Cost was not a consideration when Julia Zhu and her husband were deciding where to send their son Kaili for his last two years of high school in Australia writes Sophie Loras.

Julia Zhu – Senior Business Manager – Minter Ellison Lawyers

We first started thinking about sending our son Kaili to finish senior high school in Australia when he was in Year 9 in Shanghai in 2006. Our priority was a good education and a good home stay family.
We chose Australia for its safe and friendly environment, the good quality of education and good promotion. We were selecting from the top private schools in Melbourne but it was not easy to get Kaili enrolled because of long waiting lists.
We chose Camberwell Grammar in Melbourne for several reasons: A close friend had taught Chinese at the school and a business contact had sent his two sons there; the Governor of Victoria, Professor David De Kretser, a CGS graduate was visiting Shanghai at that time and we were impressed by the school’s friendly staff. Kaili had very good English – an IELTS score of 7.5 – and the school was very flexible and waived his English language training requirement. So compared with other Chinese students of his age, Kaili was able to save one year studying in Australia.
Cost was not a consideration in our decisions. Kaili is our only child. We were happy to pay whatever was necessary. The hardest part was knowing Kaili would have to live on his own in a foreign environment. He had never left home before and our main concern was how quickly he would be able to adapt to his new living and studying environment in Australia. Kaili’s home-stay family was in a good location and of a reasonable price. We were generally happy with the arrangement. Anyway we didn’t have many choices!
There were two highlights to Kaili’s time at CGS. The first when Kaili was selected to attend the Olympiad Chemistry program at ANU in January 2008. The other was seeing him perform at Melbourne Hamer Hall in 2008 as the leader for the String Orchestra and Senior School Orchestra.
We were very impressed that the schools offered a variety of courses to cater to the needs and potentials of all students. Australian schools try to respect every student and protect their self respect. We were also impressed with the focus on sports (every Saturday competition) and the extra-curricular activities. If Kaili had stayed on in Shanghai, he wouldn’t have been encouraged to play music when he got to Year 11 and 12 when he would instead have been preparing for his college entrance examinations. ■

Kaili Zhang VCE ENTER Score 2008: 99.90

PRIZES & SCHOLARSHIPS:

ANU International Undergraduate Scholarship
Gold Award in Australian Chemistry Olympiad
Camberwell Grammar School Kenneth Atock Memorial Scholarship
2nd Prize in BHP Billiton/University of Melbourne Mathematics Competition
High Distinction in National Chemistry Quiz
High Distinction in Westpac Mathematics Competition
University of Melbourne Extension Program Prize for Excellence in Mathematics
Currently studying: Bachelor of Philosophy in Science at ANU

HIGHLIGHT DURING TIME IN AUSTRALIA:

Being made leader of both the String Orchestra and the Senior Orchestra and performing at the school’s Biennial School Concert and finishing the table-tennis season with straight wins.

COST
Estimated total including tuition, home-stay and others: A$80,000 for two years.