Hi there

We are an Australian family on an international assignment in Korea. We have 3 children and lived in Sydney for 12 yrs up until Jan. 2002.

The school year in Australia begins at the end of January and goes through until about 19 December when it breaks for about 6 weeks. The private schools have longer holidays than the public schools but all begin and end aroudn the same time frame. The schools will be breaking for Easter holidays in about 3 weeks. They usually have 1 to 2 weeks off then.

We lived on the north shore in Sydney and there are many good schools. Your 11 year old must be about year 6 level? Our children are 11, 9 and 4 and the elder two attended a local Catholic school in our suburb and are booked into a Catholic girls' school for high school (year 7). For boys (if you choose Catholic schools) there is Riverview at Lane Cove, St Josephs at Hunters Hill, Marist Brothers at Nth Sydney to name a few. There are grammar schools but I really only know the Catholic ones. Fees are around $7,000 per year and more for the exclusive schools like Skeggs Redlands, Grammar schools.

I hope you enjoy living in Sydney; it has a great climate and a high quality of life.

Hope this information is helpful in your choice.

Good luck,

Regards, Vicki H.

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We moved to Oz 6 years ago when our boys were 3 and 5. getting them into school has been no problem. They were able to start at the beginning of their school career, and 11 is similarly convenient given that it's about the time kids enter High School.
We live in Sydney. In our opinion the schools (public or private) are very good. While we can't compare them with the US, they are better than the UK state school system (and the private schools are relatively cheap here too).
So don't worry! Your child will be fine. The rules here are the same as in most other places - schools in 'nice' suburbs are good, and the better the parent; the better the kid. Choosing between private and public will come down to whether you want the extra-curicular stuff organised for you, and the sort of values you want your child to grow up with. Either way, you'll be fine.
Good luck!

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