International or Local School

[Paularaja]

We are moving back to singapore in the next 6 weeks, my husband is Singaporean and myself and 2 boys hold a british passport.

We will be living on local terms, no longer an expat, as such am debating the school situation as we have to pay the fees ourselves.

Can anyone suggest a good local school, I have heard they are very tough and competative, my son in 6 years old.

I have looked at ERIS and seem quite pleased with them, I am an oldie Dover Court and UWCite, but think that they are now old schools!!!

Any views on local vs international for our international family??

Thanks

[sq009]

I vote for Local school, but choose carefully.

[Paularaja]

thank you for that short piece of advice, but do you recommend any local schools then,

We have been out of singapore for 10 years, so no idea on schools

[sq009]

Well, most important is to choose a school with reputation like Nan Yang Pri Sch, Tao Nan School, River Valley Primary... Those are schools with good reputations. More importantly choose a school that you are confortable, with short travelling distance.

No point waking up early in the morning to catch a school bus or sending your child to school. Waste of time, energy, and it will only add stress to children.

I vote for local schools, so that your child can be exposed to the multi cultural environment, and also option to learn mandarin!

Local schools can be a little stressful, with rigid curriculums. But... i still think theres more pros than cons

[k1w1]

If your son is not PR, then none of the above schools will be open to him I wouldn't think.

Do you know about enrolment phases for foreigners? In a nutshell, local kids get placed in schools and the leftover places are available for foreign kids. Not always a bad thing, since the idea of "good education" in Western countries differs a lot to that of the pushy and high-pressure top schools here. The government is working on changing this and the changes seem to happen first in the lower rank schools where parents, staff and students are more open to change.

It is worth considering putting your son in a local school to start off with. The move to an International School would be easier than a move over to a local school if it turns out to be a very expensive exercise.

All the International Schools here are excellent, so choosing one will really depend on what you want and what will suit your child.

[Paularaja]

I think the challege i will face is that the local school year will not begin until Jan 2008, whereas the International School starts in August 2007, so if I wait to see if I can get him into local and then don't succeed then I may have already missed out on putting him into international school...

UUUUUGGGGGHHHHH.....this is soooo difficult, we are a half expat/half singaporean family and we just don't get a good deal either way..

WHAT TO DOOOOOOO

[micknlea]

Surely you can still start in January at an International School, even if you are one term in? What about people who arrive all through the year, the kids just start when they arrive. Our kids started school in February at an international school, wasn't a problem, I know lots of kids who have done so, in fact also know one that started at local school mid term as well.

[sq009]

International schools are relatively lax when it comes to enrolment, as in, they'll allow enrolment even in mid terms. whereas local schools are rigid and inflexible. I'll still vote for local schools though, good exposure.

[uk-kiwi]

PP, good exposure to what exactly? There are plenty of International Schools that teach Mandarin and are truly multicultural. Local schools are full of Singaporeans, sure there are ethnic chinese, malays and indians but they're still Singaporean

Dover and UWC still have good reputations and Dover may have places in Aug if you enquire now. UWC most likely won't.

[sq009]

A true exposure to multi cultures. As far as i understand, although International Schools provide a good mixture of cultures and races as well, but then again its slightly shifted to the western culture.

My main concern is travelling distance, they get more exposure by playing with neighbourhood kids. haha.

singapore may seem small, but with all that traffic. travelling time can bring you from NY to LA.

[local lad]

In my opinion, students in International Schools are more articulate than local students. If all of you seen the show the Arena, you will know what I mean.

I gathered this after talking to a kid from an International School. Her perception is so much different from kids her age.

Well, it's my opinion

[sundaymorningstaple]

local lad,

you are correct in you assumption basically. the International School still gives a more rounded question and also inculcates questioning whereas the local school tend to scold if you ask questions. (I know, both of my were in constant trouble for questioning some of the BS crap they got in the local system). How to say? Like father like son & daughter