Advice on the best primary school in woodville/ st clair area

[Tymoor]

Hi

 

I would appreciate your feedback on the best public primary school in Woodville /St Clair areas, my son is 5 years old, and i living in St clair area, considering area zone i was wondering which is the best primary school to enrol him in.

 

Thanks

[snifter]

I'm not really familiar with that area.

 

Have you checked the schools out? Taken the tours? Most are running them or have run them over the course of this year for Jan/Feb 2016 reception intake.

 

There is this thread with links to education info, NAPLAN results and more. I'd not put too much into the NAPLAN results, but look more at the other things on the MySchool website such as school finances, staff numbers etc.

 

http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/kids-down-under/44624-useful-links-schools-primary-high-school.html

 

A lot of it is going to come down to what you like/don't like about a school when you visit it. People can get a totally different feel for a school (or anything) so what appeals to one won't another.

 

When we were looking (when planning to buy a house so had options as to what areas to look at) to make my list shorter I went with the top ranked 100 schools and done with it. Anything ranked outside of that I didn't rule in just because I wanted to focus on a shorter list and to narrow down the areas we looked at buying a home in. We also had ruled out a coastal suburb to live in so all those were off my list too which narrowed it down a bit more. So yeah, while I said don't pay too much attention to ranking and I've just said I did, I didn't as such, just picked number and set about looking at schools that were within that. I could have gone 50, 75, 100.. end of the day it was just to give me a starting point and if I'd not found the school for us within that, I'd have expanded out.

 

I wanted a principal who was progressive, not just going with the flow or giving the impression of coasting or the school not improving or at least maintaining a good standard, a well established sporting programme, good IT, modern facilities and in an area I liked. Also good parental input, fundraising etc. We ruled out one school we liked as it was on a busy main road and before we bought ruled another one out we were not keen on for the same thing, plus the fact it had 750 plus pupils on a very small patch of land. I didn't want such a large number as I was concerned mine would get lost in amongst it all. We ended up at a school that had about 300 to begin with, then moved schools midway through Y1 to a school with 500 or so. Happy with the 500 as the kids in Y6 & 7 are in a different area with their own space and so on but do mingle at lunch and recess etc. It doesn't feel big nor do I feel my child is getting missed or lacking for attention from teachers etc.

 

Go book in on some school tours. If you live in an area where state primaries are zoned, obviously the zone you live in, that school has to accept you. Hopefully its a school you really like and get a good feel for. The other schools in different zones do not have to accepts kids from outside the area but depending on intake numbers may take some kids from outside their zone, however, if there is a big demand, may be a long list waiting. If schools are not zoned and you opt for one further away than the one closest to you, they may well advise you to consider that school first but should not refuse to take your child if you do wish to send them there. Just they are obligated to direct you to consider your nearest school first.

 

Schools further afield, consider friendships, playdates, drop offs and pick ups in rush hour etc. Also if a school is within walking distance is always a plus point in my book.

[Tymoor]

Thank you for these information, its not easy to find a good school as you mentioned many factors need to be considered such as school ranking, school zone, school bullying, how far it is from home and the list goes on