Sounds like you've done what I did - browsed for a while on the forums and perhaps also asked friends and acquaintances about schools. What else is there to do when you are trying to slot your children into place from miles away?
And if they are already at the best state school in the UK (which one, I wonder, am intrigued...) then of course it follows that you want like for like and the two schools that you have earmarked as your top choices would, I think, echo this. And of course, as you've found, everyone wants to go there and the waiting lists go round the block and back again. I don't think the choices end with those two places though - unless everywhere else is full up.
It seems like there is a lot of transience in the
International Schools with families coming and going and places opening up and waiting lists often being an issue, esp for the two schools you mention, or so I've heard.
We have a 7-year-old son, too. Dover Court, our 'new' school come September, was approaching capacity when we nabbed a place at the end of March. Is it now full? And all the other
International Schoolsl? Or is it just that you don't know which others to start with? There certainly seems to be loads of choice.
When faced with a sudden UK-Sing move this Feb we were completely in the dark about what to go for and did our research, as I think you have done, online and by word of mouth and in the end opted for a UK curriculum, choosing continuity over adventure as we weren't (aren't) sure how long we are staying. I guess you have already looked at choices of curriculum and class size, and compared feedback by continuing your research on the forums, all that?
Everyone will have a say over what they think is the 'best' school. What are your values? Hopes? What might be a good match for what you have now? What do you want the family to get out of the whole experience, how closely does the new school have to follow on from where you are now? There is so much to take into account, too much in many ways.
Anyway, not really helping. I think there are listings for all the schools somewhere on the forum - I presume you've already pulled up the details and gone through the choices, matching comments found on the forum to things you have heard people say? We did this and although it was a clunky, blind way of doing things we just kept coming back to DC, like a pattern. Who knows if it was meant to be or not, or what it'll actually be like when we are finally there, but my husband starts work tomorrow so it's a bit late to worry now
No actual help from me, I guess, just trains of thought about how you can select a place from a distance. I suppose an overseas move will always be a gamble, especially if you really think you have already found the best of the very best for them. I think from what I've read we can be reassured that pretty much most schools in Singapore are good. Sounds like a bald, wide statement, but I really found it hard to narrow down a choice because they really did all sound very brilliant. Lucky us!
EDIT adding a PS: I don't think there is a finite listing for international schools, actually, so do a Google search to get that info and then maybe call up the names of each one on here and go through the feedback. It will take a while and you'll need a coffee. Or vodka. Or both. That's what I did, anyway, then I came back with my specific questions.
