When you scroll through short videos and WeChat accounts in your downtime, you often come across mums sharing what their children are seeing and experiencing at school in Australia, and many parents who watch these clips find themselves keen to do the same. They want a deeper understanding of what secondary schooling in Australia actually involves, but these clips usually just show day-to-day life, without any in-depth introduction to Australia’s education system or the school application process. In this article I’ll answer some of the “hard facts” about studying at an Australian secondary school that families are most eager to know:

– What are the advantages of studying at an Australian secondary school?

– What are the advantages of studying at a secondary school in Western Australia?

– What is the process for applying to study in Western Australia?

– Do parents have to accompany their child, or can a boarding school be chosen instead?

– Are there any recommended schools, and what do they require of students?

① An Overview of the Australian Education System

Australia offers a globally recognised standard of high-quality teaching, backed by a comprehensive set of laws and regulations that protect the rights of international students, making it a well-known destination for overseas study. For younger students, the curriculum spans 12 year levels from primary school through to senior secondary: Years 1–6 are primary school, Years 7–10 are junior secondary, and Years 11–12 are senior secondary. Students can choose to enrol at either a public or a private school.

Under Australia’s rules for younger international students, a child aged 6 or over meets the minimum age requirement to study

② Public School vs Private School?

Public schools

In general, each Australian state runs its own education system, and public schools are managed by the local education department. Most international students apply through an education consultant via the relevant state education body.Within a given state, the teaching standard across public secondary schools is relatively consistent, and tuition fees are relatively affordable. Like in China, local students are zoned to schools by their place of residence, so students come from all walks of life.

Private schools

are usually established by churches, companies or individuals. Each school has its own educational philosophy, and the range of programmes offered varies considerably. Their facilities are more advanced than those of public schools, tuition fees are relatively higher, and the local students who attend tend to come from a somewhat higher socioeconomic background than those at public schools.

If a private school accepts international students, students must apply to the school directly (an application can be lodged through an education consultant).

③ The Advantages of Australian Year 7–12 Education

Small classes, high-quality learning

Each class has no more than 30 students, giving teachers and students more opportunities to interact.

Diverse teaching modes and a diverse curriculum

Teaching modes are varied: in addition to conventional classes, they include online learning, interactive learning and group discussion, and more.

A rich curriculum: alongside the standard subjects, schools also offer elective programmes such as musical instruments, coding, handicrafts, hospitality management and cookery.

No single make-or-break exam, with a fallback pathway to university

Throughout schooling, assignments, attendance, in-term tests, end-of-term results and the final examinations all contribute, to varying degrees, to a student’s university entrance score.There is no equivalent of the Chinese Gaokao “one exam decides everything” system. Chinese international students who meet the requirements can not only progress to a top Australian university through the Australian end-of-school examinations, but — thanks to their international-student status — also have a fallback option: progressing into university via a foundation programme.

A favourable environment for study, employment and migration

Students who graduate from an Australian secondary school have a stronger advantage when applying to top local universities, and they are also able to integrate more quickly into the local workplace and more easily find well-paid work after graduation. At the same time, some regions offer more favourable migration policies for international students who have studied there long-term.

Can apply without an English-test score

Applying to an Australian secondary school does not require an IELTS score; students can take a packaged English language course that leads directly into the school’s mainstream programme. If a student’s English is strong, they can also enter the mainstream programme directly on the strength of an IELTS score.

Because Year 10 in Australia falls within secondary school, whereas China classifies the equivalent level as the first year of senior high, this article focuses on secondary education — that is, Years 7–12.

Studying at an Australian Secondary School — Live Webinar

This Wednesday, 20 September, 3:00pm Beijing time

Topics covered:

– The Australian secondary and primary school systems

– The difference between public and private schools in Australia

– How to choose a school? Rankings? Specialist subjects?

– Application requirements

– Visa and boarding applications

To register, please scan Renee’s QR code

Western Australia: Advantages of Secondary Schooling

Same time zone as China

Perth, Australia, keeps exactly the same time as China, with no time difference at any point in the year, making it easy to stay in touch with family and friends back home.

Perth’s outstanding environment

Perth has a Mediterranean climate — plenty of sunshine and warm weather year-round — and even in winter, the wettest season, most of the rain falls at night. This lets residents enjoy a great deal of outdoor activity, such as surfing, sunbathing at the beach, picnics, cycling and jogging.

Convenient city transport and easy flights between China and Australia

Perth has well-developed public transport, including trains, light rail, buses and ferries, all operated by Transperth, allowing passengers to pay and transfer seamlessly. Perth also has direct flights to 13 countries, covering 43 major international cities, and around 12 Chinese cities offer direct flights to Perth, making travel between China and Australia easy.

