The time has come where your Brisbane Kid is now a teen and ready to start seriously thinking about their future.
Finding the right highschool to match your own family values and needs, as well as a school who offers the classes required for your child’s potential career, are points that you need to consider when you start looking. Once you know the type of classes that they are interested in, such as the more academic or trade related, you can find schools who are more focussed in those directions.
If you are looking to send your Brisbane Kid to a private highschool then you should be enquiring in some cases as soon as the child is born. All private schools in Brisbane have different terms and conditions as well as priorities for enrolment. Some will also provide scholarship opportunities for academic or sporting excellence.
Other things you may want to consider when choosing a highschool are
- Convenience to home
- Public transport options
- Reputation
- Academic results
Advantages of State and Public Schools
- Zero tuition charged. You could save your money instead for family holidays or outside school activities. Or even save the costs to pay for their university/TAFE education after high school. There will still be costs to pay in a state highschool like books, uniforms and excursions.
- Public schools receive government funding, which in turn is used to improve or upgrade the school and its resources to the students.
- Public schools can have better support services for special need students.
Advantages of Private Schools
- Private schools have a higher reputation in the communities for their academic excellence (even if this is not always the case). They can also be linked to large organisations who provide opportunities for work experience and then possible opportunities for employment after school is completed and even following University.
- Often smaller class sizes. This can result in your children receiving more attention in class.
- Private schools can request upon the condition of enrolment, for a student to read, understand and sign the conduct code which can assist with a tighter disciplinary culture.
- Private schools are able to provide, in some instances, better resources and better equipment for students to learn thanks to the investments made by school fees and parent contribution.
THINGS TO CONSIDER:
Can you afford the tuition fees requested by Private Schools? (In some cases, the fees decrease where more than one family member attends the same school.) You will also need to consider costs for camps and excursions, uniforms, school books and resources and in some schools, overseas trips. Annual fees for private schools can be roughly $10,000 to $25,000 per year. Catholic and other religious based schools can be slightly cheaper.
Besides fees, private schools offer more time away from school in blocks, such as longer school holidays. This is generally due to a longer school day. This needs to be considered when managing your own work loads and the possible extra costs of care outside school if you cannot be there during the entire school holiday period.
When it comes to public schools, you may have less choice in choosing the school you are after as you may need to be in a specific catchment areas. You can ofcourse enquire to send your child to a different public school outside your catchment area, if they have any available places left.
before enrolment ASK:
When you are researching schools be sure to find out details such as when to enrol, the appropriate class placement of your child (or in some cases, many students wish to have the same teacher their older sibling had a few years prior – be sure to put forward the request). What are their teaching methods and classroom environments, disciplinary methods and policies in place? Find out the uniform policy, school hours, all fees and levies, assessment and reporting methods, homework and assignment expectations. Plus what after school activities are offered, that your child may be interested in.
Do ask for a tour of the school once you have narrowed down your options and take your children with you. This will give you all a feel for the school, amenities and to ensure your child knows where to go on their first day.
To find out more of the schools in your local area, be sure to view Education Queensland’s website at: http://education.qld.gov.au/directory/schools/ or http://www.australianschoolsdirectory.com.au/
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