Private school - tell me about it!

[AnyDream]

Well my dd is going to a catholic school and we are paying considerably more than that so I think those fees are extremely reasonable.

[Freya]

I think they are extremely reasonable too Mary, being that I grew up in Sydney where they charge you an arm, leg and your firstborn to privately educate your kids, esp catholic education

[njon2]

I'm a primary teacher and have just enrolled dd into a private school. I didn't like the local schools around me and was really disappointed in the students attitudes.
The few times I worked at the private christian school was all I needed to see a major difference. I am paying 3800 for 3yr old early learning with fees going up roughly 500-1000 each year.

[nickle730]

My kids are privately educated (G3 and Prep this year). I also found the size of our local public schools to be daunting. They are at a small private school and I am very happy. My kids love their school and are always happy to go. I am a big believer that kids will not learn unless they are in an environment where they feel safe and secure and our school provides that for my kids. My daughter has needed some assistance with her reading and I have been very pleased with the support of the school and the additional teaching and resources provided. If ever I have had an issue with something occurring at school, whether academic or social, I have no hesitation in approaching the school and I have always felt that I have been listened to and the response has been swift and appropriate. The school has committed teaching staff, good facilities and vast opportunities for the kids to pursue their individual interests.

I believe there are some fantastic public schools - but none of them are located in my area! I consider the money spent on school fees to be money well spent; my kids are receiving a great education in an environment where they are valued as individuals and they feel safe and loved. I'm happy to pay for that. Which is good really, as this year our fees are over $25K for the two of them!! (Pretty much average for the private school system in Melbourne.)

I say go with your gut. If you can afford the fees and you have a better feel for the Catholic school, then go for it.

[HotI]

I don't think it's as simple as Private or Public, but more looking at schools on their own merits and deciding if the benefits (of private) justify the fees etc.

This is what i was going to say.

I went to a public primary that was great, and 2 different catholic high schools- one was great, the other blah. You have to think about your child and their specific needs and what specific school will fit them best. e.g. one of my brothers was artistic and talented with his hands so the technical school was best for him. Another brother was intellectual (good at maths/science/english) and so a different school was best for him.

[Amaunet]

I don't think it's as simple as Private or Public, but more looking at schools on their own merits and deciding if the benefits (of private) justify the fees etc. Small schools (public or private) can be great and more "personal" but sometimes bigger schools allow for more specialist teachers/programs etc (ie specialist sport, art, language teachers) I've seen this in both sectors. If your child has "special needs" there can sometimes be better access to programs/funding via public schools ( we have several kids at our schools whose siblings went to local private schools but came to us (public) as they were "too hard" for the non govt sector) that said, my little brothers (foster) needed the additional "pastoral care" that the local Christian high school provided that was sorely lacking at their zoned public school When you get to high school, small can mean less subject choice etc - my bro heading into senior school is facing this problem now.

I've probably been no real help but wanted to give you my perspective

[~ Mylitta ~]

I went to a tiny public primary school (22-40 kids each year in total in the whole school. Two classrooms) and I absolutely loved it. I wish there was a school like that around now for when my kids start school, but the majority of them seemed to get closed down many years ago.

I went to a public high school and pretty much hated it. I'm quite academic and it just didn't give me what I needed. In year 12 the school was short of funds, so they decided to only pay my physics and chemistry teachers for 4 out of the 5 periods of class we were meant to have. So we basically missed out on 1/5 of our class time for both those subjects. I guess they figured year 12 wasn't really that important right? *sigh*

I guess that's one of the main reasons I really want my kids to go to a good school, and in my area the best school I've found so far seems to be a private school about 1/2 hour drive from us. I want to give them all the best opportunities that my parents weren't financially able to give us. Like your hubby, mine is not convinced about starting private in primary and would like to just start in highschool, but because the school is prep-year 12 I worry that unless you start in prep there is no chance of getting in later. I've even had to already do the expression of enrollment paperwork because the school told me people apply when pregnant! The fees there are expensive, but much cheaper than most private schools I've looked into in our area. They seem to range from about $3000 in early years and increase each year up to almost $7000 a year in year 12. I'm sure they offer discounts for subsequent siblings though. Well I certainly hope so because with this surprise baby on the way I'd hate for us to have to skip private school due to finances...

I haven't been much help. I guess I'm pretty much in the same boat as you at the moment.