Private schools in Sydney

I've got 2 little boys 3 & 5 years old, Just send the older one to one of the best private schools in Sydney, but I am still not sure that private schools are better than public . ATM I just want to do the best for kid as long as I can afford. but school fee (from 12K-27K Pa ) is something like I can buy one IP each year.
I know some of you guys also have kids in private. Love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for all inputs
MJ

I went to boarding school and I can say that I would never, ever send a child of mine to boarding school. They are very harsh environoments for children.

I would also not send a child as a day student to a school that has boarders.

We chose a private school (mid price range - this year $8,400) for our oldest son mainly due to his primary teacher saying he would be bullied (he was not a rough and tumble rugby type boy) at high school and that a private school would be better placed to deal effectively with the bullying (in her opinion).

My 20 year old son started when fees were $4K per annum and each year they seem to rise by $500 but this year they rose about $900 (ouch!!). We are considering paying the whole of the youngest son's school in advance at 2009 prices.

He was indeed bullied and the school dealt with it quickly and effectively. The school we chose was an anglican school with no "rah rah rugby" sporting rubbish. Many private schools seem to thrive on this "old boy" rubbish, which is not our style at all. We didn't want our boys turning into snobby toffs, which some of our private schools tend to do (generalisation, but often true).

Our second son would have fit right into a rah rah rugby school but he also went to the anglican school and is thriving also. There is enough sport that he is happy, but it was never pushed down the throat of the older boy.

Youngest son would probably fit in anywhere, but he is also going to the private school. It was a great choice and whilst I hate handing over the money, am happy to do so for such a fantastic, caring school.

Private schools

Hiya MJD

Not sure whether this helps; my son is in one of the most expensive private boys high school in Sydney (if i'm not wrong; the fee is now $24K per year).

Mind you, he's on a full scholarship; so i do not fork out a cent.

How did he get there??? he received a fantastic education at a local public school. He had parents who did not fork out ridiculous amounts of money for private school and thus had enough for his other non academic pursuits so that he is an all rounder student (plus buy one or two IPs in the process, smile smile wink wink...)

Qn: would i send him there if i were to pay the fees?

Ans: Hell, no...why should I ?? when there are equally good public schools around....you just have to check them out,,,

BTW; when the time comes, it is "understood" he has to do his part in pulling up the school's
academic standing at HSC....draw your own conclusion..

Cheers
jennifer

thanks for all your inputs guys
It 's worth to reconsider my decision, the problem is I am living in Bankstown area, I don't think there's a good public school around . and I cannot send him to the public schools outside the area I am living , can I?
Love to hear more thoughts from you guys
Thanks
Mj

Although I am not in Sydney I will still give my view on the whole Public v Private system.

My 2 primary aged boys now attend their second Private School. In NSW they attended a Private Anglican school, and on moving to Qld 2 years ago we enrolled them in a State school. They now attend a Private Anglican School.

IMHO The Public system falls well short of the care factor displayed by the teachers AND students in the Private system.

My kids absolutely LOVE their school now and attending school is a joy for them. Happy kids help make happy parents!


Sunshine

Hi MJD, as a teacher in the public system I admit I'm a bit biased.

But having said that I know there are good (and bad) public schools. I've worked in a few of each. The school I'm at now is a teachers dream. Great teachers, great kids, great parents. All resulting in one of the highest achieving public schools in the state. Our local public high school outranks many private schools (and remember they have a choice as to who they take, we don't).

You can send your children to a school outside your zone. You just go to the school you prefer and ask for an out of area form. Whether they accept out of area depends on their numbers.

Teachers are allocated on the number of students they have. If a school is close to getting another teacher they will gladly take your child. Once ones in it is generally accepted that they take siblings (in Primary School anyway). Do it soon though as numbers must be in soon. When you fill the form in do not say it's because your local school is no good. Say it's because of ease of dropping them off due to work etc.

The difficult bit is choosing a school of course.

In one area which I worked (which was a good school) some parents sent heir children to public school for infants then to private school from Year 3.

Some parents also use public schools as a babysitter as private schools won't take children until they are 5. The children do Kindergarten at the public school then do it again at the private school. Sad really as some of them I've had have been high achieving and would be totally bored doing it again. But some parents think more about the money (saving preschool fees).
Your child's future is obviously your priority. Good luck with your decision.

That's a lot of money though. Basically the curriculum for public and private schools are very similar. So that aside, what are the benefits (for you) of a private school. Many people say the discipline. Private schools can tell undesirables (and low achievers) to leave. The public system doesn't have that luxury. If there are a few schools near you ask to see their Anual Report plus speak to some parents at the school. Even walking in the school just before finishing time will give you a feel for the school.

