schools- public or private in Sydney

Hi.

Yes there are a lot of private schools in Sydney.

This site has a complete list and search function.

There is not much information out there on how 'good' schools are. That type of information is kept secret as much as possible to avoid stigmatising underperforming schools. What information is available is not very useful and more likely to mislead than enlighten.

A lot of children do go to private schools in sydney, however for the more prestigous GPS, CAS schools there is often a very large waiting list. In order to have much hope of getting your child into one of these schools his or her name really should have been placed on the list when they were only 2yrs old or younger. The demand to get into these schools is very high.

examples of GPS schools: SHORE, Kings, St Ignatius

examples of CAS schools: Knox, Barker, Trinity

If you cannot get your child into one of these GPS/ CAS schools I suggest another private school, a catholic school or a public selective school such as Normanhurst Boys, North Sydney High.

As for girls schools the prestigious private girls schools are abbotsleigh, plc, loreto, wenona, queenwood, ravenswood, bridgidine, tara and sceggs redlands.

Public schools are generally still alright however they do not perform anywhere near as well as the prestigous private schools or selective schools

Hi

The schools you mentioned are they all senior schools or do they generally take children from 5 ?

Thanks

Most of those mentioned take kids from about 5.

Where you live may well play a big part in where you send the kids to school. The local public schools may be just great. It's all very nice sending your kids to a great private school, but if they have to travel over an hour each way, or use multiple transport modalities, then I don't think there's much sense in it.

moving to sydney
I need help with schooling information. Does anyone out there know the difference in the fee structure for public and private schools. Also, any recommendations on GOOD public schools in Northern Sydney? My daughters are in Kindergarten and Primary 1(5 and 7).

Also, does anyone out there know how long the drive from Cherrybrook area to North Ryde is? My husbands office is in North Ryde but we would like to live in a more 'residential area instead of down town. Any suggestions of nice subrubs (with good schools) that is less than 45 minutes drive from North Ryde?

Public schools are supposed to be free - but incur some costs. Private schools are not free - and thus incur many costs.

Can't comment on particular schools - kid free zone - or travel times in suburbia - inner west resident.

Enjoy Sydney!

Hey,

North Ryde is very residential, it just has a buisness park. There is Ryde, Ryde East, West Ryde and North ryde. All are very residential. Also, I suggest Droyymoyne (sorry for the shocking spelling), great area, so is haberfield. To be honest, about 80% of Sydneys suburbs are located within 45 minutes drive to North Ryde.

Hi There,

I migrated to Sydney from the UK last year and am thinking of sending my son to a Catholic School as this appears cheaper than a private school.

Does anyone out there know of any good information resources to research catholic schools?

Thanks,

I live in North Ryde, for Public Schools in North Ryde I'd suggest Truscott street, our eldest son is Sam - 10 yrs old - we took him out to go to St. Andrews in the City to get a better education. Our other two kids went to Montessori educaton for 3 years then Truscott's till age 10 then into private schools is our plan!

Public schools are largely free - say $120 per annum per child - St. Andrews probably costs $1200 per annum and is a very good private school.

Best Schools are the selective ones that go on merit - but asian families hire coaches 7 * 24 to get their kids in - sad really!

True.

I attend Hornsby Girls' H.S. and 38 out of the 120 students in my year are not asian; all of my friends in save three in my group of 19 were coached to get in; out of those 19, 6 had to continue their coaching to be able to keep up with the work we were doing.

It's sad that coaching exists - that's my view anyway.

Private schools are probably best for a child who needs good facilities to be able to enjoy learning. If they are interested in filming, drama, music, the arts, sports etc. then a private school can provide the best facilities for them. If they are interested in playing in a band then most public schools do have very good bands and tend to participate in more competitions with other schools than private schools do.

If you'd prefer a school where students focus more on the core subjects and can learn at their own speed, you'd want to look for one with streaming within the grades and subjects. Most schools now stream their maths classes starting in years 8 and 9, but only some stream their science, history or geography classes.

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driving from cherrybrook to north ryde can take between 15 and 20 minutes depending on the traffic.

Heaps of people go to private schools but heaps also go to public schools
i go to a public school and there is nuthing wrong with it but my sister went to a private school an all girls school and while the actual schools are very different we compared our friends and found that there is not a big difference to people at her school and peaople at mine
BUT it may depend on wich public school i am lucky to go to a school like mine

schools n sydney
hi there,could anybody help me? It seems that i can get a scolarship in sydney for one year. we live in hungary, europe and we have six children.3 of them have to go to shool. what are the possibilities?

your options are state or private (much more expensive). If you're on a scholarship, then state schools are probably the go.

Which school depends on where you live - schools normally only take from their local area, unless they are some sort of special schools.

So - you first need to decide where you want to live, what's convenient, and then look at the schools available.

I too am looking for a good school for my daughter, age 8, We are moving from LA to Sydney in a couple months. I am looking particularly for one that gives attention to kids who struggle with dyslexia. Any suggestions?

Sydney's far too big to offer suggestions unless you indicate where you're likely to be

We are thinking about the Surry Hills, Paddington area. But it would mostly depend on where the best school for her is.

Public v Private
I am currently a student at a NSW Selective school and have many friends going through the private school system. I totally believe that selective schools should remain in tact for GAT students and that children should be encouraged to try out for selective schools as my education, I believe, is far more accelerated than many of my private school friends and so much more enriched. And pupils who don't make it into selective schools should not stop trying if it is their goal to attend, many selective schools accept entrants right up until year 12 however a different method is used to determine which students are allowed in (and it is usually far more lenient than the entrance exam, usually a portfolio of report cards, awards etc is required and perhaps in some cases interviews.) But in any case, I URGE ALL PARENTS to first attempt to send their children to selective schools rather than private ones, sure it makes sense to have your child's name on a private school waiting list as positions are highly sought after but just because your child is guaranteed a position there doesn't mean the opportunity to attend a selective school should be ignored. They may not be as prestigious but my school is like my utopia. The experiences and knowledge I have gained there is SO invaluable.

dyslexic school in Sydney 15k radius of Mortlake
I am considering returning to Australia but have never lived in Sydney.
I have a 12 yo boy with dyslexia who is struggling with mainstream school
here in the UK.Can anyone recommend an appropriate school for him,
he is very strong in music and art.

cheers

yeah some do... but a lot don't...

i have a family of 5 kids, all went thru a selctive school. none got tutoring and all did really well in hsc...

there's probably about a 50:50 ratio of kids who got tutoring and those who didn't to get their kids in... and those who did..i dunno..sad isn't te best word for it since the success rate of the schools speaks for itself.... my school's median UAI was 98+....