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Comment by Dee Chase on August 12, 2010 at 12:48pm

Hi Avril

You seem like a wealth of knowledge with regards to the schools on the gold coast, i have been trying to find information for the past 3 months and although have found some have found it extremely difficult to find anything decent so thank you so much for your posts they are extremely valuable, especially when your based in the UK. I was wondering if there are any schools apart from Somerset that don't have a religious connection not that im against it or anything just thought it would be something my children could choose at a later date. However if all the good schools are only religious based then i am sure we can help the children understand. Thanks again for your help. We are planing to visit all the schools you have recommended to catrin just to get some goo ideas we r not coming this way until nov 2011 so hoping the children will be able to get in for the 2012 intake, fingers crossed!!.

Comment by Avril Haining on June 13, 2010 at 8:26am

Am pleased to hear you have settled on a school. I have noticed that Lutheran schools do take the time to inform prospective parents about what their schools offer. If parents take the time and effort to research, so should schools! Trinity Lutheran has a fantastic Arts Expo (each year?) - a fundraiser I assume. Anyway, it is really something, so you'll be impressed with that.

Comment by Catrin on June 12, 2010 at 6:17pm

Thanks for all your comments Avril. Since my last post I have visited the GC again and met with Trinity Lutheran. I was impressed by both their primary school and secondary college. The principal and the enrolment head both gave me a huge amount of their time and I was really impressed with both them (they have both been at the school over 20yrs each) and the facilities were great. Best of all ... they have offered us a place and it is close to where we want to live in Sorrento !!!!!!! Thanks for all your help !! Best of luck for you too. We can't wait to become GC residents and official Queenslanders !!! :)

Comment by Avril Haining on June 10, 2010 at 8:19pm

Catrin
Sounds like you have been very busy researching schools. It is essential, especially with state high schools.
A lot of the state high schools on the coast are huge and depending on the personality of your child/ren, they can feel overwhelmed, unnoticed and quite stressed.

I had the same experience with the Catholic high school St Michael's at Carrara (mid-coast). They don't offer meetings or tours with prospective parents but will send out a package of information. The website has quite limited information. When I phoned admissions she said they had already had 220 Year 8 students and were not taking any more. This school is positioned to receive new Year 8s from many feeder schools and appears not to need extras.

Without a doubt, All Saints Anglican is a superb school re: facilities. When my husband enquired about waiting lists he was told 2013. Somerset College comes in a close second (in my opinion) but is very expensive. Both All Saints and Somerset receive top academic results which may or may not suit your child/ren. A couple of years ago, I visited Trinity Lutheran and liked the feel of it - it didn't seem overly pretentious. Which leads me to St Andrews Lutheran, a school which we are considering. It is a small school in a picturesque rural setting but close to Burleigh with great facilities and a fantastic new library. It had a nice feel. The admissions person was gushingly enthusiastic and took me on a guided tour and answered my hundred and one questions! So that may be one for you to investigate.

I've also visited Marymount College, Kings Christian College, Hillcrest Christian College, Varsity College (state), Robina State High and a few others.

I encourage you to explore St Andrews Lutheran.

Comment by Catrin on May 25, 2010 at 1:34am

Hi Avril... we are moving to the GC at the end of the year so I was really interested to read your post. We have been heavily researching and studying schools over the whole GC as we have heard a lot of negative comments about Qld education. For government we like Benowa High but the biggest problem is the school's complete lack of support for incoming families like us who are restricted to interstate visits and the internet. They just won't give us a tour of the school and I have been told I need to attend their 'Open Night' which doesn't show you the whole school's facilities plus it means you have to fly interstate especially to attend. Perhaps they are such a popular state school they don't feel the need to put themselves out for prospective families ???? This school's lack of information and support has been a huge let down to us. For private, I was very impressed with Somerset College, I thought AB Paterson (North GC) was very ordinary by private school standards (buildings & facilities) and just lacked something (perhaps the new enrolment director was the problem... she lacked any enthusiasm whatsoever about the school). I am viewing Trinity Lutheran next month so I can't comment on that one, but the one that really blew me away was All Saints Anglican. It's facilities are second to none, every bit as good as a Melbourne private school, but the waiting lists are the problem. I have been horrified at the lack of security with trying to get a place in these schools - particularly All Saints. They show you through their school, get your hopes up then tell you they have waiting lists a mile long. They still take your $50 deposit to go on their waiting list ofcourse ... just in case...... Then they tell you they'll let you know if there's a place offer a few months before the year prior to starting. It's a nightmare. Anyway, I'll be really interested to follow your post and would love to hear your experience / opinions. Cheers.