School for 4 kids - ISS/ SJI?

[4 Kids]

We will be moving to Singapore from Western Australia with our 4 kids some time around term 1/2 of the 2009 school year. Kids are aged 16, 14, 12 and 9. I've done some research, and with 4 kids, there's no way we are going to afford to send them all to   UWC, SAS or Tanglin, which seem to be of high repute. Needless to say, the waiting lists are LONG.

We have been looking at ISS, which offers discounted fees for the third and subsequent children. Anyone with kids there? What are the facilities, teaching staff, and school environment like?

We have also taken into consideration SJI International, which is newer, and not as well established, but offers scholarships, and the fees are considerably lower+ we have heard great things about the principal and teaching staff. Our only concern is we have heard from some local friends that the school (high school) is made up dominantly of locals. It is important to us that our children be in an international environment, not one that is dominantly local with 1 or 2 kids from overseas - we would be able to find this in a local school for a fraction of the price.

Any help would be appreciated!

[why not AISS?]

No mention in your post- how come? you might find your kids adapt to the Oz system more quickly- avoid at least some of the adolescent angst which will accompany a move with kids this age. my teenagers go there and love it.

[3 children]

    I have 2 younger chidren at SJII. I did speak with the high school for my older son and at the moment the High School is 90% singaporean with the other 10% of the students coming from other south east asian countries. We did decide to enroll my son in another International school. I just felt the academics at SJII were too different from what he was used to, that and the fact that the student body was not diverse led us to our decision. Religion is also a required at the High School level.

The High School requires a test in mathematics and English as well as an interview with the principle. The elementary requires a test as well, mostly for proficiency in English.

The school is basically the same price as the schools you mentioned, so not sure why you think it is the cheaper option?

My elementary children are very happy at SJII. I like the values of the school as well as the math and mandarin aspects.

Hope this helped!

[ISS mum]

I have two kids at ISS and am very happy with it. The facilities are really in need of some work, but that is the only thing I can complain about. The teaching staff are excellent, the programmes are very good (their IB diploma results are excellent - and they are a non-selective school. I think this tells you a lot about the quality of staff). They are also one of the few IB World schools with all IB programmes at all levels.

There is a lot of support for the kids as the cohorts are so small. The part I like best is that it is very multi-cultural: teachers and students. I would go down and see if you can talk to the principal/s.

Of course, everyone believes their kids school is the best and someone else may completely disagree!

[4 Kids]

Thanks so much for all the help.

Other than these schools, does anyone know of good international schools that are reasonably priced/ have special rates for families, and are not too long a wait?

i don't know it this is a big ask, but looking at the websites does not necessarily tell you a lot about the school!

[Archive Lil]

If you go through old posts you will find opinions on almost every school in Singapore!   This is a frequent topic and people are often a bit jaded about it to keep giving opinions every other week.

A little bit of work on your part should yield a result you can work with (or not!).

[GESS]

German European School has an english speaking section which teaches IB PYP MYP and DP