What makes Perth distinctive

Perth is Australia’s fourth-largest city, with modern infrastructure and beautiful natural scenery. After Australia’s three largest cities (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane), it also has the highest proportion of Mandarin speakers. Whether it’s parents accompanying their child or the students themselves, a place with a strong Mandarin-speaking community tends to offer more social, work, cultural and lifestyle opportunities, helping newcomers settle into the local community and gradually adjust to a new way of life.

Western Australia: The Australian Secondary School Application Process

Step 1: School application steps

Step 2: Student visa application process

⑤ Recommended Private Secondary Schools in Western Australia

The two private schools I’ll introduce next both enjoy an excellent reputation in Western Australia and rank very highly. Their teachers all hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, and the teaching staff as a whole are highly experienced, combining a rigorous approach to teaching with a focus on developing students’ creativity.

St Mary’s

Anglican

Girls’ School

St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School

Founded in 1921 and located in Karrinyup, a northern suburb of Perth, Western Australia, Karrinyup，it is a private girls’ boarding school offering programmes from kindergarten through to Year 12. It currently has around 1,500 students, including more than 190 boarders in Years 7 to 12. International students make up around 14% of the total enrolment, and they are housed in the school’s Anne Symington House.

Teaching facilities

Campus-wide wireless coverage, multimedia classrooms, a student dining hall, a swimming pool, an indoor multipurpose sports hall and gym, outdoor sports grounds, laboratories and a student learning centre. The programme is extremely rich, including tennis, choir, weights training, instrumental practice, basketball, football, rugby, badminton, dance, mock trial, individual talent showcases, debating, water sports such as swimming, athletics, ice hockey and mountain biking.

School strengths

• A focus on developing girls’ leadership and confidence, providing a learning environment with reduced gender bias.

• Small-class teaching, with an emphasis on hands-on skills.

• Consistently strong university-entrance results year after year

Student support

• The school provides university-pathway guidance to students in Years 8 to 12.

• Specialist English-language teachers support international students with their English.

• Students are regularly taken off campus for hiking and other experiential activities.

• Guidance on choosing university courses and future careers

Academic support

WACE core subjects, electives and ATAR-standard subjects:

• Year 7: mathematics, English, science, humanities, social studies, debating, drama, music and more.

• Years 8 to 10: building on the Year 7 subjects, with French, German, Italian, electronics and design added.

• Years 11 to 12: students can take further electives based on what they have already studied, such as economics, advanced language subjects and physics.

Entry requirements and application criteria

• An English test (students who do not meet the requirement must complete an English language course before entering the school’s mainstream programme)

• AEAS results

• Scanned copies of the passport and birth certificate

• School reports from the past two years

• Overseas Student Health Cover

Hale

School

Hale School

Hale School was founded in 1858. It is the oldest private boys’ school in Western Australia, located in Wembley Downs, Perth, and is an Anglican full-time boys’ boarding school. It currently has around 1,600 students across 12 houses spanning primary Years 1–6, Years 7–8 and senior secondary Years 9–12, including about 200 boarders. It currently has international students from Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States, and the school provides accommodation for international students (Brine House).It’s worth noting that Hale School’s sister school is St Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School, introduced above.

Teaching facilities

The school has an advanced music and drama centre, a modern library, two outdoor swimming pools and other well-equipped water-sports facilities, a fully equipped fitness centre, a gym and 10 sports grounds.

School strengths

• A focus on boys’ outdoor and extracurricular activities and interests, with an extensive range of indoor and outdoor sports grounds and equipment

• An emphasis on developing interpersonal and communication skills

• A range of pathways to university through sporting talent

• Consistently strong university-entrance results year after year

Student support

The school assigns dedicated staff to look after the welfare of international students and to provide after-class academic support, including two specialist international-student coordinators who help students enter Hale School and settle in. In addition, all boarders receive the support of a head of house and assistant heads of house, who provide pastoral care and monitor academic progress.

Academic support

Hale School placed in the top 15% across Western Australia (2022) in the following 14 subjects:

chemistry, economics, engineering studies, geography, literature, materials design and technology, mathematics applications, mathematics methods, mathematics specialist, music, philosophy and ethics, physical education studies and physics.

Entry requirements and application criteria

• An English test (students who do not meet the requirement must complete an English language course before entering the school’s mainstream programme)

• AEAS results

• Passing the school’s scheduled online interview

• Scanned copies of the passport and birth certificate

• School reports from the past two years

• Overseas Student Health Cover

International graduates of these two schools have gone on to destinations including, but not limited to:

the University of Western Australia, the University of Notre Dame Australia, Murdoch University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Melbourne, Charles Darwin University, the University of Technology Sydney, Deakin University, the Australian National University, the University of Canberra, the University of Wollongong, Queensland University of Technology and Griffith University, and more.

If you’re interested in the public schools or the two private schools above in Western Australia and would like your child to study there, scan the QR code below to message us for more information.

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