Tara Anglican School for Girls, North Parramatta School Reviews

Tara Anglican School for Girls, North Parramatta

School Reviews

By Student - 14 Nov 2023, Rate: poor

they started building fences to lock us in. The girls are mean, and no one does anything about it. chapel is boring. the teachers are average. most of the facilities are old and musty. they do many charities and expect everyone to donate on top of the over-the-top school fees.

By Student - 06 Feb 2023, Rate: bad

best memories but the head of senior school is a manipulative person and makes you feel uncomfortable! until he leaves you should consider another school, which is unfortunate cos the tara teachers r so good he just ruins it and everyone’s overall well-being

By Student - 30 Oct 2022, Rate: bad

i attended tara in 2019 and i immediately left the next year. i got bullied very badly and this was well known to the teachers but they did nothing about it. i was excluded on purpose, sat every day inside or outside the library by myself with heaps of students and teachers passing by me but nobody said a word to me. the year coordinator offered me a chocolate while i was sobbing in her office and i was expected to return to class after i had just told her how badly i was being bullied. and she had the audacity to ask me why i was leaving the school a month later? ridiculous and disgusting. a head teacher manipulated my parents into making them think that students wouldn’t talk to me because i “didn’t smile and was unapproachable” which is a complete and utter disgusting lie and just shows how they want money even at the expense of a student’s health and well-being, especially considering how i could have harmed myself from that. clearly i was not cared for. the teachers saw me alone in every single class but did nothing. i wish i could say i was exaggerating but i am not. i wasn’t the only person this happened to either, i frequently saw another girl in my year group who was sitting alone too all day but nobody did anything to help her either so i hope she moved schools to get out of that hell. this trauma has stayed with me for years, to this very day to the point where i still get nightmares about it and wake up crying. the IB system is also useless and unnecessarily stressful especially because the school expects you to sit the HSC which is a totally different system. i even got yelled at for drawing a small doodle on my exam paper because i had finished early. the school may appear to have nice grounds but don’t fall for it because the teachers and students are bullies and this school will harm you.
don’t send your kid here. they deserve better. these are the facts and i hope it helps you to make an informed decision. i am also not surprised to see so many other negative reviews. trust your gut.

By Parent - 21 Jul 2022, Rate: excellent

An excellent school, with excellent leadership in both JS and SS. Tara's numbers have continually been increasing, to the point where there is a waiting list in a number of year groups now. Opportunities are vast and varied. JS is a friendly, caring, collaborative place, with a nurtuing culture, which is authentic. Teachers go above and beyond all the time for their students, who they genuinely care about. Senior school is a hugely busy place with so many opportunities for their students. Pastoral care is excellent, with every girl known and followed up by tracking system of communication and care. My daughter has been well cared for, and well taught at this school.

By Alumnus - 01 Jun 2022, Rate: bad

This school is truly the best place for girls!
Unless of course, you're a person of colour, lower to middle class, queer, or any other minority within the school :)
It's very impressive how Tara can excel at being horrible in both the teaching and environment aspects of school life; usually you would get one or the other, but Tara really blows it out of the water by being bad at absolutely everything.
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(My review will be only on the Senior School because this is the only part of the school I have firsthand experienced)
I'll get the educational aspect out of the way first.
The IB MYP system is the absolute worst curriculum you could put students through in their junior years. It teaches nothing about the 'inquiry' and 'problem-solving' skills that the teachers preach, and instead allows for nepotism and favouritism in marking. Students do not develop an understanding of mark values and how grades are calculated, as their results are not a percentage, but an 'achievement level', an absolutely meaningless number with no arbitrary awarding system which basically says, "don't question your mark even if it's unreasonable compared to your peers. This is what I, as the teacher think you deserve."
Dear Tara, why not skip the fancy buzz words and actually prepare students for senior learning with exam/assignment styles that get them accustomed to the system that you are making them graduate through? The transition between MYP and NESA learning is clunky and confusing at best, with guaranteed low marks in the first term after transitioning over due to lack of preparation and no developed assessment skills.
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Now that I've gone through general grievances about the educational/teaching/staff aspect, I'll give you all a rapid-fire list of moments that I have witnessed/experienced while learning here.
- Teachers taking weeks off with no adequate substitutes and no responsibility in replying to student emails (bonus points if these leaves are right before an assessment with no negotiation on deadlines

By Student - 26 Apr 2022, Rate: bad

parents if you are seeing this, please do your child the favour of not sending your child to this nightmare of a school. Please do not use your 30,000 dollars to send your child to tara. it is the worst school you could possibly go to. Whilst they publicise it as being a great school who is high achieving the teachers are horrific and do nothing but make it worse. Teachers cause students to cry , yet students can’t stand up for themselves or they will get detention with head of senior school. The Marking system is very unhelpful and boring. Students don’t like it and feel like they aren’t improving. This school puts pressure on you with ensuring you have compulsory subjects which may be considered useless such as STEM or Ancient Greek Society and Drama. Tara does realise how unnecessary these subjects are, as they only focus on these subjects for two terms. Yet this is just extra use of class periods and an extra three assessments per semester to add to the stress. Some teachers refuse to answer questions of students who are enquiring about the learning. Whilst they may teach a lot, it’s not good quality. Teachers who’s primary role are to ensure you feel supported at the school do not cater for this and put pressure on you to be a student which you may not strive to be, and if you don’t exceed these expectations, you have ‘attitude” or your “disrespectful and not grateful” which then cause the teachers so much extra work (even though it’s their role) and they say these students are “a waste of their time”. Anyways don’t send your child to tara x

By Parent - 02 Feb 2022, Rate: excellent

this is the most amazing school.

By Parent - 20 Oct 2021, Rate: excellent

As a parent, we chose Tara because of its wonderful community and encouraging culture for our daughter. The JS staff are excellent, hard-working, collaborative and caring. The JS head is an excellent leader and communicator. My daughter has excelled since going to Tara. A wonderful school, for so many reasons.

