Debbie Medhurst Posted August 3, 2014 Report Share Posted August 3, 2014 Good evening all, I have hardly been on and asked questions for the fear of being silly, I have searched through the questions but cannot find the answer. Here goes, Myself and my family are leaving England on the 19th November, its creeping around really quickly, having a few wobbles about generally fitting in etc.... One of my main worries is Education, how does it differ from England. What type of subjects, lessons do they study? Do they do initiatives like certificates for good work?. School trips where do they go? Jack is 12 and has just started Senior School and had a terrible time adjusting (boys for you) ... He had speech therapy in the infants and still has extra lessons in English Literature. Sophie who will be 11 on the other hand is a bright spark and excels in everything she can and tries really hard. Both represented our local county at school by doing cricket and athletics. So I understand Perth is very big on sports not a problem. I was wondering if any of you had concerns about settling in with schools and friendships. Hoping to move to a school with a friendly neighbourhood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edna Posted August 3, 2014 Report Share Posted August 3, 2014 Good evening all, I have hardly been on and asked questions for the fear of being silly, I have searched through the questions but cannot find the answer. Here goes, Myself and my family are leaving England on the 19th November, its creeping around really quickly, having a few wobbles about generally fitting in etc.... One of my main worries is Education, how does it differ from England. What type of subjects, lessons do they study? Do they do initiatives like certificates for good work?. School trips where do they go? Jack is 12 and has just started Senior School and had a terrible time adjusting (boys for you) ... He had speech therapy in the infants and still has extra lessons in English Literature. Sophie who will be 11 on the other hand is a bright spark and excels in everything she can and tries really hard. Both represented our local county at school by doing cricket and athletics. So I understand Perth is very big on sports not a problem. I was wondering if any of you had concerns about settling in with schools and friendships. Hoping to move to a school with a friendly neighbourhood. Good question, looking forward to the replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy little Vegemite Posted August 3, 2014 Report Share Posted August 3, 2014 I can't really comment on high schools and subjects etc. as my kids are a lot younger, but it was one of my concerns about moving, how well they would settle and make friends. It was heartbreaking the first few weeks seeing my happy confident little 6 year old in tears because he was unsure about his new school, but thankfully it didn't last too long, we've been here for a term now and I was chuffed to bits last week when he brought home an invitation to a birthday party. Surprisingly to me, especially since he has Australian family, one of the things he really seemed to struggle with to start with was the accent and different turn of phrases used here that he couldn't understand, something I hadn't given any consideration to at all. The size of the school was a problem for him too, coming from a small village primary school where he knew everyone to a school at least twice it's size, bit of a culture shock, but one that I was expecting. The primary schools I have seen all seem to have a pretty good community feel about them, assemblies every couple of weeks where a different class performs a play or something similar and honour certificates are handed out to recognise good work, a couple per class, seem to be the norm. I am not sure there is much advice to offer other than try not to let it bother you right now and make sure to give them lots of time, understanding, love, cuddles and support while they adjust once you get here Do you know whereabouts you'll be moving to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJT Posted August 3, 2014 Report Share Posted August 3, 2014 @DebbieMedhurst Firstly on here no question is a silly one. We have all been in the position you are now in or some of us are still in that position, and as it is such a huge thing you are doing sometimes things can seem magnified, I remember loosing sleep over the stupidest of things, when a quick question on here and someone would have answered it for me and most of us are very friendly, so please anytime you have a question, just post and someone will come along and try to help. I have three children and two of them are in High School and have settled in very well. For your aged children they have more choices than what the public schools do in England. When they are in years 9 and 10, they get to chose what options they would like to do for both semesters (there are two semesters in each school year covering two ten week terms each) and each semester they study different topics. They still do the English, Maths, Science and languages, but next year, he will be in year 9 my middle child has chose to do media, robotics, computer applications and specialised soccor, so it gives them a chance to see what they like before they chose their big options for year 11. I really wish and so does my eldest who was 14 when we arrived, wished he could have started high school a lot earlier, as he feels that he has missed out on a lot and the system is much better here than back in the UK, and a couple of friends also feel the same. Most public high schools