Good Primary schools and suburbs in/around Mulgrave area

Postcode Locality State
2756 MULGRAVE NSW
4807 MULGRAVE QLD
3170 MULGRAVE VIC

Which one?

3170 Mulgrave VIC
Didn't realize there were multiple Mulgraves!!! Speaks volumes of my ignorance, doesn't it?

And thanks!

Hello, MSO

We often get requests here such as yours about where to live in different parts of Oz, which schools to send children to, etc ....
It is very hard to know how to respond, as the assessment of what's a good school, or a good place to live, is such a subjective thing. A school I might think is wonderful might not appeal to you at all. But I think I can safely say that in that area you should have a reasonable choice of both public & private schools.
If it was me, I wouldn't make the actual choice until I was here (& knew exactly where I was going to live) & was able to visit the schools & talk to staff & administration to form my own conclusions. Really, unless one actually lives in the area or has intimate knowledge of the schools there, opinions would probably be based on hearsay or or prejudice, or reputation (none of which can be relied on as accurate indicators).

I live in Melbourne. Though in the inner-city, not in the Mulgrave area. Please feel free to ask for any information that you think I could realistically supply you with.

Good luck!

msolga

I agree with you that these choices are subjective and I have had my share of disagreement with the general opinion about 'good schools'. Perhaps I should turn that question around and ask if there are areas that we should avoid?

More specifically, I would be looking for suburbs that are not too expensive (am I dreaming when I am hoping for a modest family home under 350k?) and which have a diverse ethnic population. Would you be able to make some suggestions?

As for the schools, are there some sort of school rankings in Australia? Here in the US, I can compare my kids' public school against the rest and get a guage on the performance of the school against the average. Schools are also recognized for academic performance and so can be distinguished from the rest. Is there a similar comparison available there? I searched online but could not find anything.

Finally, do you know if there are special programs in public schools for children who are academically ahead of their peer group?

We are planning to rent initially for a few months and then buy our house but it would be ideal not to have to move the kids' school and that's why I want to make the school as the most important criteria when deciding on a suburb.

Thanks for your help!!

Hi again

I'm pretty clued up on house prices in the inner city, but not so much on the outer areas like Mulgrave. I haven't time to find them right now but there are online sites for real estate agents in Victoria. (There could well be some links in the "Australia" forum here already. Check under FORUMS at the top of the page.)

Otherwise you could do a Google search for housing sales/real estate in Melbourne, Victoria. (Domain is one that comes to mind off the top of my head. You can search by price & area/suburbs.)

In the inner-city $350 k is in the cheaper bracket. Hard to find a family size home for that price. (We've been in a "housing boom" now for years.) But like I said, I don't know about prices in the outer suburbs. They could be quite different for all I know.

Have you tried Googling "schools in the Mulgrave area"? make sure you put Victoria, Australia in your search. Many schools have their own websites & that could be a good starting point in your enquiries. You could, or course, contact schools with your specific enquiries.

There is not an official ranking system in Victoria similar to the US rankings, however most schools do publish their VCE (Years 11 & 12) results. That's often the sort of indicator parents are looking for.
Some schools have "gifted childrens' programs" & "acceleration" programs for "advanced" children (the websites should let you know if they do.) Though, personally my preference would be for a generally "good" school, rather than opting for the add-on programs.

Sorry I'm in a bit of a rush right now. I'll do a quick Google & see what I can come up with for schools for you, but I strongly recommend the internet as a good starting point for your searching. And then feel free to keep asking questions, OK?

OK, a starting point.

This is the Victorian Department of Education site (government schools). Once you start searching you'll find heaps of different sites.:

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/schoolsonline/default.asp

This wikipedia entry may be useful to help you orient yourself & for you information & searching purposes.
Completely disregard the section titled "the bogan threat". Some goose obviously thought they were being funny of clever ... or something! (poor wikipedia!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulgrave%2C_Victoria

One real estate site. There are more.
Just to give you some idea.
When you check sites make sure you include surrounding area to Mulgrave.
And keep in mind that prices are often under-quoted!


http://www.domain.com.au/public/SearchResults.aspx?mode=buy&areas=East&state=VIC&sub=Mulgrave&ssubs=0&from=0&to=0&ptdes=All%20Property%20Types

OK, this was a refined search. Maximum =$350K, 3 bedrooms & Mulgrave and surrounding area.

http://www.domain.com.au/Public/SearchResults.aspx?mode=buy&Refine=1&state=VIC&areas=East&sub=Mulgrave&ssubs=1&bedrooms=>3&from=0&to=350000&proptypes=H,S,X,T&ptdes=Houses&searchterm=Mulgrave

Is this the sort of information you're looking for?