Want to study abroad? Wondering where to go to?

We were in the same boat a few years ago to look for countries for my daughter.  It was very confusing because there are so many aspects to consider.  The more seminars and exhibitions we attended, the more confused.  We finally chose Australia.  I couldn’t tell what were our exact reasons by then.  However, the longer my daughter stays there, the more we understand the education system, the more we like it.

In this blog, I will talk about some first hand experiences to provide some aspects about the nice features studying in Australia.

Wide variety of subjects

The school my daughter attends is very ordinary.  It is a government school.  In Australia, this type of school is considered to have the lowest level of resources.  Yet, it provides  a wide variety of subjects for its students. 

For junior students, say year 9 and year 10, there are 5 mandatory subjects.  They are:

·        English

·        Maths

·        Science

·        History/Geography

·        Personal development, health and physical education

Students could base on their interest to choose 3 elective subjects.  The available subjects include:

·        Commerce

·        Design & Technology

·        Drama

·        Food Technology

·        French

·        Geography Elective: The World around You

·        German

·        Graphics Technology

·        History Elective: from Ancient to Modern & Beyond

·        Industrial Technology - Wood

·        Information & Software Technology  (Computing Studies)

·        Italian

·        Music

·        Physical Activity & Sport Studies

·        Spanish

·        Textile Technology

·        Visual Arts

Her previous school also offers different subjects, but it’s pretty restricted.  The subjects are broadly divided into 2 categories, which are restricted for science students or arts students respectively. 

Since there are many elective subjects and each student could take three, each student has an individual time table.  As such there is no “class” for the entire grade, because the combination of courses taken by each student is different from each other.

The major disadvantages without “class” is that there is no fixed room to study.  The students have to carry everything for the whole day and go from one room to another. 

Nevertheless, my daughter loves this arrangement because: 1. she could choose the subjects she really likes; 2. she has more opportunities to interact with other students in the entire grade (not just her own “class”); 3. she learns to be more alert all the time (she needs to know where to go for the next class.  She can`t follow the movement of other students in her “class”).  This arrangement is similar to those in the university.  Hence, the students are better prepared for their university life.

At the beginning, we had no idea about the system.  It took my daughter sometimes to adapt this system, which is new to her.  At the end, it turns out to be a great one.