By Alumnus - 10 Oct 2021, Rate: bad

This school in all honesty is the worst school I went to. I have to say the sporting staff where amazing. Especially the head of sport SHE SAVED ME! However the girls… the girls are so horrible and I was bullied so much. The teachers who show this told the heads of the school but the heads did nothing. Parents went in still nothing done! The girls there are so exclusive. If you don’t have the same opinions, same money, same Academic grades you are looked down upon. I’ll give credit to my math teacher, my sport teachers, the head of English in 2020, head of sport and my history teacher as they all tried to help me however to the school beyond them, this was never the case, staff, teachers and parents included. It became one of my darkest times. They ruined my views on all girl school. Sure their Academic grades are really good but is that all that matters? I knew many girls besides me getting bullied and yet the school never did anything. Still to this day having been gone from the school for over a year I still get messages from these girls saying they hate me because I have different views, girls continuously spreading rumours about me when they find out I’m friends with someone they know. I say if u are rich, have good grades, and the same opinions as them you will do well there but at this school the only place I felt safe was in the sport centre. Mrs Musto is an angel and she is wise. I tell anyone who goes to this school and is going through a lot to go to her. It is an extremely safe environment in her office and u can be urself. Parents I highly recommend trying to avoid coming here.

By Alumnus - 16 Sep 2021, Rate: bad

This schools is disappointing. The teachers push to excel in an MYP level of achievement which is pointless and a waste of time. In some subjects we spend lessons focusing on the different aspects of MYP which are useless and require us to answer non beneficial questions. I find that many teachers do not pay attention. to you but rather are they so can earn money for their living. The tara bathrooms are disqusting. The have slimy handles, screeching doors, soaking wet floors and old breaking toilets. They have recently done up the year 10 bathrooms so all students resort to these bathrooms instead of their own. With the amount of money coming in from parents fees i think the least they can do to cater to students is to provide them with clean and sanitary bathrooms. They do not cater for the amount of students they have. Whilst tara has recently given students a chapel to use TWICE A WEEK, there is no way that all student can fit in there all together. We have to split our chapel sessions up resulting in a more spacious chapel session. I feel this defeats the purpose of a “united all girls school”. During extreme heats at school we are required to wear our blazers when at chapel and assembly. Keep in mind this is in the middle of the day. The hottest part of the day. If we do not wear blazers we are told we will be given detention. Tara is a commercial school. We are rewarded with prizes if we show up to school with the correct uniform and if we do not we have our names written down so that we can be given detention. This is done and observed by the two teachers standing at the school gates waiting and guarding the school for your arrival. We are given degrading messages if we just a tiny bit late to class. I have experienced tecahers who have gone to the wrong classroom and have been 15 mins out of our 50minute lessons late to class. That’s not an acceptable act as a responsible adult. You are responsible to know where your lesson is located and not to be leave your students wandering from classrooms only to find out they were left outside standing with their heavy textbooks whilst the teacher was drinking coffee on the other side of the school not contemplating that maybe THEY were in the wrong spot. Overall, a disappointing school.

By Student - 01 Sep 2021, Rate: poor

A lot of the teachers are terrible. The students try their best but can't excel. Not enough opportunities for better students, not enough help for struggling student. the environment is hostile and weird. the facilities are very bad. classes are too small, probably a sign. not good subject options, and students don't get to pick subjects until later on unlike PLC and abbotsleigh students. Sports programs is not good, and art program is basic.

By Student - 21 Aug 2021, Rate: excellent

Tara is amazing. I joined and made friend at the first day I joined. The teachers help. They help a lot and help you improve.

By Employee - 16 Feb 2021, Rate: bad

As a teacher for over 20 years I'm appalled that a parent would make a comment that individual children shouldn't be catered too. That is adaptive education and absolutely we should be catering to every student and delivering inclusive styles of teaching. Australian education is ranked as one of the worst in the world so highlighting our ranking as 43rd in the state is not something I would be sprouting when our numeracy and literacy worldwide rankings is appalling. Parents attacking other parents for leaving constructive criticism, well its not surprising that there is bullying in the school. Clearly learned behaviour. Instead of trying to dismiss an issue that clearly exists address the problem and suggest constructive solutions like a civilised adults.

By Student - 07 Feb 2021, Rate: bad

I have been at Tara for 10 years now and I have seen it progressively get worse and deteriorate immensely, not only in the teaching standards but also the overall environment. Sure, the Junior School isn't so bad, in fact I loved attending Tara for my primary school life, they teach you good values through the PYP and make learning enjoyable. However, the teachers are virtually all different now in the junior school compared to when I was in the Junior School so I can't really speak for it now. The Senior School is a whole other story. As soon as Mr Baker became head of Senior School, important learning opportunities and events have been taken away. The once close-knit community is no longer and girls are being constantly bullied. Tara is definitely one of those schools that claim to "cater to each individual" yet all they do is focus on the cream of the crop. This is one problem that I have noticed throughout my whole time here, the same girls, every single year getting the recognition, the awards and the achievements. Tara is blind when it comes to seeing intelligence in different forms. By their definition, intelligence is solely based on getting straight A's, or constantly achieving academic proficiency. Yes, school is a place where you should strive to excel in your academic abilities BUT intelligence shouldn't be measured by that. Due to this, Tara doesn't provide the same opportunities to all students, instead they create a gap between those struggling students, average achievers and then the smart students. Let me provide an example, Tara recently introduced a competition called "Future Problem Solving" and it is a nationwide competition open to "all" students to improve their critical thinking skills, problem solving and much more. Basically using entrepreneurial skills to come up with a solution to a world issue. At the same time this was being held at school I competed in a very similar competition externally with nothing to do with Tara and WE WON. I have never been considered as the cream of crop and I consider myself as an average student. This just demonstrates that you don't need to be able to know how to solve quadradic equations to be able to succeed in something like this. All you need is determination. I would also like to comment on the MYP, I personally feel it is a waste of time. They claim that this way of learning is meant to improve you in all aspects of your learning capabilities. Whilst some of the MYP may help, it's stupid. All you get is a "level of achievement" instead of a mark not explicitly telling you where you went wrong or what exactly you got. Girls are expected to adapt to this system from 7-10 but then completely be smacked in the face with actual marks and a completely different way of learning in year 11. Like at least give the girls the option to take the IB instead of HSC is that what you forced us to do!!! All tara cares about is the good publicity and it is a commercial school, it doesn't live up to it's claims and it is a waste of money. In year 8, my maths teacher was absolutely horrible, he didn't know how to teach properly and didn't know how to spell the most simplest of words. No wonder so many girls leave. I encourage parents to get their children to try out for selective schools at a earlier age, trust me that will be more likely to succeed at a school like that.

