Moving with 15 year old , advice re schools and exams

[Blueskytoday]

Hi all

 

tamara I noticed you moved with teenagers, we have a 15 year old daughter who will be starting in final year of school in sept2016.

We are concerned about disrupting her high school education and exams.

 

we also have an 11 year old .

 

Any advice about the school system in aus would be great. Also any advice re areas , schools.

 

 

thanks

[snifter]

If she is keen to attend uni here once you've moved I'd research the entry requirements for uni (most kids here attend uni in the city they live in and seem to remain living at home for the duration, kids from the country go to one of the cities etc, some kids go to other cities but most seem to stay put till after uni is done) and see if her UK exam passes will be useful or if an IB may be a better option or something else.

 

Its an awkward age to move teens as exams in the UK and upcoming in Aus a bit after can mean she isn't up to speed with the more Aus centric subjects if they were taken or had to be taken. High school here is Y8-12 and Y11 and 12 are the years to focus on for your daughter I guess as kids will sit SACE exams at the end.

 

Have a look round the SA schools website http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/ and read the info there.

 

Have a read of this also

 

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

 

One or two links in it have expired but a good one, the My School website will prove useful.

 

All state high schools are zoned so picking the right area for the right school will be important.

 

Personally if it were me and within the budget at that age when making the move I'd go for closer to the city (ie suburbs around the parklands like Unley, Norwood and around those that get you into the zone for one of those schools) and/or easternish suburbs for the higher achieving state schools or not worry about the location and opt for private to a good one wherever. Also consider Urrbrea high school as it may offer something to interest your daughter if agriculture/technology/environment appeal. Its the only high school not zoned http://school.urrbraelive.com/

 

The choice of areas for schooling is of course subjective and others may well not agree with me There are some lovely areas elsewhere, I don't dispute that but IMHO if the education is important or you want IB check out what schools offer it and research them carefully http://www.exfin.com/ib-schools-australia

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

Where to live and quality of surrounding schools is a very important subject.

 

Before I moved here I was spending a third of our income sending my teenagers to very good schools.

We decided that they would attend public schools in Adelaide.

My youngest son was more suited to a trades based schooling and our local area / school was perfect for him. My daughter wanted to do business management and the local TAFE was perfect for her.

 

It's a balance between where I would like to live and whether that area provides decent education.

 

I am now looking at schools all over again for grandchildren! The oldest is almost 9 and there's a mixture of government and private in the local area. For private schooling i'm looking at Woodcroft College, Cardijn or Tatachilla. For government maybe Willunga high school. I still have a couple of years and it depends upon a few other family / health issues.

 

Before moving here I did the usual searches and we settled upon Brighton. I even rented a furnished home in the Marino area for a few months (turned out to be outside the zone!) but it wouldn't have been right for my kids so things worked out ok. I bought a house in Port Noarlunga within a few weeks of being here and the schools / trade schools served OUR particular needs perfectly.

My grandchildren attended the local primary and were happy there...they were moved by one of their parents when the renovations (nation building school project) was taking place and they now attend Old Noarlunga primary school which has around 120 pupils in the entire school and is 10 minutes away.

Each to our own I guess.

Arrive, explore, visit areas and schools, decide where you would be happy living and don't be in too much of a rush