Something to keep in mind is the time frame and as you said a lot changes over that time.
The primary school we are zoned to had quite a bad rep for the first 5 years but is now getting great reviews however I want my dd to have religious studies (preferably all religions but that just doesn't happen in school) so I'm looking at catholic school and then transferring to a non catholic high most likely.
Same thing with my high school, my aunts and uncle went there and liked it, I went 10 years later and hated it, I was bullied (inside and outside school grounds by kids who lived close by and went to our school) and a blind eye was turned to it and I was sent to counselling..... In saying that there were some good programs at our school but I swore if I sent dd to a high school I went to it would be my first one (in a different suburb) but its interesting to see that my school is now ranked fairly highly internationally for its programs and is the most wanted school this side of the city (minus private schools).
I was also warned of the uni issues when I first started uni. They found that a great majority of drop outs were private sector schools because there was such a push at high school to do well additional services would be offered however you were basically on your own come uni.... I'm not sure how true that is, though studying a minor in social science we learnt kids from private high school tend to have more options as they get to uni because they have better marks and the reputation of the school by their side.
For me it frustrates me a bit because I'm a smart cookie and it was far from thanks to high school, if I couldn't be bothered putting in the time my marks reflected it, however the frustrating part is the emphasis on high school being more important than primary!!! I think the opposite. Australia is facing a literacy crisis.
Primary school is the place we learn to read, write, behave and do basic maths. Importantly IF the foundations are laid in primary school where children hate it, don't get the help and support (of parents and teachers) then it won't matter which high school you send them to, most often the damage is done. So for me I will pick my primary school after i meet teachers and see their programs but if I see problems (particularly if my dd seems to be having trouble with kids or teacher support - seeing as I spend time each day with her learning to read or doing simple maths, learning the alphabet) I will not hesitate to try her somewhere else. What works for one child won't work for another, regardless of private, public or religious status of the school.
Good luck!! We are facing the same with less choice, zoning (including the catholic schools) and while we can afford the local private Christian school we may not be able to afford 2 or 3 kids as well as school
Thanks for all your responses. Your views have given me a lot to think about.
I'm still in two minds about it but I think most likely we will be going down the public primary then private high school route.
Benefits
Cost saving. We will struggle to keep paying the fees for the next 15 years unless our income increases significantly.
Opportunity to start again socially/avoid getting pigeon-holed
Location is far more convenient
Negatives
Potentially good friends being lost
Depending on the number of new students, difficulty fitting into established social groups (question to ask when we see them!)
Better academic result for private school compared to public. I do think this depends a lot on the student though so I don't place a high importance on NAPLAN results.
I believe that kids will achieve their best if they are happy. If they are being bullied and hate going to school their results will suffer regardless of where they go. I can see the benefit of changing schools to remove the influence of bullies. I have my own experience to back it up. Years 5-7 for me were the worst of my life - a group of 4 girls who were consistent serial emotional bullies. The worst type IMO. At least 2 girls changed schools because of them. Going to high school was great for me because I got away from them - I went from public primary to private secondary and they went to public high schools. But everyone was in the same boat. That particular school started at year 8 so everyone there was new and came from a large variety of schools and even out of town as it was a boarding school. I wouldn't hesitate to change schools in this situation.
I spoke to DH and he has agreed to look at the private school that I'm favouring. I will ask about how many new students start in year 7/8 and reconsider then. I will also visit the public primary school so I can get a good feel of the culture of both schools so I can compare.
It is such a hard decision. I wish I had a crystal ball so I could see the future lol!
How important are languages? I personally really enjoyed learning languages and did german, french and japanese at school at different times. The private school I'm looking at doesn't offer any! Is that odd? I've added it to my list of questions. Maybe it is something they will introduce in time. The public school has Japanese. Far too many things to consider. One of the other private schools I was considering for 8-12 has italian, but the location is a bit of a PITA and will only get worse (one of those areas with dozens of new estates going in but limited infrastructure).
My girls' school teaches French from pre-primary, which is great from the point of view of learning a language and about another country, but I would have thought Indonesian, Mandarin or Japanese would be more useful languages to learn. I was quite surprised they didn't choose a more relevant language for Australia as opposed to sticking with tradition
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