By Parent - 26 May 2020, Rate: poor

"..not sure what more can be said!"
Well how about this...Tara only being an IB school from 2015...versus a school in the outer western suburbs of Sydney running the IB since 1990...enough said

By Parent - 21 May 2020, Rate: excellent

Tara facilities are excellent, with new facilities planned. The IB is an internationally recognised educational program run for over 50 years, and the school takes the time to explain its benefits to both staff and students. I have approached teachers on several occasions for feedback on my daughter’s progress, immediate and thoughtful responses, and they will support any student struggling with the work load. School ranked 43rd in state in 2019..not sure what more can be said!

By Parent - 19 May 2020, Rate: bad

This school is APPALLING. My daughter is stressed out of her mind because of the increase of assessments and the lack of preparation time. All the teachers throw work onto the girls and never teach anything. My daughter has to pull all-nighters to finish only HOMEWORK and CLASS assignments, that don't even go to the final grade. Some subjects are completely unnecessary, yet these are the ones that are giving the most work to the students. My daughter had to write a historical report and artistic statement in only 1 week for AGSAD. My daughter never had any time to work on this during class time. Teachers are boring for my daughter, and not making her want to learn anything they are talking about if they even say anything interesting at all. This is absolutely appalling.

By Student - 19 May 2020, Rate: good

I am currently a student at this school and I really like it. I have a good group of friends who care about me and the teachers are all kind people who go out of their way to make sure each girl knows what they're doing. The campus is a lovely place with newly built facilities and beautiful classrooms. The food in the senior school is delicious and they have a wide range of snacks and drinks available. The only thing I don't like about my school is the PYP/MYP system. I find it boring and hard to follow. But I have gotten used to it. It's an incredible school with fantastic staff and a lovely environment. Tara is the best place for girls :)

By Parent - 18 May 2020, Rate: bad

This school is absolutely appalling! The fees are absolutely ridiculous, yet you're definitely not getting your money's worth. The facilities are definitely not to standard for private schools. The teachers are almost always late to class, sometimes don't even attend, saying "I tHoUt It WaS nExT pErIoD". They are unenthusiastic, my daughter has in fact seen teachers online shopping during lessons. It's a complete embarrassment.

By Parent - 24 Mar 2020, Rate: bad

I am a current parent. It is clear the school is disorganise, going through significant staff turnover and many girls leaving.
Tara is often compared against “The Kings School” as many families have their boys going there, Kings School is perhaps one of the best school in Sydney, extremely well resourced, very organise, teaching staff really go the extra mile to support the kids. It is almost an unfair comparison for Tara.
The leadership team need to take accountability.
There is also no exit interview for staff and families leaving to ensure learning is taken onboard to improve the school however exit interview does not exist at Tara.
As more and more students and staff leaving, the leadership team really need to reflect and be accountable. This is a business with a P&L, credibility, image and strong history. Simply sad.

By Parent - 27 Jan 2020, Rate: excellent

We are truly surprised by some of the negative comments about this great school? We had a great experience at Tara and our daughters flourished into beautiful, strong young women. We can only assume that some of the negative comments come from a few selfish parents who think the school should change its entire offering to suit one child, their child. (as we saw with some parents in our class levels) Good parenating starts at home and perhaps some should look at themselves before trying to bag out a great school that has been educating young women for over 100 years. If you don’t like the school, then captain obvious says take your kids out and find a school that will pamper to your every need rather than try to influence unsuspecting parents looking for a great school. From our perspective, the school and teachers went over and above our expectations so we can highly recommend Tara as a school with great facilities, teachers and education.

By Parent - 01 Sep 2019, Rate: excellent

Thank you to “Parent review 26th August 2019”. Fair point!
As a relatively new parent to Tara,I could only comment on my experience and it has been a positive one so far. Only time will tell.
If Tara does not meet my expectation as a parent then one would think the school fees payable would be best suited elsewhere, so as a new parent it’s difficult to understand why one continues on with the school if dissatisfied. There are other great schools out there, especially being a lot more affordable or comparable in fees that may have better educators and whatever else parents on this website claims are better schools, so wouldn’t it be best to take your daughter/s out to another school that better fits your daughter,then continuing with a school that fails to meet your expectations?
For those parents who were or are dissatisfied with the school ,have you voiced your concern? & if so what was the response & outcome of the conversation..

By Parent - 26 Aug 2019, Rate: bad

Dear 'father review on the 25th August 2019', I'm pleased that you feel you have made the right decision for your daughter. If you read all the feedback carefully in this forum, the vast majority speaks not about deciding to enrol - but whether to remain at Tara. Tara has never had any problems attracting enrolments - but it does have major challenges keeping them.
From a facilities and academic subject choice perspective, Tara does look appealing - most especially in comparison to diocesan and public schools. But, from our lived experience, Tara did not deliver on what it promoted to be.

By Parent - 25 Aug 2019, Rate: excellent

I currently have a daughter attending Tara and I hope that by providing you with my point of view that my comments will assist you with deciding to enrol your daughter to Tara.
From observation of my daughter at home and at school, by attending school events and networking with other current parents, the last 8 months has left me so far content with the school.
Make no mistake that our decision for our daughter coming from a public school and to attend a private school such as Tara has been one of the toughest decision we have ever made. After attending many open days over a number of years to a selected few girls private and public schools, we had decided that Tara was best suited for her and so far the school has NOT disappoint.
Facilities are more than sufficient, laptops, music instruments ,tennis courts, swimming pool and more to say the least but more importantly the school doesn’t limit your daughters options because it is all on offer and it’s up to your child to take part and excel or just even to take part and enjoy because let’s not forget they are , the early stages of high school and its more about learning how to time manage and most importantly to make friends.
Best of luck with your decision and feel free to make a reference to my review date (father review on the 25th August 2019) if you want to reach out and I’ll try to respond to any questions you may have to assist with that important decision for your daughter

By Parent - 01 Aug 2019, Rate: bad

Don't ever send your kids to Tara!