Good luck again.
PM me if you want to discuss it further.
Lynne

travelbug said:

But having said that I know there are good (and bad) public schools. I've worked in a few of each. The school I'm at now is a teachers dream. Great teachers, great kids, great parents. All resulting in one of the highest achieving public schools in the state. Our local public high school outranks many private schools (and remember they have a choice as to who they take, we don't).

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That statement actually say a lot as to why more and more people are sending their children to private schools.

Many public schools don't have great kids and great parents and as a result the great teachers don't stay or are spending a lot of their energy on these people with social problems.

That one point is an important deciding factor because parents don't want their childrens teaching disrupted by the problems of these people or their influence to rub off on them.

If teachers are always having to deal with behaviours they are spending less time teaching which is why that particular public school does well. That and the fact that children with few if any behavioual problems will do better.

Private schools will not tolerate many behaviours and have a zero tolerance for many.

My cousin had to make this decision recently and she was very much anti private with the belief that the public schools deliver just as well. What had her finally decide on private was exactly the above issues.

MJD


We sent our 2 children to public schools paid the school resource fee of less than $100 and the kids turned out great.

Husband's twin brother sent his 4 sons to a private school.

Husband's 2 younger sisters' are sending their kids to private schools.

We live in a nice house in a nice area and our eldest has his own house and daughter will have her own unit soon.

I believe that the parents of the kids make the most difference...

I only worked casually whilst the kids where in High School as I believed that is the time kids can get into trouble.


Save yourself some money!

We sent out 3 kids to the local state high school, admittedly a school with a very good reputation. All received excellent results and had their choice of uni courses. All have completed post graduate qualifications, our son is on his second masters degree. All have a great love of learning.

There was ONE incidence of bullying with our son which was quickly and efficiently squashed by the school, in a manner which guaranteed no repercussions for our son.

Couldn't ask for more.
Marg

We send ( or sent ) our kids to Private schools and are very happy with the results . Two of our children had learning difficulties which were well addressed by the schools .

Three well adjusted ( so far ) kids who are performing well.

My middle son who did HSC , went through a phase of being very anti his school in year 9-10 , but this was probably more due to a small group of kids . There was an incident of bullying and this was acted on very quickly with good resolution and no come back . Some of the offenders independantly apologised , saying they didn't realise how what they were saying was affecting him . A good learning experience for all involved.

Stephen ended up as House captain last year and by the ended by saying he was vary glad we sent him here . Currently he's doing a gap year in England , all organised by the school.

My wife grew up in Yagoona ( next to Bankstown for those who don't know ) and her parents still life there. Bankstown has changed dramatically in the last 20 years , and not for the better .

Have you considered putting the money you'd pay for private school fees into paying for an increased mortgage some where else ? You will probably find the good public schools in the surrounding areas are very popular and hard to get into .

Cliff

thanks guys
after all different opinions from you guys, my gut's telling me that I should stick with this private school. Only start kindy for a week , my son is always happy & exciting with the big school. Financially , I agree it costs a fortune but thanks to my shares & properties porfolio, I can retire/ or work at my choice from today and still be able to fund my sons' private school fees. As I am really inspired by some of heros here in this forum with 30-50 properities , so I always try to get there ASAP.But when it comes to kids, the money we invest in them , the figures can not do the talk ...anyway , I am only 36, still got plenty of time to get there

sea change, thanks for you post . your opinion actually swichted me on for my decision. As my sons have a bit of disability, atm we havenot noticed any learning difficulty yet, but I hope not. I am also worried about a few kids with undesireable behaviors may hurt his feeling along the ways and public schools may take longer time to react. I am also living in Yagoona, I myself don't feel it bad , some of the streets with 1mil houses mark. and I just built my house 2 years ago, the kids love it. I don't think I can afford the same house in very good suburbs, may cost me 2mil or so.
thanks for sharing guys
Mj

Just be careful that your chosen school can cater for learning disorders. Not all can, or want to.

Friends of ours had the distressing experience of their second son being asked to leave his private school as "they felt they could not adequately cater for his particular needs". Needless to say the child was shattered (he was 15).
Marg

marg4000 said:

Just be careful that your chosen school can cater for learning disorders. Not all can, or want to.

Friends of ours had the distressing experience of their second son being asked to leave his private school as "they felt they could not adequately cater for his particular needs". Needless to say the child was shattered (he was 15).
Marg

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thanks Marg
I checked before I put the applicaiton in, they are good and caring. My son has a bit of hearing loss, not learning disorders. he just needs hearing aids
cheers
MJ

whatever you do, just don't choose a school with composite classes. Mostly public uses that system...it's crazy to have up to 3 different age groups in one class and a real nightmare too for teachers.

