Finding Schools

[annie]

Hello, we are a family with 4 children aged 14,12,9 and 7. we are planning on moving to perth in August this year. I have been reading this forum and have never posted anything before. i am looking for advice on good schools. So far the schools that come up as being particularly good are shenton, churchlands and rossmoyne high school. the first two are in rentals that are up on 1,000 a week!!!!! I also need to find a primary school but am particularly interested in getting the secondary sorted first. we cannot afford private school. my 12 year old attends ctyi gifted programs here so he might be elligible for a gate program at one of the schools but not sure if hes too late/old to start that. My preference would be to live cycling distance to the beach. but main thing is to get the kids sorted. Then i can relax a bit. I've become such an irish 'mammy'!!!! Any idea/ was hoping to get rental for 500/600 a week. tthanks, annie

[bevoir76]

I've heard the quinns rock area has great schools, close to beach and 30 min on the train to the city xx

[ali]

Willeton is an excellent school, my daughter is at Leeming SHS and was in the AEP - Academic extension programme, from years 8 - 10 (they then chose their options anyway) neither Rossmoyne or Willeton are near beaches though

[Chook]

John XXIII College is worth consideration. Although it does come under the private banner, it is not nearly as expensive as many of the others and it would be a good option for your older children. The details and fees can be found on their website - www.johnxxiii@edu.au. It is situated in Mount Claremont where there is a very good local State Primary School as well. Close to the beach and many popular playing fields. Rental properties in this area are varied so keep an eye on www.realestate.com.au and www.reiwa.com.au.

[Jackie&Stevie]

I've heard the quinns rock area has great schools, close to beach and 30 min on the train to the city xx

The state high school in that area is Mindarie Senior High which is for Yr10 -Yr12, prior to that the kids usually go to Kinross High which finishes in yr 10. They both have a very good reputation. There is also Kinross Primary which i believe is also good. These are all within easy reach of the beach :)

[Arwen]

The state high school in that area is Mindarie Senior High which is for Yr10 -Yr12, prior to that the kids usually go to Kinross High which finishes in yr 10. They both have a very good reputation. There is also Kinross Primary which i believe is also good. These are all within easy reach of the beach :)

Kinross would be out of boundary for Quinns Rocks, Clarkson SHS would more than likely be the boundary school for Quinns. They are building a new high school in Butler so parts of Quinns may well fall under that catchment too.

[Jackie&Stevie]

I've not heard ANYTHING good about Clarkson SHS.

My friends daughter goes to Kinross and is going to Mindarie Senior next year. They live in Carramar.
I know MS is not your average state high school. There is a waiting list and fees are higher than normal state schools.

[New Life Down Under]

I've not heard ANYTHING good about Clarkson SHS.

My friends daughter goes to Kinross and is going to Mindarie Senior next year. They live in Carramar.
I know MS is not your average state high school. There is a waiting list and fees are higher than normal state schools.

My children are at Churchlands Primary School and one is going to Churchlands High School next year. You can get your children to sit for the Gifted and Talented places, look at the Dept of Education website and then they do not need to live in the boundary to attend one of these schools. Churchlands High School runs an academic extension programme which is reputed to be excellent. You pay $50 to sit the test and if they pass and get a place on the programme again they can be out of area. Churchlands also offers a gifted and talented music specialist programme. Other top state schools are Willeton, Shenton, Rossmoyne all recently did well in the polls.

[Arwen]

I've not heard ANYTHING good about Clarkson SHS.

My friends daughter goes to Kinross and is going to Mindarie Senior next year. They live in Carramar.
I know MS is not your average state high school. There is a waiting list and fees are higher than normal state schools.

If you are out of boundary they do not have to take you. If there are spaces it is at the discretion of the Principal as to whether he accepts an out of boundary application.

[annie]

Hello, thanks for your replies. this is really such an amazing site. it really is an amazing thing how people generously give feedback to complete strangers. its lovely and especially when we have concerns, fears and of course those times when we are really excited but cant talk about it in front of people we may be leaving behind. Thank you so much for responding to my query re finding suitable schools. I am a little bit concered jackie & Stevie that you mentioned the fees for state schools. i thought there was no cost but a small fee of around 100 dollars. But my sister in melbourne says she pays 1,000 a year for her children who are in a state school. so can anyone tell me what the fees for state schools in perth are. i do like the sond of rossmoyne as they have a good selection of languages. French seems to be the extra language in most school but my older boy who would be year 10 (15 in march) has been learning german. we live in Ireland and the children take 7 subjects for their final 2 years of secondary so a language is essential. its probably totally different in OZ and he may not need to do a language. i will look at all of the areas mentioned. the reason i have been looking at shenton, rossmoyne and churchlands is that they are rated very high when i do google searches. i know its a bit basic but i dont know perth or anyone living there. I would really like to live close to the beach if possible and close to the centre. thank you to everyone. also some ideas of what i should expect to pay in rent would be great. we have 4 children so will need 4 beds. dont care about garage or amount of bathrooms really.