have advanced education programs for those that can excel at some things, some schools do sciences, so do music and so on, so depending on what your daughter really wants to do would maybe help chose what high school would suit her, obviously there is the private school route, and there are lots of those here. We never knew my daughter had a thing for music until she came here, they picked it up in primary school during a normal music lesson, and she is now on a music program playing the cello, which she loves. They reward good behaviour here and also let you know quite quickly if there is something wrong. They have excursions like they do in the UK, last year my eldest went to a water park for the day. Sport is a big thing here, every term there is a school carnival of something, whether it be swimming, athletics, netball, football, cricket, baseball, most sports are covered here and there are clubs everywhere. Also unlike the UK, most schools are use to having new children turn up on a weekly basis and have the resources and staff to help them fit in. I do not regret bringing my children here, I just wish I had done it a lot sooner. And don't forget any questions just ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walkabout Posted August 3, 2014 Report Share Posted August 3, 2014 Wow, Ok this is a tricky one as it is so subjective. I think if you are in a great school in the UK and your kids a thriving your expectations will be very different to those whos children are not in a great school and not doing so well. Technically (so I am repeatedly told) I believe there is currently a big push to try to get the australian curriculum up to the same standard as the UK. Practically, for me, my kids are doing far better in school here than they were in the UK and the work seems to be beyond what there were doing at simiilar ages back hoime. Subject wise it is pretty much the same as the UK, the main difference for us is that they do different foreign languages (given the proximity to Aisa rather than Europe) although there are schools that do French or German so it does depend where you go. As with the UK if you do your research and pick a school that works for you, you should find that your children settle and fit in and that their needs are catered for. Going and visiting and asking questions is the only way you will really be able to sus this out (in my opinion!). One thing we have found here though is that they are very used to people coming and going, and as a result all the people we have met are very accepting of new students and families. Education is a big worry for many of us when making the move, but do your research and go with what is right for your family and you should be fine. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikkiwd Posted August 4, 2014 Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 I can't really say too much about whether the Aussie system is better as my daughter (7 so younger than your kids) only started school a few weeks ago. So far she has fitted right in and hasn't had any major problems at all. I have noticed that the curriculum is very different to her small village school in the Scotland, here she has separate science, computing, creative art and chinese lessons, with teachers who specialise in the subjects and classrooms kitted out for them. Before we came she was in a small village school considered one of the best in our county although it only had 5 classrooms. There the range in subjects they did wasn't as varied and it was just the normal teacher that taught everything, they also had more toys and fun things in the classroom and got to have a bit of play time in the classroom which sometime meant kids getting distracted during teaching time. So far there is more emphasis on learning and sport here which I think is a good thing, my daughter just needs to get used the system. After her first day she came home shocked that there wasn't any play time in the classroom! I do believe that the schools here get to choose their own curriculum though so you will find different schools specialise in different things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted August 4, 2014 Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 My daughter (now at UWA) had started HS in the UK before coming here and going into the last year of primary school. She didn't see it as going back, as far as she was concerned it was year 7 and just happened to be at Primary school. The principle had been great and got her a pen pal before she came and made sure they were in the same class. We didn't know anything about the academic extension programmes (which you usually apply for the year before), but the school got in touch with the HS and recommended her for the programme. She sat some exams and was accepted into the programme. My son loved primary school - got a buddy on his first day of year 2 and they're still firm friends in year 9. He is different to my daughter - more sporty and outgoing and we've been lucky that we have a HS on our doorstep which has catered for their individual needs. The choice of options during years 9 and 10 have been fantastic in meeting those needs - my daughter chose things like drama, fine art and media, whilst my boy does extra phys ed, mechanical workshops (he can strip an engine now), photography and woodwork. Our school offers French and Japanese. Like anywhere there will be good and bad schools - it's about finding the right ones that will meet the needs of your child. Our school also has a special education centre attached, whenever possible these pupils are in main stream classes and there is a lot of acceptance and tolerance about difference which is lovely to witness. I'd like to think that my children would have achieved had we stayed in the UK because they went to good schools which were able to nurture their different academic styles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
