School hunting

We went to a visit a private school last Saturday morning. It is an all boys school, starting from Pre-prep (K1) all the way to Yr 12(JC2). The school only take in 1240 students, so there is limited space. We sat through the presentation given by the Headmaster and then went on to tour the Junior school section.

I like the idea of a single sex school, and the fact that it starts from Pre-prep, means that you will be attached to that school for most of your student life (provided you don't get kicked out or dropped out). However, the main concern is the cost of the fees. It starts from $10,000 all the way to $18,000 for Year 12! It is almost equivalent to paying for a university education. We just cannot afford that kind of money for so many years. We do hear people say that it's better to put kids in private school from Yr 7 onwards, so we might do that.

The most ridiculous thing is that parents are actually enrolling their kids even before they were born. As soon as you know the gender of your baby, you better go and enrol him into a private school, else the waiting list is going to be long. The problem with the selection is that it is not based on academic results, but based on the date you lodged your application. So the earlier you apply, the higher is your chance.

I never thought that I will have to worry about 'school hunting' so early. Matthew is not even 2 years old yet! I think we will 'shop' around some more and enrol him into a good school soon.