Selective School Travel time STHS vs Sefton (1 Viewer)

[vinceray]

Hi All,

I'm in the process on selecting the Selective school for my son.

Sydney Technical & Sefton HS are the same entry score, since STHS is full selective, Boys school so we lean toward STHS than Sefton.

The only thing concern us is the travel time to and from school. We are living in Canley Vale, it will take 1h20min to get to STHS school (2 trains Canley Vale to Glenfield, then another train to Kingrove and the bus to school), Sefton is about 45min on the train and walk to school.

Please advise 1hr20min 1 way travel is pratical or not.

Do you know any student who live around my areas to go to STHS and spending around 1hr20min 1 way travel?

Lastly, should I select Macquarie Field HS (1hr15min travel time) or just go to loval Canley Vale HS (non-selective school but has a good ranking).

Thanks a lot in advance

Vince

 

[RivalryofTroll]

Hey Vince, hopefully I can provide another perspective to your son's situation.

If you're thinking about which schools to write down as preferences, I think it's indeed best to consider travelling distance.

STHS v Sefton - STHS probably provides a more academically competitive environment for your son but I don't think there's a HUGE difference between these two schools. Even though Sefton is partially selective, it's still an academically strong school (as indicated by past HSC school rankings, Sefton is a solid top 40 to top 60 school - depending on the year - while STHS is consistently a top 35 school). Sefton seems slightly more convenient in terms of travel so I think there's a good case for Sefton (basically nearly on par with STHS and more convenient).

Back in Years 11 and 12, I attended STHS and I coped with the travel after awhile. I had to bus it to Hurstville (around 50 mins or 1 hour) then bus it from Hurstville to school (which is like an extra 10 minutes or so - excluding any waiting time for the bus). It's not the best experience (compared to a 5 minute drive to your local school) but it's not impractical either. If you or your son is worried about the ''time wasted'' on travel - you could consider the fact that there's always opportunities for him to do homework on the train or to just reflect on his day.

MFHS v Canley Vale - MFHS is consistently a top 90 or top 100 school while Canley tends to fluctuate from year to year (I think they were in the top 150 based on last year's HSC results). I think I'd give the edge to Canley here due to travel convenience (academic difference between them isn't actually that huge, especially considering the fact that Canley is a comprehensive school while MFHS is a partially selective school). However, it's best to ask your son on whether he is willing to go the distance to attend MFHS.

I think in terms of fully selective schools, I'd definitely consider Hurlstone Agricultural High School (it's definitely closer than Sydney Technical from your place).

Ultimately - Hurlstone, STHS, Sefton, MFHS and Canley Vale are all good schools in my view.

Also, in the end, if your son is willing to put in the effort - he can excel at any school. There's been many students who have excelled in Year 12, despite the rank/strength of the school that they have attended.