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swiss local schools

Hi,


Will be moving to Geneva in April.  I have 3 kids ages 11, 8 and 4.  We are considering putting them in swiss local schools and I would love any advice.  We are looking to live in Geneva city centre.  Anyone have any experience with Swiss local schools in Geneva city centre area? 


My kids do not speak any French, but I read somewhere that some schools offer welcome classes for kids to help pick up the language.


Mobeen

The text you are quoting:

Hi,


Will be moving to Geneva in April.  I have 3 kids ages 11, 8 and 4.  We are considering putting them in swiss local schools and I would love any advice.  We are looking to live in Geneva city centre.  Anyone have any experience with Swiss local schools in Geneva city centre area? 


My kids do not speak any French, but I read somewhere that some schools offer welcome classes for kids to help pick up the language.


Mobeen


Mobeen ImranJan 15, 2010 @ 05:10
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Re: swiss local schools
Post 1

Hi,


 


I grew up in geneva and have tried private (ecolint) and public schools in geneva (as a teacher and as a student).


The public school level is very good (academically a bit beter then most private schools) , and they offer language services for children. However you will find some different levels depending from the area the school is in.


it will probably be a bit harder for the oldest of your children. Public school has 3 levels, primaire from 4 to 10-11 years old, cycle from 12 till 14 and Colege from 15 till 19.


At 11 you are normally passing the exam to get into cycle... but normally they quite flexible with foreign kids.


The main difference between public schools and private is the easyness of adaptaion. Private school offer a much softer adaptation process (I only know the international school and it's an amasing school). Public school teacher have more students by class, arround 20, and have less time pro child.Children are a bit more "socially mixed".


By luck, we dont have security problems in geneva public and private schools.


 


Hope this helps,


 


Take care,


 


Eric


 


 

The text you are quoting:

Hi,


 


I grew up in geneva and have tried private (ecolint) and public schools in geneva (as a teacher and as a student).


The public school level is very good (academically a bit beter then most private schools) , and they offer language services for children. However you will find some different levels depending from the area the school is in.


it will probably be a bit harder for the oldest of your children. Public school has 3 levels, primaire from 4 to 10-11 years old, cycle from 12 till 14 and Colege from 15 till 19.


At 11 you are normally passing the exam to get into cycle... but normally they quite flexible with foreign kids.


The main difference between public schools and private is the easyness of adaptaion. Private school offer a much softer adaptation process (I only know the international school and it's an amasing school). Public school teacher have more students by class, arround 20, and have less time pro child.Children are a bit more "socially mixed".


By luck, we dont have security problems in geneva public and private schools.


 


Hope this helps,


 


Take care,


 


Eric


 


 


EricHargous, Jan 27, 2010 @ 17:28
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Re: swiss local schools
Post 2

Thank-you for the information.  The general consensus seems to be kids will adjust to their new environment.  A local school just means a longer period of adjustment than an international school. 


Mobeen

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Thank-you for the information.  The general consensus seems to be kids will adjust to their new environment.  A local school just means a longer period of adjustment than an international school. 


Mobeen


Mobeen Imran, Jan 28, 2010 @ 10:26
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Re: swiss local schools
Post 3

Hi


I have only experienced the international school - been here a month now & kids settled in very well. The school has a very strong community feel - largely due to the school cafeteria being a focal point, I've found the parents / teachers to be very welcoming.


Good luck with your move.

The text you are quoting:

Hi


I have only experienced the international school - been here a month now & kids settled in very well. The school has a very strong community feel - largely due to the school cafeteria being a focal point, I've found the parents / teachers to be very welcoming.


Good luck with your move.


Cheryl G, Mar 4, 2010 @ 11:02
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Re: swiss local schools
Post 4

Hi.


Have been living here for 8 years, and i have only experienced the International school( apart from the Swedish school in Meyrin) and the international school is fantastic- but expensive!!


Good luck

The text you are quoting:

Hi.


Have been living here for 8 years, and i have only experienced the International school( apart from the Swedish school in Meyrin) and the international school is fantastic- but expensive!!


Good luck


Maybritt R, Mar 4, 2010 @ 11:15
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Post 5

i live here for the past 13 years and Swiss Public School is excellent.

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i live here for the past 13 years and Swiss Public School is excellent.


pouezatpuja, Mar 4, 2010 @ 13:33
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Re: swiss local schools
Post 6

I grew up in Zurich and went to public school. I had bad experiences then.