By Parent - 23 Jul 2019, Rate: bad

We had 4 daughters with full intentions of sending all 4 to Tara. We only got to number 2 before we moved them to Abbotsleigh. Although there was a bit of travelling involved all 4 of my girls were very happy. They all graduated year 12 having grown into clever well rounded ladies excited for their future. I am so glad I moved my girls rather than persevering at Tara. So very disappointed with Tara. Tara promise so much but yet deliver very little.

By Student - 22 May 2019, Rate: bad

It's not too late...you're not there yet! I'd look elsewhere.

By Student - 19 May 2019, Rate: average

I'm going there next year and it sounds limea bad school

By Parent - 12 Feb 2019, Rate: bad

This school isn't just bad it's atrocious!! One of the worst schools I've ever sent my child to. I'd rather send her to another successful school for the same cost such as Pymble, Abbotsleigh and other private high schools for girls. Firstly it's a waste of money, the teachers don't even care about their jobs my child told me once that they spotted a teacher online shopping, they aren't even Christians and I thought Tara was an "Anglican" school for girls! Secondly, the cafeteria food prices are continuously rising. Kids do not know how much the meal or snack costs because they don't put prices up which I personally find untrustworthy, since they could rip you off by charging more! The IB program has not made a difference in my child's life. She doesn't want to continue compulsory Japanese until the end of year 10!! What is the point of continuing a language, if they don't enjoy it and they aren't going to succeed in it? It is a waste of precious learning time for a subject my child didn't want to continue in the first place. Tara only does the IB to sound like a smart, independent private school for girls. I do not see the benefit of doing this program. Teachers say that the MYP grade is not a "mark" but a level of achievement they think the girls are reaching? I'd prefer to see how my child is doing out of how many questions there are in the exam! Lastly the facilities are appalling! I went the other day to the bathroom in the gym at my daughters softball game and first thing I saw was a wet, muddy and grass filled floor from previous gym classes the week before. The bathroom doors don't properly close and I had to use my force to open and close it! I am asking Tara why they spent ridiculous amounts of money into the Chapel which the kids rarely use?! Plus my child told me that pupils still have to sit outside since there is not enough seating space, it is a shame Tara couldn't even build a chapel for all children to sit in not outside! They could've used this money for better facilities such as better toilets for each year group, better, cleaner lockers and desks/ chairs. Last year, I remember going to mentor meetings to find the chair was wobbly and unstable. I'm very disappointed in Tara. I advise parents who are considering to send their children to Tara to not! Send them to better private schools for girls, with better facilities and teachers. Tara is definitely not the best place for girls!!

By Student - 28 Aug 2018, Rate: bad

Do not send your daughter to this school. There is so much bullying in junior and senior school. My friend broke her leg and girls were kicking her leg. Senior Girls were also caught smoking marijuana in the toilets. I stayed in boarding for a while and the boarding house is so old and run down. It is full of mean and rude girls that the Director can't even control them. All my friends left the school. It is poorly run and the facilities are embarrassing for an "elite" school because everything is old and it's falling apart. The school is full of international students and half of them can't even speak English and they accept everybody who applies to make up numbers and is willing to pay the high fees. The staff are all miserable and you can see the head staff treating other staff badly. Parents are upset for putting their daughters in this school and wasting their money. I was so glad to get out of there.

By Parent - 02 Jul 2018, Rate: average

Does anyone know if the IB has also negatively impacted in the Junior School?

By Parent - 27 Jun 2018, Rate: average

Ok I'll let you all know the truth about Tara. Junior school is great. Senior school isn't worth the money. You are paying high fees for average . The thing about the senior school is the implementation of the MYP programme. What they do is make up their own IB programme. The first 2 weeks of school term is spent quickly rushing the entire terms curriculum in 2-3 weeks max hurrying to get the work taught so they can quickly give you an examination in week to get a termly report done and signed. The teachers are pushed by Nr Baker saying they have to quickly teach the content as fast as they can to get the report done. Imagine every child wanting to ask a question and the teacher says " sorry should have listened I don't have time to help you I'm in the race to deliver the content as fast as I can then in week 3your child will get a notification that a test for the report is coming next week but the teacher won't have enough time to teach all of it in a short period of time. Then there pops up 8 exams in one week to try and study all night and every single weekend and some things in exams hadn't been taught yet. Then the teacher tells the class they are only expected a grade 2 of 8 then tell the kids that the highest in class only got a b minus so they did ok. They are all studying all weekend to learn for week 4 and 5 exams and there is 8 subjects giving homework and 8 subjects having an exam all in one week!! After being taught in a rush by the teacher to learn it quickly.if they are studying 30 hours a week at home why are they getting worse marks?? Highest mark in grade a B?? The teachers complain about the stress they are under from controlling Mr Baker and having to rush to teach. No one besides Mr Baker is Intrested in this MYP programme. He never surveyed us parents paying the fees about how we felt about MYP and everyone is doing HSC elsewhere. The Asian students are getting punished by parents for getting bad marks and are studying till 4am to get an A but aren't getting good marks. All the senior school is doing is cramming the work teaching in a rush, stressing out the students saying c is a great mark. It's unfortunate that Tara is doing this made up curriculum. Waste if time and hard work for nothing.

By Alumnus - 20 Sep 2017, Rate: bad

Parents learn so much about 'other schools' because Tara compels them to find out how a high-fee independent girls' school ought to be run. Judging by the declining student numbers, you no longer have to keeping wondering where the problem really, really lies.

By Alumnus - 15 Sep 2017, Rate: excellent

Amazing how much some people know about other schools that they've never even been too!! And really if you've experienced that many schools you many wonder where the problem really really lies...