Wylie - which school do your kids go too? Hubby is a yr 1 teacher at Redeemer so I have inside scoop. I will send all my kids there. We do get staff discount. Roughly $10k a yr for 3 kids is pretty good. It's a really good school. The staff are all so friendly (he's taught at a few schools and was wuite surprised by how welcoming everyone was here), teachers get a lot of support, kids are all eager to learn and parents are nice.

You could consider Catholic education? it's much much cheaper and usually smaller school and smaller classes but the waitlist is long, often impossible to get into. They give preference to siblings, to ppl that go to their church, catholics etc

sue78 said:

You could consider Catholic education? it's much much cheaper and usually smaller school and smaller classes but the waitlist is long, often impossible to get into. They give preference to siblings, to ppl that go to their church, catholics etc

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Not usually smaller classes. Well the ones I'm familiar with anyway. The year the Dept of Education reduced Kindergarten sizes to 20 friends children in a catholic school had 28 in her class. Class size DOES matter.

MJD- it's great that they seem like a caring school but how many hours support does your child get each week.
I diagnosed a kindergarten child last year. Turned out she has quite bad hearing loss. She wears hearing aids and has an FM system. I managed to get her 4 hours 1 on 1 help in the classroom every week.

MJD said:

I've got 2 little boys 3 & 5 years old, Just send the older one to one of the best private schools in Sydney, but I am still not sure that private schools are better than public . ATM I just want to do the best for kid as long as I can afford. but school fee (from 12K-27K Pa ) is something like I can buy one IP each year.
I know some of you guys also have kids in private. Love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks for all inputs
MJ

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At ages 3 and 5, (and well into the beyond) public is just fine in most cases.

Unless there is a "keep up with the Jones" mentality in the neighborhood, but we don't subscribe to that brainlessness here at SS; do we?

Save yourself loads of money.

The parents' input into their kids education is the main difference.

As you can see, it is horses for courses. Our boys went public for primary and one of the main reasons we chose private high school for our first boy was the bullying issue, plus the fact the local schools HAVE to take the local kids who are just going to school because they HAVE to go somewhere.

The private high school we have chosen is impressive with a lovely "feel" without the elitism found at many of the private schools, but there are plenty of good public schools out there. Sometimes you have to be guided by the personalities of your kid/s. I know several families who have sent their children to different schools due to the different needs/personalities of each child.

The public high school we were considering was HUGE and many kids would just feel lost when there are nearly 2000 kids running around (my opinion - but a common feeling I have found). Our oldest boy would have been so uncomfortable in that school, but the next boy would have fit in no problems.

If you send them public for primary, you have plenty of time to see how they are developing and make your decision when it is closer, but put their names down at a couple of private schools of your choice so that you have a chance to get in if that is how you decide to go.

I get the impression that you can choose which public school your child attends in other states. If that's the case then you simply find the right school for your child in the public system.

In SA we are zoned and must go to a particular school and although you can apply to others you are not guaranteed a place and are possibly locked out of a few private schools as well as this notification of whether you have got in takes place at the end of the year prior to starting school.

Our allocated school is about 8km away (10km from the CBD) and has a terrible reputation; racial tensions, weapons found on students and many incidents of assaults inside and outside of the school grounds that have required police intervention (some reported by the media) hence we chose the private school system.

These same behaviours would never be tolerated at my childrens school. The last case of physical assault (pushing a child and pinning him to a locker 18mths ago) resulted in the child being expelled and a letter sent to all parents that this had occured reminding them of their zero tolerance to aggression policy .

My brother had to move into a zone (an IP to get to his preferred public school in the Eastern suburbs where most of the schools with good reputations are.

Elitism is alive and well in some private schools but in most cases parents want their child in a safe and nurturing school environment where their child can learn and not have these negative influences to deal with.

Parents have a huge influence but so do their peers and their environment imo.

Regarding the catchment areas, our local public primary school had such a good name for a long time, that they had to put a cap on for several years. The cap must still be on because we know two families who have rented out their own houses to move a couple of streets away (within the catchment area) and rent for six months to enable them to have documentation that they live in the catchment area.

As soon as they are in, they will move back.

Same with Brisbane State High School, which is public but in the GPS. ( went there and hated it ). I know two families who moved house to get their children in. One family involved already had a child there, but BSHS no longer has a sibling policy, so the subsequent children only get in on academic or sporting prowess.

Once the kids are in and the school has the proof they need, you can move back.

I also know that our local school in the year my youngest went was over subscribed by about 20. They started calling those outside the catchment area saying they had too many children and saying they needed to find another school, and several families accepted that. My friend did not accept it, stood her ground and they let her child stay. I have been told that they could not really have forced anybody to pick another school and if all of them said "no, we will not move school" they would have had to accommodate them, but I am not sure of this (but my friend's dad is a headmaster, so I reckon she knew she was on solid ground).