Nexus, Dover Court, other suggestions...

[merou]

Hello
We'll be relocating from France in June this year and are looking for recent experience about International Schools. As we expect to live in the vicinity of Holland Village, Nexus and Dover Court look like interesting options.
Our children would be in 6th and 8th grade.
Any feedback on the quality of teaching, and also on extra-curicular programs (music, acting...)?
I know both schools have undergone serious changes in the recent years and need to understand the direction they are headed.
Other suggestions in the same price range would be appreciated as well (Canadian school may be an option as well).
Also, we currently plan to have the children attend such school (with teaching made in English) for two years and then move back to the French system. Does anyone have experience with that?
Looking forward to hearing from many of you!

[merou]

Hello,

I am still interested in getting feedback. We plan to visit in April and wish to focus on the best options.
Thank you!

[PNGMK]

Dover, AFAIK if a for profit school which means the shareholders generally abhor paying for materials, teachers etc. Nexus operates AFAIK under a gentler economic not for profit model.

[The Ref]

My kids started ant Dover and it was a great school, however the senior school was tiny with hardly any students. I know they planned to change that but I don't know how it is now. That said it was really nice at the time, even though we had to move to a bigger school.

Given the price of schools here you may look into the French School (LFS) - it is subsidised by the French Government and supposedly much cheaper. And they play rugby

[Sensei Michael]

Dover, AFAIK if a for profit school which means the shareholders generally abhor paying for materials, teachers etc. Nexus operates AFAIK under a gentler economic not for profit model.

I do not see any indication on their website that they are a not-for-profit school. Normally schools that operate under a trust (as opposed to shareholder) model would have indicated this in their site, no?

[PNGMK]

Dover, AFAIK if a for profit school which means the shareholders generally abhor paying for materials, teachers etc. Nexus operates AFAIK under a gentler economic not for profit model.

I do not see any indication on their website that they are a non-for-profit school. Normally schools that operate under a trust (as opposed to shareholder) model would have indicated this in their site, no?

A former poster here (Hannaroo) says it was NFP. She had kids in it.

[kerrydriver]

We chose Nexus when we moved to Singapore in 2015 and we are very happy with it. The teachers our two sons have had have all been great. The community is very welcoming and active in school life. There are a lot of options for after school activities. If you chose the ones that are provided by outside service providers the cost of the after school programs can be costly but our boys love what they've chosen so it's good value in the end. We have not pursued the drama or music options but we have seen several performances at the school and they've been great. The school is moving to a new campus (possibly as soon as 2020 but not sooner) and although the location is far away from the Holland Village area (it's being built in Ajunied, which is in the East area), the facilities are going to be amazing, so although it means bussing for our boys at that time if we don't move, we're OK with that because commutes in Singapore are never terrible when going east / west.

[merou]

Thanks a lot for the valuable info. Glad that Dover Court and NEXUS worked out for your children The Ref and Kerrydriver.
Our kids (11 and 12) don't speak English well right now. Is one school better suited for this situation?
I am also looking for info about ISS, another well regarded school.

The French school (LFS) has an excellent reputation within the French community, and indeed it is significantly cheaper than most other options. It is however taught is French and we wish to expose the children to an all-English speaking environment for a while, until they are really fluent. This will probably take 2 years after which we expect to join the LFS where they also play handball, my son's favorite sport... I know of several people who did exactly this with no regret at all.

[merou]

A quick feedback now that we have visited a few schools:
1. Dover Court: nice for young children, a quite easy to handle place, with a "family feel" to it. Not ideal for teenagers as they are quite under developped after primary school. They are growing though and may be a better option in a few years time. We didnot select this school.
2. GESS: no doubt about the quality of the teaching, they are also moving soon to a brand new facility which would make everything perfect. However they will only accept children who are already proficient in English in their international section. Not for my children... Same goes with Chatsworth.
3. ISS: very, very nice. Small yet well equiped, they obviously pay a lot of attention to individuals and have a good ESL program. We have applied there.
4. NEXUS: they have a strong emphasis on technology and arts, we had a good feel upon visiting. Several locals warned us it may be a bit below other schools but I don't know if this is based on recent facts or not. We may apply... They will move to a new facility within 2-3 years.
5. ACS (International): my kids loved it and so did we. They offer a very high level of education, are perfectly located, emphasize math and sciences to an even higher degree than other schools (they are a mix of local and international systems, we actually like that). The organization in houses looks very interesting. They have a very efficient Bridging system allowin fast learning of English. This is our N.1 pick despite their January to January agenda.
6. The French school (LFS): very very nice, but so French... We save it for later.

So it is going to be ACS, ISS or Nexus. It is decision time...

[lagimoana]

Thanks for this detailed reply.

Interesting that you felt ACS (international) was your number 1!

We are arriving on Monday and will tour a few schools in the coming weeks.

My number 1 is UWC so far, but I really want to check out GIIS. At half the price of other International Schools, I feel it is worth a look.