Zones/districts???

[Guest lee and joanne]

Hi ,

Need advice on Primary an Secondary Schools. As I will be heading for Adelaide in June.

I have two boys 15 and 8. Help! . The more I look, the more confused I become.

We are planning on renting in the Brighton area for just a couple of weeks to begin with then look for somewhere to rent for another six months before we buy. It's so difficult to make any kind of decisions when we have never been to Aus.

 

We just can't seem to make our minds up on where to look.The Secondary school is so important as our eldest son Jack is in yr10 here in the UK. So it is essential that we find a good school for him. I have discovered that not all seconday schools teach German. I know its just a language but my son is doing really well in this subject and I would really like him to continue taking it.

We both like Glenelg and Brighton , Schools look ok but the prices of houses are quite expensive. Really don't want to be tied down with a big mortgage.

 

We also liked Golden grove and Fairview park .Then we discovered the schools don't do German as a subject.

Then we looked at Victor Harbour. Now I absolutely love this area. I know its a bit further away from the CBD.

Any, ANY advice on this would be greatly appriciated right now. Time is running out on where to go. Do you think we should just start at Brighton and look around ?Has anyone been to any of these places or has children attending any of the schools in these areas?.Please get in touch.

 

Joanne

[Rachiegarlo]

Adelaide High is a language specialist school and will probably do German. I think Unley High does German as well. It is zoned, but some of the areas it covers are still affordable. Primary schools generally do not enforce their zones unless bursting at the seams, but High schools , particularly the popular ones are very strict with their zones. I would get here and then spend time looking around the schools. There is another possibility that you choose a school you like generally and then have your son continue with German at the school of languages as an off line subject. The Ed Dept will be able to advise you on this one, but I know it's possible.

 

High schools will generally require a long term rental agreement as proof that you live within their zone and that you will continue to do so. They do this because if you live within their zone they have to enrol your child.

 

Victor is about 80 kms away from Adelaide, it booms in summer when the population grows with all the people who go down for the summer. Every year there is the Schoolies festival for those who have finished High school that year. Some locals don't like it , but the council has helped by putting on organised activities and bands etc during the weekend. There is a coach that comes to Adelaide daily and returns so if you live down there you really need a car. However it is growing rapidly down there and with the new precincts they are building it will offer a good lifestyle. You could also look at Goolwa and Port Elliot, if you like the area. Mount Compass is only about 30 mins away from them and closer to Adelaide. This is still a small rural town with an Area school(R-12), but they are beginning to build houses there.

[Guest lee and joanne]

Thanks for the info. I was hoping you were on line today. I've been reading a lot of threads regarding education and you seem to be answering alot of the them in great detail. You are very informative and I want to thank you for your help on alot of my queries which by the way you have already answered on other threads.

 

JOANNE

[Guest salisbury massive]

The suburbs you are looking at are quite far apart but i can tell you about Golden Grove and Fairview Park Schools.

 

Golden Grove teaches Spanish the website is here http://www.goldengrovehs.sa.edu.au/

Fairview Park is Banksia Park International http://www.bpihs.sa.edu.au/ Banksia Park teach German from year 8. Modbury High also teaches German http://www.modburyhs.sa.edu.au/

you could probably get a place (if they have one) at any of these schools but saying you are in temporary accomodation but will be renting or buying in the area. If you are in Brighton you won't want to be commuting for school as its about an hour each way to the above schools.

Brighton has very good schools by all accounts

Brighton High School http://www.brightonss.sa.edu.au/ also

Adelaide High School in the City http://www.adelaidehs.sa.edu.au/ Henley Beach High School might also be a possibility if you decide to stay down south

http://www.henleyhs.sa.edu.au/

 

you have 3 months to enrol at a school after you get here which will give you a bit of time to have a look round at all the schools in the area. Once you are in at a school you keep the place, moving out of the zone does not mean you have to move schools and your youngest will get sibling rights to any High School your eldest attends. We have school holidays here for the end of term 2 starting on 4th July and going back to school on the 21st July. If you are coming in June, that should give you plenty of time to look around and potentially start them at the beginning of term 3 if you wanted to.

 

If you want any more info on Primary schools that feed into the High Schools I've mentioned just let me know.

 

Jo

[Rachiegarlo]

Some more schools that do German.

 

Blackwood High ( also does IB MYP and Baccalaureate if your son is interested in that) This area is still affordable and has a good choice of good primary schools that also begin the IB MYP in yr 6.The high school has a lot of new facilities and a rec centre that is also used by the community.

 

Aberfoyle Park High, similar to Blackwood re affordable housing.

Glenunga International High School in Glenunga, does the IB programme. Lots of International students here.

 

Mount Barker High in the hills. Mt Barker is rapidly growing and is the hub for that area in the hills. It's about 30 mins away from the city.

 

Unley High, one of the old traditional academic high schools, when there were still technical schools. The zone includes some of the hills suburbs around Belair, where the houses are cheaper than in Unley area.

 

Norwood Morialta, in the eastern suburbs. Very big school split into 2 campuses- yrs 8-10 at Morialta and yrs 11-12 at the Norwood site.

 

Parafield Gdns and Ross Smith secondary.

Charles Campbell secondary school in Campbelltown area.

 

There may be more in the South.

 

If you can want it there are some private schools too that do German.

 

I would look at these schools and narrow down a few to look at when you get here.

[Guest Zippy]

Just a suggestion (which somebody touched on), no matter which school your child is enrolled in, they can do a language at the "school of languages" either externally (through telephone, internet, etc), or by attending the campus once or twice a week for face-to-face classes with other students (usually flexible - sometimes in the day, sometimes in the evenings).

This way you can get your son in to what you believe is the best school, even if it does not offer German.