Hi everyone

I just joined the forum, and I really think it is a great way of getting answers to all my questions regarding immigrating to AU.

I spoke to an immigrating agent and he said that he thinks public schools in AU isn't really good, and if we want to make a right choice, it will be to put our children in private schools.

Is there anyone who could tell me if this is true. We are immigrating to give our kids a better future, but if this is the case, we don't know if we will be able to afford private schools. Immigrating is a costy process, and finding work could be just as hard. And not being able to afford good education, may not makes the big move worth it.

I would like to hear what you think?

It can depend on the area you live. Obviously public schools in good suburbs are going to be better than those in poorer areas. Private schools can also vary in curriculum, quality of education and of course cost. I am not sure where you are from, but it is fairly common for middle class families to send their children to a private school.

Further to what Mike says, I'm not too sure on what percentages are re middle class families children going to private schools is or in fact what is called middle class.
If my experience is anything to go by, it'll vary a whole lot and it was my background if anything that had two girls of mine successfully going through the public system.
My parents were not wealthy and separated when I was young but regardless, because of their upbringing, a private school was not going to be on the agenda without a scholarship, and all siblings got educated well enough even if I did my engineering as a part time student.
So even though I was earning a heap more than my parents without be considered well off, but substantially middle class, it was still public schooling for the daughters, both doing professional courses.

As Mike says, it'll depend a lot on the area you live in and how supportive parents want to be with the school, but there are so many factors influencing education in this day and age, sometimes it'll be the students attitudes and that of teachers and parents that could have an effect more so than what facilities a school has.

I certainly would not fear that our public education system is anything to be alarmed about, and it still handles a greater percentage of students.

Thanks everyone for the info. I'm so glad it sounds as if Public schools will not be a problem. I really don't think we can afford Private schools, immigrating is such a costly business, I don't want to worry about money all the time. Then we are going to stress, and it will make the big move harder for everyone.

At the moment we are looking at Perth, don't know if you have knowledege about the school there?

Have no direct experience with Perth of late Annie, but it could be becoming like little England over there with it being popular with UK migrants of late.
WA and Perth in particular has been booming over last decade especially and even before that with mineral exploration and industries.

The upshot is that there will be plenty of newer suburbs with newer schools and though the downside can be a government not leeping up with expansion, the minerals boom has also meant governments there have been flush with funds, and even with corruption issues I'd imagine the education budget has not been lacking too much.

Real Estate prices also booming are not what you would want to hear but then if you are planning on renting a year or two which can be a good move, it could be good timing for - Rate rises hurt house prices: analyst - prices may be plateauing and with interest rates expected to still rise some, more pricing drops could occur.

One thing that people can often overlook is that regardless of what type of school a student goes to, come time to move on to a university they are all going to be back together.

I must agree. I think parents support plays a major part in the way children adapt to a new school. I hope that we will be able to find a nice, comfy house to rent for the first year. Then we will decide where to go from there. Thanks for all the info, it really helps a lot.

Sorry to bump on older thread, but in my opinion, the 'benefits' of a private school do not outweigh the cost comparisons between private and state schools.
With private schools, a lot of the term payments automatically cover features and cirricula that your kid may not necessarily be partaking in.
With public schools, the majority of these options are still available, you just need to pay for it seperately from the school fees.
My son's high school fees for his state school are $550 a year, which you don't even need to pay unless you wish to.
I'd avoid the private schools unless you're exceedingly wealthy.

Hi,

I've just read your posts and your initial worries sound like mine now!

We are just thinking of moving to Australia from the UK and would really like some advice from people who have already gone through the early stages of the process.

We have two girls aged 15 and 11 and are also worried about their education.

What are the first steps we need to take in order to get the ball rolling?

Cheers!

alisonld
Though there are a few threads on education issues, some related to private Vs public the forum is a relatively youthful one and given the length of time it can take for skilled visas to be processed, it is unlikely that any earlier participants here will have actually got to the stage of actually being Australia to enrol children in schools.

Sadly, with the odd exception, not many people do come back and reveal their experiences and I think you can find that is a trait of many forums and then those that have done it in the past may not become members of forums like this one.

But in general terms seeing as you'll know a fair bit on education being a teacher yourself, I would not imagine our schools systems to be too greatly different from other countries and the various influences that can exist.

In regard to how you handle it for Australia and your daughters, if it was me, I'd be doing some planning along the lines of:
. Looking at all the information on where you feel you might want to reside in Australia, ie Climate can determine state, and then all states have capitals as usually having the greatest choices of schools but then regional living can have its benefits in peacefulness, lower costs and closer to nature either coastal or inland, and thus review whether school/later college or university options in smaller cities/towns would be adequate - do the daughters have any careers in mind already?
. A skilled application could see a result occurring no earlier I'd expect than near the end of 2009 and quite possibly sometime well into 2010 dependant on path you choose, and then you need to look at best timing for your move in respect especially for the older girl and school year calendars, ours running from January/February to November/December and how if your older daughter is nearing end of her secondary schooling as in last year of secondary schooling you could I can imagine imagine yourself that it could be disastrous in pulling her out of a final school year half way through and not only cope with picking up another countries/states/schools syllabus but also being on an equal footing in grades being considered for tertiary entry; the final years especially of secondary school may differ from state to state and I would check that with state education departments - for instance I know quite a few years back that the state of Victoria secondary schooling was structured on a final two years combined assessment called CATS (can't remember what that stood for) and it is quite possible that it may have changed and now at a Federal level, new Labor governement is talking up the education revolution we have to have and be interesting what impact teachers unions might have on it all as the teaching profession in Australia has developed something of a political left lean.
. So having projected what may be your best move time and where, if you're going to opt for private schooling you'll need to make enquiries in advance with schools in regard to their capacity and process for enrolling, that for state schools being more along the lines of having the right to enroll a student at the closest school.

So, hope that helps.