 


Now my older girl entered colege and they were very harsh with her,- unable to cope with a highly intelligent japanese speaking anglophile..


but from what I am hearing things are different in that respect in Geneva.


 


Also I took my younger child out of primary school, largely because we live in a rough area and we could not stand the mix of kids there..


sounds very snobby maybe, - but when the kindergarden teacher gets 3 months police protection because a parent wants to knife her,- or if cars light up one every week, (yes, I mean set alight!), then I think its justified to call an area rough, dont you think?


anyhow, so I didnt want my daughter to be mixing with kids like that anymore.


if I hadnt found this house with large garden for a very small rent, I would have moved long ago.


So my advice: check out the speecific school your child would be allocated (as by swiss law you cannot choose yourself). If you like that one, then its probably ok.


I find the Zurich school system, even in the best of areas, to be a bit stuffy and quaint, but this may be a Zurich problem, or vary from each schools interpretation of the curriculum etc.


 

The text you are quoting:

I grew up in Zurich and went to public school. I had bad experiences then.


 


Now my older girl entered colege and they were very harsh with her,- unable to cope with a highly intelligent japanese speaking anglophile..


but from what I am hearing things are different in that respect in Geneva.


 


Also I took my younger child out of primary school, largely because we live in a rough area and we could not stand the mix of kids there..


sounds very snobby maybe, - but when the kindergarden teacher gets 3 months police protection because a parent wants to knife her,- or if cars light up one every week, (yes, I mean set alight!), then I think its justified to call an area rough, dont you think?


anyhow, so I didnt want my daughter to be mixing with kids like that anymore.


if I hadnt found this house with large garden for a very small rent, I would have moved long ago.


So my advice: check out the speecific school your child would be allocated (as by swiss law you cannot choose yourself). If you like that one, then its probably ok.


I find the Zurich school system, even in the best of areas, to be a bit stuffy and quaint, but this may be a Zurich problem, or vary from each schools interpretation of the curriculum etc.


 


Jana Cyberia, Mar 4, 2010 @ 19:16
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Re: swiss local schools
Post 7

Hi,

Will be moving to Geneva in April.  I have 3 kids ages 11, 8 and 4.  We are considering putting them in swiss local schools and I would love any advice.  We are looking to live in Geneva city centre.  Anyone have any experience with Swiss local schools in Geneva city centre area? 

My kids do not speak any French, but I read somewhere that some schools offer welcome classes for kids to help pick up the language.

Mobeen


Jan 15, 10 05:10

Hi Mobeen,


     I have 2 kids aged 7 and 9, they were 5 and 7 when we moved here from India.  The kids are sent to a welcome class, like you mentioned, where they are taught French in addition to the normal curriculum(probably a cut down version).


   The welcome class lasts to 8/9 months and depending on the teacher's appraisal, the kids are then sent to the local "normal" school(this could be same school depending on where you live, as there are fewer "welcome" schools then "normal" schools) for a few weeks trial. If the child copes well then they continue there, otherwise they are sent back to the "welcome" school for more French instruction.


 


    From our experience the kids actually picked up French quicker when they were in "normal" school, otherwise in the "welcome" school there were still using English to communicate with other expat students. But the base building of the welcome class definitely helps.


 


   Its been 2 years now, and kids are really fluent, the difference is amazing(more so in the last year or so)


 


    Our experience is from Montreux in Vaud, but I guess the schools in Geneva canton  will be following a similar strategy.


     All the best for your move here.


 


Regards,


 


Suleman

The text you are quoting:

Hi Mobeen,


     I have 2 kids aged 7 and 9, they were 5 and 7 when we moved here from India.  The kids are sent to a welcome class, like you mentioned, where they are taught French in addition to the normal curriculum(probably a cut down version).


   The welcome class lasts to 8/9 months and depending on the teacher's appraisal, the kids are then sent to the local "normal" school(this could be same school depending on where you live, as there are fewer "welcome" schools then "normal" schools) for a few weeks trial. If the child copes well then they continue there, otherwise they are sent back to the "welcome" school for more French instruction.


 


    From our experience the kids actually picked up French quicker when they were in "normal" school, otherwise in the "welcome" school there were still using English to communicate with other expat students. But the base building of the welcome class definitely helps.


 


   Its been 2 years now, and kids are really fluent, the difference is amazing(more so in the last year or so)


 


    Our experience is from Montreux in Vaud, but I guess the schools in Geneva canton  will be following a similar strategy.


     All the best for your move here.


