Brisbane public school

Lmanojabraham on 06/11/2019 - 11:47

We are moving to Brisbane and would like to buy house in a good school catchment area, we have narrowed down to The Gap state High school and Mansfield state high school ( have 2 girls going to high school) . The NAPLAN score has Mansfield ahead of The Gap but the OP ( Overall position) scoring over the last few years has The Gap school ahead of Mansfield.

We are health professionals and if were to choose Mansfield school and buy a house at Wishart/Mansfield/Mount Gravatt catchment area we could either work at South Metro Hospital or Redland hospital. If it were to be The Gap the only option for us would be Royal Brisbane and Prince Charles hospitals.

Would be great if someone would shed light on both The Gap and Mansfield state high school, about their education which one would be better, buying a house at Gap would be bit cheaper compared to Mansfield.

We are also in a dilemma where to buy the house as well ( The gap or Mansfield school catchment area), we have never visited these places and are doing our exploration.

Education & Work

Comments

  • ComfortablyNumb on 06/11/2019 - 12:21
    +3

    I'll stay out of it. Good luck. Everyone's entitled to their opinion. Given you're both medical professionals I'm sure you'll find the best locations.

    Take the time and walk around schools, "catch them off guard" (eg see classes during school times) to help make up your mind before jumping in with a previous academic results / heresay unsubstantiated "great school" bias.

    Oh, another thing. Never mention daylight savings to a Queenslander. Don't even bring it up. I'm about to start world was three just mentioning it.

    • try2bhelpful on 06/11/2019 - 15:56

      I mentioned daylight saving but I think I go away with it.

      • EightImmortals on 06/11/2019 - 16:05

        My cows just revolted!

        • try2bhelpful on 06/11/2019 - 16:13
          +3

          Will no one think of the fading of the curtains. Actually, when I was growing up, the reason given that Queensland didn't have daylight saving was because the sun shone out of Joh Bjelke-Petersen's backside and he wasn't getting up an hour earlier for anyone.

          • EightImmortals on 06/11/2019 - 17:22

            @try2bhelpful: heh, good 'ol Joh, despite his eccentricities he's like Churchill compared to what we have these days. It's also a sad indictment that he was the last premier to build a dam here in QLD (at least I think the Hinze dam was the last one?)

            • try2bhelpful on 06/11/2019 - 19:10
              +1

              @EightImmortals: Sadly, more true than I would hope.

              The Hinze dam? What they got him to lie down in the path of a river.

            • [Deactivated] on 06/11/2019 - 21:43

              @EightImmortals: That Dam thing is just Katter talk. Paradise Dam was built in 2006

              And for you smug, DST loving hipsters, PLEASE stop living in the 1950s - the rest of world is rapidly voting to scrap daylight savings.

    • blehgg on 06/11/2019 - 17:14

      Never mention daylight savings to a Queenslander. Don't even bring it up. I'm about to start world war three just mentioning it.

      With who? You'd find alot of people in Brisbane who want Daylight savings (me being one of them)

  • geek001 on 06/11/2019 - 12:27
    +1

    I live in southside Brisbane, so I can only comment on the southside schools. IMHO, based only on anedotal evidence, I have been told the best public school in Brisbane is Brisbane State High, Mansfield being second, which is reflected in the house prices in those areas.

    To be honest, there aren't much difference between the top good public schools in Brisbane, unless your children are "gifted" academically, they might enjoy competing against other kids in the same intellect range in the uber competitive schools, otherwise they might feel like they are the "dumb" kids compared to their peers, whereas in actual reality, they may not be.

    My advice would be to see where you can find a job, and then put them in the good school in that area.

    FYI, I also feel that The Gap frequently gets the brunt of any bad weather in Brisbane, whereas houses in Mansfield are old and expensive.

  • tissue on 06/11/2019 - 13:23

    Southsider here as well but just to confirm, the differences between the top 10-20 public high schools in Brisbane would be so minor that a bigger factor is your own child’s ability. Can also confirm that any house that is in a catchment of one of these schools (and you can tell, if the real estate ad mentions what catchment then you know they are bumping the price up for that) is overpriced – for example compare a Wishart house against Mount Gravatt East or even Carindale.

    Bigger issue I found when house hunting is that any of the houses around Mansfield I found were old, expensive, limited public transport and a fair distance from the CBD. Mostly 80s two storey brick as well so most likely asbestos. Also because schools like Mansfield do have scholarships for out of catchment kids combined with limited public transport, there is traffic chaos at school dropoff and pickup times.

    I would expand your search to include schools like Holland Park High, Cavendish Road High and Mount Gravatt High – all are pretty good. Could get a house in Holland Park/Holland Park West/Tarragindi/Mount Gravatt for similar money, maybe near the busway and catch the bus to Mater Hospital?

    EDIT: Also don’t use the NAPLAN score either, because of the scholarships. You would think anywhere that cherry picks kids with scholarships will have a much higher than average NAPLAN score.