By Alumnus - 09 Aug 2017, Rate: bad

Tara anglican seems like the perfect christian private school from the outside but it is very different on the inside. As a private school the fees are tremendously high however for the money you are paying it is not worth it. Teachers are uninterested and lack to support their students. The facilities are nowhere as near good to the private schools specifically Abbottsleigh, Barker, Pymble Ladies college and other North Shore private schools. The school does NOT carry the same reputation as the other big private schools specifically North Shore private schools. The girls also are not given the same opportunities as the other privates like Pymble and abbottsleigh who send children to Harvard and Cambridge to study. Many girls also do not get the chance to attend international universities like Cambridge etc. You can call this school a private school all you want but it is far from it and is not recognised as a good private school within the league of private schools. If you want your child to have a proper private school education look at private schools on the north shore.

By Parent - 16 Dec 2016, Rate: bad

Parents go to another school because they find out that this school does not deliver on what it promises. When you sit in morning traffic on Pennant Hills Road a few kilometres from Tara and see girls waiting at bus stops with uniforms of other independent girls' schools, it sends a very strong message to passers-by that given the choice, well informed parents choose to send their daughters to schools other than Tara.

By Parent - 09 Dec 2016, Rate: excellent

And the 2015 had results speak for themselves.
" group, 34% of Tara’s HSC students gained ATARs over 95, 46% with an ATAR above 90, and 68.5% over 80 for their ATAR"
If you check the 2015 top 100 HSC results. Tara came 31st in NSW. Beating MLC, ravens wood, Barker,Knox, Loretto Kirrabilli, Santa sabina and many more. I can assure you no bullying is tolerated there as there is a strict anti bullying policy in place.the teachers promptly reply to your emails.eben late at night, weekends out of their working hours.mi have seen parents take out their daughter from being upset that their daughter had been disciplined for misbehaving.there are teaches after school helping with homework in senior school. And the junior school has the best after school programme I have experienced. I have never experience after school care with staff patient,hardworking and helpful as the staff at the before and after school care.the school holiday programme is great as well.mi have placed my daughter in many vacation care programmes elsewhere and put her in public school vacation care programmes as well which I found completely appalling with staff so lazy, rude,just wanted to go home early and would complain if you picked up your child half an hour before closing as wanted early marks. But Yata before and after school care and vacation care are the best I have found ever.

By Parent - 08 Dec 2016, Rate: excellent

My daughter started kindergarten in this school and so I know the school well enough to comment by now. As she is in senior school. Why are numbers declining? Because the majority of residents in local area are people moving in from India starting off in Australia with low salaries, refugee population moving in, And the demographics of this area are changing. Why would someone on north shore travel over when there's a huge choice over there. So the majority of families are commuting from the hills area. For high school some go to Mercy down in parramatta because of the low catholic school fees. I also see students leave and also hear their reason why. A lot of the time was because their precious princess got in trouble for misbehaving and had to be disciplined. There is an anti bullying policy in place and the parents thought " I'll show them, I'll take my daughter out. Some more wealthy parents take out their child as they find something more expensive and think they might be missing out on something even better thinking pymble, Abbotsleigh, Mlc, has to better because the fees are higher. I even got email responses at 10pm on a weekend .check out the high Tara HSc

By Parent - 13 May 2016, Rate: bad

The accounts of the people who give their opinion and feedback in this forum, is manifest of the lack of will of the school?s board to ask why student numbers continue to slide south in the hands of Sue and Ruth. Your ?disbelief? ought to be directed to Sue and Ruth as to why student numbers have been the lowest in an era where comparable independent girls schools in this city are enjoying unprecedented enrolment numbers and pipeline

By Parent - 01 May 2016, Rate: excellent

I cannot believe the things I am reading. I stumbled across this site and the inaccuracies are unbelievable. Clearly people are not afraid to let the truth get in the way of a good rant! The review submitted on the 24 March 2014 was particularly appalling. What message are you sending your children by writing these reviews. Would you like people to write in such a manner about your daughter? This is not the way we should act.

By Alumnus - 16 Dec 2015, Rate: bad

I went to Tara from Year 2 to Year 10. As soon as I reached Year 7 it was non-stop bullying and snobbishness. I had never said anything to anyone, ever! I was very quiet child and always kept to myself. I was constantly taunted by a group 'upper middle class bogans' who thought they had a power over me. Stupidest decision I EVER made was telling the teachers - for YEARS and YEARS I made complaints about these girls, which meant every few weeks we'd all get called into a 'meeting' to 'sort it out'. These girls NEVER got disciplined and it only made situations worse. My worried sick mother and I had both been promised something would change. I went to counselling throughout the whole of Year 8 and 9 because I was convinced there was something wrong with who I was.
The final straw was when I was in Year 10. I got cornered by these girls in the locker room where they spat on me and called me awful names. I didn't say anything to the teachers because I knew they wouldn't do anything, but other people who witnessed the incident did. Of course another meeting was called to 'sort it out', and surprise surprise, nothing happened.
My mother was called because my year supervisor was worried about my behaviour where she found out about this incident. She made an official complaint about these girls and demanded it was put on their permanent record, but were not sure if it ever was. I was then moved to a public school to finish my final years and had the best time of my life and met the most incredible, humble people who I am still very close with to this day.
Considering I went to this school for 10 years and was still treated in this way throughout high school, I would NEVER recommend Tara to anyone.
In saying all that, the teachers were nice but they couldn't handle the girls. Facilities were good. But it's true what they say about this school - snob school.

By Parent - 08 Dec 2015, Rate: average

I am a current parent in the junior school. I must say that over the years, I have become increasingly concerned about the decline in overall student numbers.

By Parent - 08 Dec 2015, Rate: bad

In a word.....INADEQUATE.

By Alumnus - 07 Dec 2015, Rate: excellent

I left Year 12 at Tara a couple of years ago now with a great education, wonderful friends and a great sense that a Tara girl can do anything. Thanks Tara!

By Parent - 05 Dec 2015, Rate: excellent

I have had 2 daughters go through Tara and I couldn't be happier with the ecucation and pastoral care they received during their time. From my family's perspective Tara is an excellent school!

By Alumnus - 04 Nov 2015, Rate: bad

Student numbers so small that every kid in Yr 6 next year gets a leadership role. LOL!