 


Regards,


 


Suleman


Suleman Shah, Mar 10, 2010 @ 17:18
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Re: swiss local schools
Post 8

Hi


From my experience as a teacher I strongly recommend you the local (public) schools, which have in Geneva (at least) a good educational level.


If you still consider Privet schools, I warn you from cheap and sometime tempting offers from smaller Privet schools. Which tend to neglect students by forming classes with a large number of pupils to save costs on teaching hours. For instance in a previous math class I gave (a while ago) I had pupils ranged from 14 to 21 years old. (That is I had 4 different programs to give simultaneously)


So I Guess the best choice you have for privet schools is the Internationale school (as mentioned above).


Or the simplest choice as you self considered a Local (public) schools.


 


Good luck


Abe

The text you are quoting:

Hi


From my experience as a teacher I strongly recommend you the local (public) schools, which have in Geneva (at least) a good educational level.


If you still consider Privet schools, I warn you from cheap and sometime tempting offers from smaller Privet schools. Which tend to neglect students by forming classes with a large number of pupils to save costs on teaching hours. For instance in a previous math class I gave (a while ago) I had pupils ranged from 14 to 21 years old. (That is I had 4 different programs to give simultaneously)


So I Guess the best choice you have for privet schools is the Internationale school (as mentioned above).


Or the simplest choice as you self considered a Local (public) schools.


 


Good luck


Abe


Abe B, Nov 13, 2010 @ 19:35
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Re: swiss local schools
Post 9

Hi


I've lived here for 6 years and I have 3 children with different experiences.  One did well in the Swiss School system in terms of learning French (she was 11) but they didn't like her atitude (she is too used to California Schools).  She is 17 now and fluent in French but not attending the Gymnaisium because she couldn't qualify.  She attends a French private school.  My son went to a Swiss School when we arrived (he was 9) but did nothing for a year so we moved him to a private English language school where he is doing well.  My oldest daughter had a bad experience in the private school  (which I won't name)  so went back to the states to finish her education (she was 17 when we arrived).


My point is that both systems have things to offer and a lot depends on your children, their ages, temperment and native language.  The younger ones will probabally do OK in Swiss Schools and if you keep up their native language skills (or teach them English, if they aren't English speakers) you'll have the most private school options if it doesn't work out.  I've known several people move kids from one system to another.

The text you are quoting:

Hi


I've lived here for 6 years and I have 3 children with different experiences.  One did well in the Swiss School system in terms of learning French (she was 11) but they didn't like her atitude (she is too used to California Schools).  She is 17 now and fluent in French but not attending the Gymnaisium because she couldn't qualify.  She attends a French private school.  My son went to a Swiss School when we arrived (he was 9) but did nothing for a year so we moved him to a private English language school where he is doing well.  My oldest daughter had a bad experience in the private school  (which I won't name)  so went back to the states to finish her education (she was 17 when we arrived).


My point is that both systems have things to offer and a lot depends on your children, their ages, temperment and native language.  The younger ones will probabally do OK in Swiss Schools and if you keep up their native language skills (or teach them English, if they aren't English speakers) you'll have the most private school options if it doesn't work out.  I've known several people move kids from one system to another.


Maplady, Nov 25, 2010 @ 18:01
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Re: swiss local schools
Post 10

Hi Mobeen , My kids are at the IIL (international school in Lancy) where there is an English section and a French section.  My boys are in the French section and love it dearly.  I find the teachers attentive and they 'really' know the personalities of my boys and what works for them.  In the beginning of a new move its the kids who get the worst end of the deal, new school, new friends, new language etc so having a caring and dynamic environment where they are welcomed into the fold without prejudice will be a peace of mind for you. No experience with the local schools but I do hear (from many of my clients) depending on which school you choose and the area you live in can make all the difference in the world in Geneva.  Not all public schools are equal!  Good luck and keep us posted ok. Vesna

The text you are quoting:

Hi Mobeen , My kids are at the IIL (international school in Lancy) where there is an English section and a French section.  My boys are in the French section and love it dearly.  I find the teachers attentive and they 'really' know the personalities of my boys and what works for them.  In the beginning of a new move its the kids who get the worst end of the deal, new school, new friends, new language etc so having a caring and dynamic environment where they are welcomed into the fold without prejudice will be a peace of mind for you. No experience with the local schools but I do hear (from many of my clients) depending on which school you choose and the area you live in can make all the difference in the world in Geneva.  Not all public schools are equal!  Good luck and keep us posted ok. Vesna


Toupie_2, Apr 23, 2011 @ 17:28
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