    • manojabraham on 06/11/2019 - 13:35

      Hi Tissue, what do you think about The Gap school

      • tissue on 06/11/2019 - 13:49

        No idea. But the Gap as a suburb does get hit by storms quite often, and is a one road in and out kinda place.

  • lunchbox99 on 06/11/2019 - 14:09

    There is no such thing as South Metro Hospital. I think you are thinking of Metro South Hospital and Health Service which runs several major hospitals on Brisbane Southside - PA hospital, QE II hospital, Redland hospital, Logan Hospital. MNHHS runs the hospitals on Brisbane Northside, including RBWH, Prince Charles, Redcliffe and Caboolture.

    The Gap, Brisbane State High, Mansfield, Cavendish Rd, Mount Gravatt are all good schools. Make your choice on where you prefer to live and work.

  • Dont Care on 06/11/2019 - 15:01

    Other worthwhile considerations for you are Macgregor State High School and Brisbane State High School. Agree Gap gets crap weather and traffic to the Gap is not great and getting worse.

  • mshanann on 06/11/2019 - 16:55
    +1

    From a kid's perspective, The Gap is extremely hard to beat. Testament to this is how many people whom grew up as kids in the area subsequently raising their own families in the western suburbs (many moving a suburb closer to town - e.g. Ashgrove, Bardon, Paddington etc if they can afford it). There are thousands of kids in the suburb, housing is affordable with big blocks and swimming pools, plenty of parks, and nature all around it. It is safe suburb, at the end of the line (yet only 10k from the CBD), and not a traffic through-fair (although Waterworks road does get congested - but nothing like southern states). There is also some very highly rated private girls schools a short distance away (e.g. Mt St Michael's) - that focus heavily on academic excellence. Most of the kids of the 80s whom grew up in The Gap either ended up at The Gap High School, or Grammar. TGHS was at the time nowhere near as academically focused as it is today. I'd recommend The Gap in a heart beat for people raising kids.

    As far as hospitals, you have RBH (public), and The Wesley (private at Toowong) reasonably close by; The Mater is probably a 30 minute drive (if you are willing to use the Go Between bridge). Granted, it is probably not as convenient as the south side with its access to public hospitals. If you can afford to move slightly closer to town, have a look at Ashgrove too. Depending on where you buy, that would put you in the Kelvin Grove high school catchment, or The Gap. Ashgrove State (primary) School has some of the best Naplan results in the state.

    • manojabraham on 06/11/2019 - 17:12

      Thanks Mshannon, I have been more inclined towards The Gap because we are coming from a country town and I believe Gap wouldn't be as busy as the south. I hear from people that The Gap takes the brunt from the weather/storm etc and the traffics heavy

      • mshanann on 06/11/2019 - 17:30

        I think people are referring to one crazy cyclonic storm / weather cell in 2008 that captured the media's attention due to the damage it caused. The Gap is a very green suburb and you can imagine the mess it made with fallen trees and the like, not to mention a few houses copping the brunt of it. Other than this, I don't think The Gap cops it much worse that other parts of Brisbane, though the insurance companies may beg to differ.

        As far as traffic, Waterworks road is the main gateway from The Gap to town; It used to be a single lane road back when I was a kid. It is now a 2 lane road with one lane designated as T2 for peak time (meaning you require 2 occupants in car to utilise it). Similarly in afternoon outbound, the T2 restriction applies. Outside of peak times, both lanes can be used by all. There is certainly traffic, and you would expect a 30 minute trip in peak time to get to the city. If you can afford it, moving a suburb closer may slice that time by 10 minutes in peak; It also opens up a number of different route choices.

  • ComfortablyNumb on 06/11/2019 - 17:29

    They're building a new high school too aren't they? Probably not going to help too much (Year 7 only next year)
    https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/new-bri…

    • [Deactivated] on 07/11/2019 - 14:50

      Another in Dutton Park as well. But I think it won't start to open until 2021.

  • [Deactivated] on 07/11/2019 - 14:49

    I would sort out work first, then choose a suburb convenient to work in a school catchment that you wish for. It makes no sense to live at The Gap for the highschool if you're working in Logan. You'll just have a miserable to commute to work each day. There will be good options in the viscinity of whatever hospital service you're working at.

    The Gap is a lovely area. Downsides are in storm season it seems to get absolutely belted with hail and strong winds. Must be something about the mountains surrounding it. Also it relies on a single major road for access in/out, and this gets horribly congested and there is no rail line.

    My top pick would be aim for the Brisbane State High catchment. You'll pay extra for real estate there because its close to the city centre and people value this school catchment a lot. It is the only state high school in the top 10 on the Better Education website. Central location will be pretty convenient wherever your'e working. It'd be quite a drive to any of the more peripheral hospitals, like Prince Charles in the north or Logan in the south, but you'd be travelling in the opposite direction from the peak traffic so it'd be a smooth drive each day. If we weren't planning on private schooling our kids, we would still be living near State High. Downsides for you are its about as not country town as you'll get. Tiny blocks, tightly packed and very expensive.

    Definitely not interested in Private schools? Can make suggestions there also.

    My wife and I both work for Queensland Health.

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