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