[shine]

Hi

My DD will be starting high school in 4 years and so its time (if not too late!) to find her a high school. Looking around (I'm in Eastern Sydney) I cant seem to find anything that fits the bill.

I would like to send the children (I have a younger DS too) to a private school, as the public schools academically dont seem to be up to the mark. They are at a public primary school.

My requirements:
I can spend up to $10K per child on education.
I want a non-religious school
I have no preference on single sex or co-ed

but all schools in the budget are Catholic and above the budget are mainly Anglican and there are no non religious schools.

I dont mind the children having a religious education, as its important to understand how the world works and for them to make their own informed decisions, but I do not want them to have to be forced to study it all the way to Year 12, if they would rather do more Physics for example. Nor do I want them to have to participate in religious services if they have made informed decisions they are not for them.

Also I am concerned they will not get into a good school just because of my religious beliefs.

What are my options?

I was not raised in Australia, so I have never actually experienced the system here.

TIA

[hm6]

I would suggest you keep looking for a private non -religious school. I don't think a Catholic school would sit well with you. Part of the enrollment is that they participate in Masses, Retreats etc - I think if you said that they had made an informed decision re religion then the school would probably say then this school isn't for them. You are correct they are required to do RE right up to Yr 12 - although not at the expense of subjects like Chemistry & Physics etc - they can choose Studies of Religion in Yr 11 & 12 which is an ATAR subject and quite interesting.

[HerringToMarmala...]

Have you actually checked out the religious aspect of the schools? While I think catholic schools are big on the religion, the anglican schools may not be so much. I went to a private anglican high school and we did have one religion class a week but we learnt about a lot of world religions, cults, ethics etc, and in year 12 the time was used for non-religious general lectures. We had a 20 minute chapel service once a fortnight that was focused on friendship etc, and run by students, so anglicism definitely wasn't forced on us. I was there for 13 years and decided on atheism very early on, it never effected my school life.

[NotBitzerMaloney]

Reddam House and International Grammar would be the only secular / multimfaith schools I know of that are an easy commute from east and they aren't in your budget.

Pretty sure you'll have to move on the $ or the religion, sorry.

[shine]

Hi,

Yes I was getting the impression of that of the Anglican schools and I certainly think RE is an important subject as long as its many religions. The problem is that all the Anglican schools are mega expensive.

Is that normal?

Are there many non religious schools?

Thanks!

[shine]

I'm assuming that the catholic church are highly subsidising their fees then?

[TiredbutHappy]

If you're in Sydney I think Wenona and Queenwood are a couple options, but they are very expensive - around the $20K / year mark but are non-denominational. They on the North Shore, so a bit of travel involved too.

This post has been edited by Gumbette: 14/11/2012, 09:25 PM

[TiredbutHappy]

I'm assuming that the catholic church are highly subsidising their fees then?

I think it depends on the type of Catholic school. Independant Catholic schools are expensive at around $15-$20K, compared to those who are attached to a Parish and are about $2k / year.

[NotBitzerMaloney]

Are there many non religious schools?

Nope.

Reddam and IGS, near-ish to you.

North
Wenona and queenwood (girls)
Pittwater house (northern beaches, sort of co-ed)
John colet (multi faith) in belrose, primary only though

city
Sydney grammar (boys)
Macquarie grammar school (co-ed)

Language
German international school, Italian international school, Japanese, etc,etc.

That's all I know of

[liveworkplay]

Not all catholic schools are overly religious. You do, however, have to agree to respect the catholic faith, not live it or convert, just respect it. I think a lot of people on EB have a distorted view of the catholic school system. I am not in Sydney, but I would not rule out a school just because it was church based. I think you should go a see some and see what you think.

RE in catholic schools is not all catechisms, nor is it all about "thou shalt believe". RE is more moral, ethics, psychology and history. Its pretty interesting in a high school setting.

I'm assuming that the catholic church are highly subsidising their fees then?

No they don't. They government funding they receive and the parent fees are all they get. They run on much less $$$ per student then any other school system.

This post has been edited by liveworkplay: 14/11/2012, 09:49 PM