<Dan> Posted August 4, 2014 Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 Thank you all for your replies (Debbie is my wife) and I know she was reading this too! so this will help ease her (our) worries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Medhurst Posted August 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2014 What an overwhelming response, I shall indeed post more on this site. Thank you, I am indeed feeling more relaxed and happier . Thank you so much . It couldn't of come at a better time as today we had guests over from Perth. We are hoping to move to Canning Vale so if anybody is close would be nice to catch up.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest6235 Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 Depends what you want sometimes. My opinion is that there is a too much pressure on children these days from a very early age to start hitting targets. Anything that let's them be children for that little longer suits me. This doesn't mean I don't want her to learn though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arwen Posted September 26, 2014 Report Share Posted September 26, 2014 I prefer Australia to UK. In my experience they educate the whole child not just on an academic level, certainly in primary years. I have no experience of secondary education in the UK. Although I was speaking to a friend on Facebook this week and she was telling me how the teaching is changing in Kindy and PP. She said it was becoming more like she remembered the UK and didn't like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Medhurst Posted September 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 I do apologise for not replying straight away, I am not really computer literate in any way, trying to use this site. I was humbled to read your reply and could relate. We are moving about 30 mins from Perth to a place called Canning Vale. We have friends there so we want to move close by to help us settle in and adjust to Australian life style. I have been told to look for the local market. So this is one of the many FIRST many things to do when we land. It must of been hard to adjust and heart breaking the first couple of weeks for you all as a family, you sound like you have a very strong family unit and a lot of love to give. I am pleased for your little boy to get a party invitation and hope by reading this he has lots more!.. I am enthusiastic about them starting school and welcome the new education system I am pleased the curriculum is different from the UK as the system can be difficult and the school should concentrate on children and not the reports they have to do. Australian Schools sounds to me concentrate more on the children then the Ofsted Reports over here. I am really looking forward to mingling in with the school and helping out where i can . Thank you for your advice long may you have a happy fulfilling life . Thanks for your help and advice again Debbie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie Medhurst Posted September 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 I am no expert in anyway way shape or form, however hearing the replies from the members, it does come across as the Australian education concentrates on the children and not the Ofsted Reports. Makes sense to me to concentrate on the childs individual wellbeing surely? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted September 27, 2014 Report Share Posted September 27, 2014 (edited) I think if your child has been in Education in the UK (and you went through education there too), it's hard not to compare initially. I was astounded that my son wasn't bringing homework home every Friday night like he was in the UK ... my hubby commented that when you think about it, in the UK at Year 2 (when we moved) he was brining several A4 sheets (doubled sided) home to do at the weekend. His teacher here in year 3 told us that she would only asked for uncompleted work to be done at home or if they had a project - as she saw it, they came to school (as we go to work) and she made them work hard - she said that like their parents they were entitled to enjoy their down time and be kids - and work them hard she did. I've mentioned before that my hubby struggled that my son just went into class when they arrived at school - no regimented 'stand still on the first bell', line up on the second and walk quietly into class. Here it was so much more relaxed - it probably took us longer than my son to adjust. Edited September 28, 2014 by ali Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugsyburrell Posted September 28, 2014 Report Share Posted September 28, 2014 We have two in primary and one in secondary since we arrived Dec last year. All have progressed well and would echo ali's comments that primary is much more relaxed. Our eldest, 13, had a taste of secondary in the uk and has said she prefers the secondary education system here in oz as "they are more focused and equipped to teach the lessons they have been educated in"(when did my little girl get so big? But, she has found it more difficult on a social level. Our verdict of what we've seen so far goes to the Aussie education system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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