kids n schools!

[madmum]

Hi, i was wondring if anyone could tell me what the schools are like in Oz?
I have 4 children my eldest has only one yr left at her junior school and was hopefully looking for a placement at a girls gramma school, does Oz have gramma schools, is there an acheivement band? Any info on schools in general would be helpful. My eldest is 10 then i have an 8 yr old, 2 yr old, and a 1 yr old, oh thats a point what about nurserys what age do they start what are fees like over there?
Aaarrgghhhh!!!!! there is just so much to think about, please help me x

[cmallon]

Hi, not sure if this will be much help as I don't have kids in school yet but we have family already over there who do and I have been trying to look into it a bit myself for when we go, my little boy is 2. They do have private as well as public schools and they also have separate boys and girls schools as well. One of our nephews is already in school and he started kindergarten when he was 4, I think they can also go at 3 but they had to wait due to when they arrived. Our other nephew is only 1 so goes to private nursery and the fees they pay are just a little bit cheaper than what we pay (£30 per day). You could also look at childminders. There is a site called schools-australia (com.au at the end of that, I can't put full links in) which has some info on it. From what I have heard the school system is really good although even with the public schools you have to contribute by paying for their school books and pay towards it if they have people visiting to put on a show or something like that. Hope that helps a little

[Hazel]

I have had my daughter in both a private and then a state school - in that order. They are both excellent but as far as I'm concerned the state school is just as good (she's 6 and in a state school and will be from now on). I am so amazed by how organised the school is and how they really care about the kids. The level of education is excellent too. I have heard that not all state schools are as good as the one my daughter is in...it seems to depend on the area..... All I know is that I am one very happy mum. The reasons we changed schools were because the private school we chose was too far away from where we ended up living PLUS our expenses were just accumulating soon after arrival that we knew we wouldn't be able to keep up..you'd be surprised how your savings just dwindle away on what feels like nothing....Then when we were looking around for another school we found this school but it was so neat looking and the name sounded so smart that we thought it was a private school. We didn't even consider it but then we were told by a neighbour that it's a state school. Good luck! It's daunting, I know!!