Carey Baptist College Harrisdale

"Lit as fr. Good school with good kids & teachers"

"Due to personal reasons, I left school in July this year. Before I start, can I ask some random people to stop trying to spam me with my new phone number or something cause I got it to have privacy, I appreciate that some of you care and ask me how I'm doing and that's why I got a number to talk to my friends from school, but I also get a lot of spam from numbers I recognise from school...anyway, it's ok. I wrote this review in a formal sense because I want to show I'm grateful. I would never write this way for the sake of it because I'm a bit lazy but today, I'll make an effort. I can say that it is a very good school. Of course people joke around but overall they are friendly and the staff are nice. I took Maths, Science, Humanities, English, Music, Japanese, Beliefs and Values, and Product Design from memory. Maths is a great subject and the teachers know a lot about things, but given the size of the class it is difficult to have a class that meets everyone's learning needs. Science is very basic and easy to understand as teachers make booklets with practice questions and information but this also teaches students to depend on their teachers which is not good. As a student I'm pretty lazy sometimes so I found it helpful. Humanities is good and the teachers know what they are teaching. English is the most weird and funny. Music is my favorite subject given that I have studied music for almost 9 years. I first studied piano for two years, then stringed instruments and vocal music for six years, and basic theory for one year. I studied basic theory in my first year of high school, and it was very interesting in Year 7. There are two types of music courses, Music General and Music Specialist, I believe I would be more suited to Music Specialist because I didn't realize that the course I chose was for people with little or no prior knowledge of music. That's okay because I've learned more about how things in the music world became what they are today. Japanese is like a review class in some ways, but it's nice to have a class where I can relax and just focus on writing instead of taking endless notes and listening to lectures (not that Japanese class doesn't have that, in all honesty, there are parts I don't like either). Beliefs and values are all about religion and beliefs, which is fine with me, but I have my own personal beliefs too which don't resonate with the school beliefs and Christianity. Product design is my second favorite class after math because I studied it with friends and I love design. Actually, I took the GATE exam in 2019 when I was 10 years old. Although I had been in Carey for 6 years by then, I thought it would be good to try it out. I actually scored well in the literature/essay section, which is why I resulted in the first rank (I think). My advice to future students who want to take the exam is not to stress about the day, but also to take a break and engage in other activities (mine are ice skating/hockey, calligraphy and music). I mostly study on my own, but occasionally I study with friends, which helps me a lot. Overall, it's a good school, and I think I'm grateful for the experiences I had there."

"Our children have been at the Forrestdale campus since it opened and we love it! Fantastic community, excellent staff and leadership, genuine desire to grow children into successful, well-rounded adults and beautiful use of the bush setting with outdoor learning."

"Have had 2 children go through the state system and wasn't impressed. My 3rd child is in Kindy and the difference is amazing. The teachers are fabulous and have a love for their job and the children they teach. The atmosphere of the school is so friendly with both parents and teachers alike. I love the way that they teach the children negotiation skills and unkind behaviour is just not tolerated, and parents input is taken seriously. I could not be happier that my 2 younger children will be attending this school, where I feel they will recieve a fantastic education and skills to be considerate caring people."

"Very positive experience for my child. States that she feels cared for by staff. Has developed a strong set of values and beliefs and empathy for others. Came from a very different school environment previously and she states that she feels valued by staff at Carey and has a great group of peers. I would highly recommend this school"