Upper Coomera State College; is it really that bad??

[Lil X-men]

Me, DH and our three children are moving to Upper Coomera in several weeks.
We've just sold our house and are looking to buy a new one.
We have found one we LOVE but it is in the UCSC catchment. My DS1 is 5 and in prep. He very creative and quiet and needs a bit of guidance but is currently doing very well at our local catholic primary school.

All I have heard is bad things about Upper Coomera State College by hearsay. Any mums with children there think it is any good or is it a really terrible school?
There are private schools in the area but they are far too expensive for us especially considering we will have 3 children at school within 5years.
I have rung Highland Reserve and Coomera Springs state schools and would have to go on a waiting list with no guarantees of getting my son in there.:no:

SO should I give up our dream home and move to the Springs or Highland Reserve area to ensure he gets into either of those schools??

[Mrs P]

I haven't heard good things about it..

My friends kiddies go to Rivermount and you get great discount with each additional child.

[Lil X-men]

THanks MrP I had a look at Rivermount it was more expensive than some of the other private schools in Upper Coomera unfortunately
There is just no way we can afford $7200 a year in school fees, thats with a discount on the three kids and not including levys. I know we are spoilt where we are as he goes to a local catholic school and it is only $1000 per year.
I guess we'll have to give up on this house and look inside the Coomera spings or Highland Reserve catchment.
Thanks anyway.
ANy other Opinions would be appreciated too thanks :yes:

[Lil X-men]

Bump
:)

[mumto2girls]

Why give up your dreamhouse, why not just look at some of the schools close by such as Pimpama or Ormeau State School, these 2 schools are not zoned so it doesnt matter where you live. My daughter goes to Ormeau State school and we dont live in Ormeau!! Ok so you may have to drive a bit each day but it may be worth it.

[suemp]

coomera public never used to be zoned either. i heard good things about uscc primary years bit not high school

[symonep]

All of my kids go to UCSC. They are thriving, haven't been involved in any type of anything really...

I'll go through all the three kids separately and their experiences if you'd like.

Eldest is a boy who is 13 and in yr 8...he isn't fussed on going to school but that's just him. He is now in the Boys Education class which of for those boys who aren't high acheivers but who are putting in their best effort. He is held to task on all work and assgnments and MUST hand them in and act in a manor according to the contracts they signed at the start of the year. Any major forms in misconduct will result in him being removed from the class. I get emails from his teachers going over the work they are doing and listing all relevant assignments that are due.

My daughter is 12, in the Honours class, her workload and expectations on behaviour and even uniform is HUGE. they are extended in a lot of areas and she is doing even more work than her older brother. She is now competent and capable of doing work much more involved than is required for her age. She was also in the honours class in the junior school.


My youngest is 7 and is in Yr 2. He has been idenetified as possibly being G&T, and although there is no program set up for the younges junior school his teacher is pushing for one to be developed to help him.

At every turn the teachers at this school have exceeded our expectations and left us feeling satisfied with our choice. Of course there are those kids that are trouble but they are at.every.school.

If you look at all the dramas with knifing etc lately most of them have been at private schools. Everyone is saying don't send your child to UCSC for primary, but I have been nothing but pleased with it. Then the question is where do you send your children for High School?!? Helensvale has a terrible reputation as does any othe high school close by.

Good luck and choose the school you feel confident with. But please don't rule out UCSC just because of hear say.

If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask :)

Cheers,
Symone

[4OnEarth1InHeaven]

Hey Julz i know nothing about Coomera schools, but i have known kids that went to st stephens and it was great for them, i know pimpama state school is great too... but i agree don't give up that house just because of schools, why not just try it out if you don't like it move him

[MummysYellowCar]

Have a look at Jubilee Primary School on Binstead Way at Pacific Pines. Their fees seem to be cheaper than catholic school. It's ecumennical- run by Catholic Anglican Lutheran and COC churches together.

[Tygress]

i hear that coomera springs is a good public school. Like you i've heard nothing good about ucsc!

[Lil X-men]

Thanks for the input everyone, especially good to hear from someone who has children there and is happy with the school.
I didnt know Ormeau and Pimpama weren't zoned either bugger!
Well anyway it's a bit late now we decided not to put an offer on that place such a shame but we had to decide.
Instead we have found a place at Highland Reserve Estate so will be sending him to Highland reserve State school.
Not sure about highschool yet, but we have a few years to think about that:)

[BlissedOut]

Coomera Springs is a wonderful school.

The high school half of UCSC is concerning from what I've experienced.

Everyone I know has sent their kids to private for high school.

[e75patterson]

Hi we seem to have a similar problem. My son aged 5 has just started at Helensvale. We are however moving to Highland Reserve as it's quieter. I am in the dilemma of do I leave him at Helensvale or move him to HR. The school is new in HR and I have no idea of what it is like. Any thoughs/advice?
Also have a 2 year old at Helensvale Kindy and have heard the Upper Coomera Kindy:confused:'s are a no-go area, help, only been in Aus for 3 months - don't know where is best!!!

[MissSG]

May I just interject here, I attend Upper Coomera State College, have done since grade seven, and I am currently one of this years proudly graduating students. Today, merely weeks away from leaving the school, I am as proud of my school today as I was when I first started attending the school.

Of course, I am posting this merely days after an incident that has the media buzzing, but if you have paid attention to this incident you will realise how unreliable the media is. One reports one of a parent being involved, another reports three teachers. Here's the real story, " I actually support our students reasoning. (yeah, wrong way to go about it but it was for the right reasons). A kiwi was walking his younger sister to school through the junior entrance and passed the helensvale kids, who were swearing and cursing like there was no tomorrow. The kiwi asked them to stop swearing in front of the kids. The helensvale kids spat on him. The kiwi then walked his sister to class and went back to talk to the kids, and a few of his friends tagged along. The helensvale kids threw the first punch."

I can tell you without an inch of dishonesty that there is no racial problem at our school, and there never has been. It may appear so because the kiwi's hang out together with few white people, and visa versa, but this is because groups like theKapa Haka and Theatre Sports create strong bonds between those groups, and it just becomes second nature to hang out with these people.

But while the media overexagerates our supposed "racial tension", do they make any mention of the ACTUAL stabbing at Southport High? Or the drugs that the seniors are pushing on the juniors at Pacific Pines? No! In my time at UCSC we've had about three lock downs, the rest have been either false alarms or practices that teachers have mistaken as real because they failed to inform the teachers properly.

Basically, UCSC is a wonderful school that makes me incredibly proud to call myself a student of the school. Yeah, we may have our flaws, but the only reason the media blows it out of proportion is because we are a p to 12 campus with thousands of students. You can ask the internet but no matter how much the school does well (Reach Program, Kapa Haka, Theatre Sports, Honours Program, do you really want me to go on?) it will never reign over the shadow that the media casts over us just for a 15-minute story