By Parent - 27 Oct 2015, Rate: bad

Moved my daughter from Tara & she is so much happier because of it...

By Parent - 12 Oct 2015, Rate: poor

If you don't want your child being bullied, send her to a more multicultural school.

By Parent - 16 Jun 2015, Rate: bad

To 'Student - 11 Jun 2015'. You're absolutely right! Forget those unfounded and baseless accusations about Tara! Those people clearly do not know what they're talking about. I mean, when you're on a 'good thing', why wouldn't you want to stick to it, right?
Unless, of course, those unfounded and baseless accusations are in fact, true!
Try as you may in your endorsement of Tara being a "wonderful school", the FACTS speak for themselves:
Total enrolments for 2008 was 853
Total enrolments for 2009 was 785
Total enrolments for 2010 was 748
Total enrolments for 2011 was 712
Total enrolments for 2012 was 691
Total enrolments for 2013 was 694
Total enrolments for 2014 was 680
Drum roll please for 2015 numbers....
Look it up! It's there for all to see. The "wonderful" thing about Freedom of Information is, we don't have to take your endorsement, nor the lies the Principal together with her Head of Junior, would like to purport! Parents HAVE been getting their facts straight! Those enrolment figures speak for themselves! I'd suggest YOU get YOUR facts straight and stop embarrassing yourself with YOUR misinformed "BS" (great rep for the Tara , by the way), about this school!

By Student - 11 Jun 2015, Rate: excellent

Okay after fully reading all of the accusations made against Tara i can say half of which are false.
1. Students are Tara are not stuck up this is just a rumor that many other schools think about us but it is not true.
2. Yes, i can admit junior school has gone a bit downhill however senior school is much better and none of those points made against JS apply to SS.
3. To the parent who said it was the Junior School Head that changed the name of the tara fair to "The big day out" that is absoultely false that decision was made by the P&F and had nothing to do with her. So please get your facts straight.
4. Not all our students are international in fact there is a very small percentage that are
5. Teachers rarely ever forget to show up or a late.
6. Mrs Middlebrook is a great principal and has many meetings with students and parents to brainstorm ideas on how to fix and possible problems
7. The people saying Tara isn't being Christian enough or whatever are misinformed. Yesterday i was involved in a meeting to suggest ideas for the schools new strategic plan. And based on the amount of post it notes from students there is if anything to much Christian influence in Tara.
8. Also if this was true why is the school building an actual Chapel.
Hope this clears things up!

By Student - 11 Jun 2015, Rate: excellent

Those two people don't know what they are talking about. Tara is a wonderful school and i know several people who have moved from those school to Tara. I also had a friend who left to go to Loretto and came back she hated it so much.
Tara is a really good school with little to no bulling :)

By Student - 11 Jun 2015, Rate: excellent

Oh and as for the not having weekly Christian studies? No offence but that is BS. I have been here since kindy and i know for a fact that is not the case. We have had weekly christian studies since i came here in 2004. Parents please get your facts straight before you embarrass yourselves with your misinformed vendetta against this school!

By Parent - 01 May 2015, Rate: bad

How do you turn a great school into one which could only be described as average at best? Appoint a Principal with no prior experience in leading a K to 12 school and a Head of Junior whose previous role was a co-ordinator! Dynamic duo! 115 plus years of distinguished education of girls crash and burn! School Council...please explain?

By Student - 29 Apr 2015, Rate: excellent

In the previous two years over 15 girls have moved from Tara to Abbotsleigh and I suggest you move your daughter too!

By Student - 29 Apr 2015, Rate: excellent

Send your child to Abbotsleigh, Pymble Ladies, PLC, Loreto, Meriden, Roseville, Arden! Any school but Tara!

By Student - 29 Apr 2015, Rate: bad

Tara the best place for girls is their motto! But do the girls really represent it? More like Tara the worst place for girls! I was educated at Tara from 2012-2014 and I was so glad I have moved. In my very first year of Tara a girl told me she felt like murdering me, later on that week she said I feel like punching you in the face and she laughed about it! I told teachers both times what had happened and they did not believe me or just didn't care. To describe Tara in 3 words would be WASTE OF TIME or WASTE OF MONEY! I must admit sport was amazing thanks to Mrs Smiles but other than that it was bad. The same girl I have already mentioned said she wanted to get me expelled so she could be best friends with my best friend. A lot of drama had gone on in Yr 5 Term 1 so the teachers told all the girls to write down every single bit of gossip but of course only me an one other girl had written about the girl that said she wanted to get me expelled even though about 8 girls heard her say it! So of course when I'm doing my work in class and I hear them say 'she's lying' and I obviously knew it was about the incident. I could not believe that the girls lied to the teachers and the teachers actually believe them. These are just SOME of my stories from Tara I hope you do not fall into the trap set by Ms Adams and Mrs Middlebrook!

By Parent - 03 Nov 2014, Rate: bad

Like many who contribute to forums and blogs we express opinions and are prepared for others to share alternate views. That is what makes forum discussions a great thing. To the Parent 21 Oct. to be clear, like you I am expressing a view about the school based on personal experience. Like you, my post is biased as it is an opinion based on my observation and interactions during our 6 years at the school. Just as you are biased based on your positive experience of the school. I am pleased to read that you found it met the needs of your daughter. What I merely highlighted to the post dated 1 Oct and I can see you are also making the same conclusion, that somehow these views are being expressed by as you say "the same person" or "an odd parent or two". The statistics in my post are public record they are the statistics the school has submitted to independent government authorities. They are statistics which every person can access via the government website. In fact statistics which the school uses on its marketing collateral can be found in the same place. Hence to make accusations at a parent like me who had a negative experience at Tara as having a "personal agenda" because I happen to respond when I did (how is that relevant unless of course you were the person who posted on 1 Oct) just because I do not share your sentiments of the school and to suggest that my opinion and those of other parents in this forum should be discounted because we provide a different view defeats the purpose of informed choice...forums like these give everyone positive or negative experiences alike an opportunity for different perspectives...to be clear again...NO I did not write the other posts, because as hard as it is for you to believe, it appears we weren't the only one to have had a negative experience, as the statistics show there are many of us! And yes you are absolutely right people will make up their own minds and they have been...undisputed statistics in 2008 student body of 853, 2013 student body of 694...without stating the obvious the decline in numbers represents parents making an informed choice.

