Public v Private

[Rowellen]

I think it depends on the individual school. If money was no object I'd be sending my kids private. Especially for high school. I went to the local high school where I am and I flat out refuse to send my kids there. DH went there too and he can't see a problem with it but he never went anywhere else to compare it too. It's an ongoing arguement in our house. The local primary school has a pretty good rep & when I compared it to other nearby private primary schools, their results were similar so we'll be sending our kids to a public primary school. I'd still rather they go private but it is really not financially viable. The school I'd like them to go to charges $8K just for tuition for prep and it goes up as the child gets older . It's a long drive away too, about 25 mins drive for private compared to 5 min walk for public.

[Ginger]

if money was no object i'd be sending my kids to private school from kindergarten.
unfortunately money is an issue so i have booked them in to start at year 5.
i can only speak for our local area- but i feel that the private school has a better culture for achieving and is much better resourced.

[LuluHB]

I definitely think the area and school comes into it, and for that reason my girls are going private from kindy. The difference between what my kids are learning and the kids I know who are going to public kindy and preprimary is enormous. I also prefer the discipline of the private school, the extra curricular - the focus on community etc. The facilities are superior, there are smaller classes and the teachers are truly accountable for their standard of teaching

Its not fun paying 14 years of private fees x3, but we feel the sacrifices we are making to do it are well worth it.

[onthefly]

We'd still go public, I think. There's more to education than schooling.

[Phteven]

Money isn't an issue. We send our children to public school.

They couldn't get the education that they are getting in their public school in the private system. It's not just the academic things that I love about the school. I also love the fact that bullying isn't something that my children need to deal with and that they spend their time with children from a wide range of backgrounds.

Most private schools are run by religious organisations. Despite the fact that I do belong to one of the major religions I don't really think that religion belongs in schools.

[Jaycee]

Most private schools are run by religious organisations. Despite the fact that I do belong to one of the major religions I don't really think that religion belongs in schools.

I agree with this Onyx, I went to a private highschool and honestly, RE was a waste of time (I am only stating this from an academic point of view!)