Posted by
adachan
20 yrs ago
If I have to choose an international school with strong emphasis on academic excellence, which school should I choose ?
Thanks.
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Hi Kmom,
I am based in Hong Kong.
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German Swiss and CIS have consistently strong performers:) But both those schools have long lists of applicants, and relatively stringent exams. I have had students that studied at DBS (top local boys school) and not "pass" the exams the first time applying (they did eventually).
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Thanks Capstone. Do you mean the curriculum at German Swiss and CIS is even more rigorous than the local school ?
What type of exams the applicant have to take to get admitted ?
Ada
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Curriculum at the two schools are definitely tough.
With regards to comparing it to local schools, it really depends on what. Personally, I am very impressed by the consistent performance of students from DGS (If you have a daughter, you should definitely consider ). We have many students from that school and their English communication ability is above average, and the school tends to encourage them to do extracurricular activities. Exams tend to be Math/English exams..similar to SSATs and SATs that students will eventually have to take when they apply to US Universities.
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Thanks Capstone. Our little one does not speak any chinese at all so local school is not an option for us.
We are looking for an international school that has a strong academic curriculum. We prefer the rigorousness of the local curriculum but we do not agree with the education approach. We believe academic excellence does not have to be achieved through bombarding the young child with large amount of homeworks, pressures, and private tutoring.
I have been told many times that GSIS is the best school for us if we are looking for a rigorous academic curriculum. At the same time, they also encourage creativity and extracurricular activities. I don't know anyone who has experience witht this school so I am hoping I could verify this with parents who have experience here.
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Ever thought of the Singapore International School?
Michael Chan
www.senseimichael.com
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Hi Ada,
if your child attends GSIS, you can rest assured that your child will be receiving a top notch education in a very committed environment.
As for teh comment about SIS, I am half and half about it. I have heard the overall reputation of the school is good, but we have some of their students here and although we have one or two "superstars" (students who we feel stand out among their age group - all schools included), they also have a few students that seemingly has no grasp of the English language. As well, without a secondary school in place, many parents find themselves scrambling for other primary school spots late in their primary school years; otherwise, they might risk a bad secondary school.
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Thanks Capstone. I will definitely give serious consideration to GSIS. It's now on top of my list.
Does anyone have any experience with their admission process ? How difficult is it to get in ?
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cd
19 yrs ago
The entrance exam for GSIS is a 1 hour English paper and a 1 hour maths paper.
My daughter went there for 2 1/2 years. It totally knocked her confidence , her marks were gradually dropping, we had problems with several teachers, infact one was asked to leave, but not until a whole year of one subject was wasted. She seemed to enjoy it at the time, but once she swapped schools and realised how schools differ she said she could see what was wrong with it. If you have a grade A student then there's probably none better, but if you're not then they don't want to take the time with you. She is 100 % happier at her present school, and got 7 a's, 1A* and 2 B's in her exams, which we were extremely happy with, so she got great results but in a much happier environment. My son was also a lot happier when he left, I'm not impressed with them getting 2 hours plus of homework a night at 7 years old. I also think he missed out socially as there is no lunch break so not much chance for interaction.There's no playing field either which we found a big negative thing as we thing sport is very important. .
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2 hours of homework at 7 years old ? That sounds like local school to me.
What is the difference between the curriculum at GSIS and at the new school ?
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cd
19 yrs ago
Nothing, they were in the International stream at GSIS which follows the English curriculum, now they're at ESF.
Also just because our experience wasn't so good doesn't mean yours wouldn't be. You really need to look at the schools and make up your own mind.
Also GSIS requires a debenture, which was $90k, not sure if it still is.
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