By Parent - 21 Oct 2014, Rate: excellent

Parent dated 3rd of October 2014: judging by the speed and haste at which you replied to a post dated 1st of October clearly shows that you have a personal agenda against the school so I am not sure of just how much of what I read below is actually unbiased? We had a great time at a Tara and can only recommend it as a great school! The only thing that I agree with in the post dated I dated 3rd of October 2014 is that online forums such as these are helpful and informative but there does seem to be a personal vendetta against the school and I suspect that many of these posts are probably from the same person. Never the less, Tara was a great school for my daughter and her cousins and I am sure people will make their own minds up. Small school, personalised service, consistent hsc results over the years, lots of co-curricular options; worked for us!

By Parent - 03 Oct 2014, Rate: bad

Online forum like these are exactly what Tara painstakingly take great lengths (and expense) to try and hide from prospective parents. I would have thought that the points that many current and ex-Tara parents and students are trying to express here, is not necessarily motivated to try and convince those who are already at Tara to look elsewhere, rather to those prospective parents who are evaluating schools for their daughter(s). Forums like these temper the carefully edited glossy marketing collateral and rehearsed tour sessions which are designed to convince you of the unfounded assertion that ?Tara is the best place for girls?. Above and beyond the personal accounts of the people who have posted in this forum, there are statistics out there suggesting there is an obvious disquiet among the customer-base from which Tara draws its enrolments. The falling enrolment figures from 853 in 2008, to 694 in 2013 counter-indicates that ?Tara is the best place for girls', as it can not only maintain current enrolment numbers, but more alarmingly can not grow it. This is despite an additional Early Learning (Pre-K) year being added during this timeframe. We personally could account for a particular year group who began from Kindergarten to Year 6 being reduced by up to a third of its size. This is not fiction. Take a closer look at well known websites about schools, there is a statistic that shows between the NAPLAN years of 3, 5, 7 & 9, what percentage of the cohort year group sat the NAPLAN. For example only 61% of Year 3 cohort in 2011 were still at Tara in Year 5 in 2013! What seems like many years ago, ie.2004 to 2007, Tara had 3 streams in Year 5 and 6. This is no longer the case. Junior School struggles to fill 2 streams of classes for each year group. In the Senior School, Tara had the unenviable milestone this year of having the smallest Year 7 cohort in recent memory. I would encourage all prospective parents to ask for the yearbooks for any years between 2004-2013 and you will vividly see in pictures the decline in class numbers across the school. The frustration being expressed in this forum is an indictment of Tara?s inability and unwillingness to listen to its customers and their arrogance in not recognising to whom they are ultimately accountable. Hence the assertion that there is merely 'an odd parent' who is dissatisfied would prove to not only be statistically, but factually incorrect and invalid.

By Parent - 01 Oct 2014, Rate: excellent

Wow there are some negative comments here that just don't make sense? We had children go through Tara in recent years and yes it was a struggle financially but as it turns out, Tara is the best thing we have done for our children! Obviously we didn't agree with some of the changes and rules but they did get 95% of our daughter's education RIGHT!
My daughters have made life long friends, received all the help they needed to get through school and they were prepared perfectly for life after Tara. This is what we consider value for money; not some self-centred disagreement to the naming a Fair or the way a news letter arrived home; these things are truly unimportant in scheme of children's education!
Perhaps some of these negative comments about Tara are way too premature; I would be very interested to see if some of the negative parents will still be happy with the alleged better schools named here AFTER their children finish year 12, because we certainly are happy with Tara? I guess time will tell.
I am quite surprised that some parents wrote such unfounded defamatory comments about a great school other than perhaps a personal agenda or individual unsuitability....? We know lots of parents and ex-students that are very happy with their time at Tara!
The only suggestion I have for the odd parent or two that are unhappy with Tara is to find your kids a school that does what YOU want it to, move on and let Tara educate the children of people that want to be there.
While we are all entitled to our options, we have nothing but compliments for Tara and we can certainly recommend the school after having our children go right through from kindy to year 12!
Tara was a major unknown for us as new parents when our children stated at the school but time proved it to be the right choice by the end of year 12 for us so please choose wisely parents!

By Parent - 12 Sep 2014, Rate: bad

Shocking!!! Junior School just ok... Senior school atrocious! Teachers never there, turn up late. Nothing special. All international students. No management. All friends leaving. Go to MLC, Santa, either PLC's or Loretta - much better!

By Student - 08 Sep 2014, Rate: bad

Worse school ever!

By Parent - 14 Aug 2014, Rate: bad

As an ex-Tara parent, I can say that we too were led to believe that Tara's "quality of teachers, learning and activities are great". It wasn't until we left and enrolled at another independent girls' school, that we discovered how much we've short-changed our daughter whilst at Tara, as our current school delivers far more than what we've previously experienced. We were convinced that Tara was 'innovative' and 'personalised' in their learning programmes. Learning programmes which were only the minimum of what other independent girls' schools delivers. Whilst at Tara, we unfortunately didn't have the benefit of being able to compare a like-for-like school. Our only regret is not making the move a lot sooner.

By Parent - 13 Aug 2014, Rate: excellent

In my opinion as a current parent I am extremely happy with Tara as it is a friendly place. The quality of my daughters teachers, learning and activities are great. I'm so impressed with her development and I know she has a great time at school.

By Parent - 06 Aug 2014, Rate: bad

What happened to Science being a specialist learning subject, delivered by a dedicated specialist teacher? Swiftly removed without parental engagement nor consent! After calling a couple of other independent girls' schools (who are IB accredited) to verify their Science programme, I was shocked to discover that it was still a specialist subject area, taught by a Science teacher! Ripped off. Just told my husband to submit an application to go on their wait list.

By Parent - 31 Jul 2014, Rate: excellent

There are individual teachers at Tara who are good. Pity they are now the minority. You've got to ask yourself however, if the teaching is that good, the statistics ought to reflect a student body across Junior and Senior schools to be trending upward. Unfortunately, unlike many of Tara's peers, it can't boast of a wait list. Let's just say that parents are not exactly beating down the doors to send their daughters to Tara. Not to mention it's ability to even retain existing students. Save yourself and your daughters a disservice. Find another school.

By Alumnus - 31 Jul 2014, Rate: bad

There are individual teachers at Tara who are good teachers. Pity they are now the minority. Overall, If the teaching is that good, the statistics ought to reflect a student body across Junior and Senior schools to be trending upwards. Unfortunately, unlike many of Tara's peers, it can't boast of a wait list. Not to mention it's ability to even retain existing students. Save yourself and your daughters a disservice. Find another school.

By Student - 30 Jul 2014, Rate: average

Tara is not a terrible school. The teaching is good if you actually listen in class. The students, are not so great. They are stuck up

By Parent - 29 Jul 2014, Rate: bad

The school at face value appears like a great school. It's not until you get here that you realise its not the place they promise it to be. Parents have asked me why is Tara advertising on bus shelters, street signs and buses around the Hills and Parramatta districts. Answer is simple they need the numbers. Ask any Tara parent like me in junior school, each class is less than 20, NOT by choice. My only advice to any parent looking for a quality, well rounded and Christian centred education for their daughter, shop around. I know we are and other parents like us. Of course you don't have to take my word for it, you can pay for the privilege and experience it for yourself, then after you've had enough, then shop around. I only wish we came across these posts when we were looking, it would have changed our choice. Now we're on a wait list.

By Alumnus - 09 Jul 2014, Rate: bad

I knew there was something up with the barrage of billboard ads on major roads, buses, shopping centres, local newspapers and the like, lately. I thought, WOW, why would Tara spend such a fortune on school advertising for what I thought was a pretty coveted school (in the area). And then, I come across these posts!
Sounds like Tara needs to learn some lessons on 'customer service 1-0-1'! It's crazy to be spending up big on their print reputation, while their digital reputation BURNS on pages like this!

By Parent - 04 Jul 2014, Rate: poor

Dear Parent 8 June 2014, we are extremely happy with our daughters' new school. Being at Tara for several years we took it for granted that what the school delivered was in fact the best education for our girls. It is only now that we realise having our new school to compare to and that of our son's that what Tara delivers falls significantly short of what a good well rounded education should be and moreover what school community looks like. We have seen first hand in both the girls and boys school we are now at teachers who define caring and commitment. They are responsive and proactive in communicating and the leadership of the school are transparent about what we as aparent should expect from their staff. They are humble, prepared to accept they they too do not always get it right and readily accept feedback. What I'm describing is simply the Christian ethos which a true Christian centred school displays in their approach towards parents and students. At Tara They say this is what they are all about, but this is not true. Teachers would take days and weeks to reply to you if at all. This too applies to its Head of Junior and Principal.

By Parent - 17 May 2014, Rate: poor

I thankfully, am an ex-Tara parent and I am truly sorry to see the standard of education and Christian values decline in the school. We have moved on to another independent school and now see what a real quality education and Christian centred learning looks like. The school has done away with many lunch time clubs, before and after school training because it will inconvenience its teachers. Parents cannot even make an appointment with the class teacher to discuss their daughter's progress outside of school hours. Tara designates one day in term 1 for parent teacher interview which allows parent/s a massive 15 minutes of one-to-one audience of the teacher. Tara supports their teachers with professional development recently sending no less than 4 staff members overseas for development but there is no return of investment for parents. Don't let the head of junior school or principal convince you that parents are leaving for financial reasons, they are not! They leave and go on to places like MLC, Abbotsleigh, Loreto Normanhurst (who by the way will recommence next year intake from Yr 5, clearly there is a demand for quality education!). Independent schools such as these along with Ravenswood, Pymble, PLC, Meriden all have full classes. Tara is blitzing newspapers and buses with its advertising because they cannot meet enrolment targets, just ask a current yr 7 parent as this is the smallest intake in the school's history. It is also true that the good teachers have left but good to see that there are pockets of dedicated teachers still in the school because there are girls and their parents who have entrusted their futures to them. I hope and pray that at some point in the future the leaders of the school will listen to the voices of all parents not just those they agree with and with humility turn the school around. It would be a shame to see the legacy of its founder Miss Waugh disappear...

By Parent - 27 Mar 2014, Rate: poor

I am also a Tara parent. When my child started the school I were so impressed. The junior school principle was so helpful, hardworking, caring and firm as well. THEN, came the new junior school principle. She tries hard to please, but really she just tries to be her student's friends. She has changed EVERYTHING about the school.entirely diferent rules, changing things how they have been done for years, changing the name of Tara fair to " The big day out" changing the curriculum, removing christian studies ( it is a Anglican school so is meant to have christian studies so that's why we send our girl's there.removes all the lunchtime clubs so there is nothing to do, stopped swimming training before school during summer months, stopped putting the students into reading and maths groups according to their academically ability so the smart ones are tutoring the lazy ones. There used to be a policy that if a student got 3 red cards they will be expelled. Now they just get a friendly talking to and the bullies get away with it. This new principal is a divorced woman who is spending so much time on trying to fix things that are not broken and not spending time on the important things. She is an atheist who has even removed the school emblem off the school notes that get sent home because it was a crucifix. The school is going down at a rapid rate. Used to be such a great school, but now all the fantastic teachers are leaving at a fast rate.

By Parent - 14 Feb 2014, Rate: excellent

Tara is a caring and nurturing learning environment that continually encourages its students to do their very best.
My daughters have been there for only a year. After a few weeks of commencing there, they came home with comments such as 'the teachers really like me and want to help me', 'everyone is so nice', 'they make me want to study', but the best comment of all was 'it's like another home'. Having attended both a previous private school and public school, this was the first time our daughters were enjoying school and most importantly, enjoying learning. Lots of time, effort and money goes into our Tara education, but it's the best gift, after faith, that we have given our girls. We can't thank Tara enough.