Choosing an International School

Please find below part of an article from the Telegraph.co.uk by Dr. David Willows about choosing an international School.  We think this is excellent advice!

Expat parents can feel overwhelmed when it comes to selecting the best school for their child. Here are a few useful tips on finding the right fit.

When it comes down to it, most of us want the same basic things for our children. We want them to be safe, happy, to have friends, to do the right thing, to learn something about themselves and the world around them, and to have the best possible future beyond childhood.

Of course, there is much more we might go on to say. We might expect our children to learn a new language, become proficient in the creative arts, grasp an understanding of complex scientific knowledge or lead a team on the sports field. In the end, however, many of us will settle for knowing that we, as parents, had made choices that ensured our children became happy, successful and ethical members of society.

Schools, as we well know, have a huge role to play in shaping our children and leading them towards this optimistic future. So, it is hardly surprising, when it comes to the question 'which school?' that parents can often feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of the decision. And nowhere is this more keenly felt than by the growing numbers of globally mobile expatriate families who arrive in a new country, a long way from home, faced with a mind-boggling choice of international schools.

Stepping off the plane, I know that the first question that many parents ask themselves is: Have I just ruined my child's life? The answer, of course, is a resounding 'no'. In fact, the experience of international education has proven to be transformative for many young people arriving from many different backgrounds and cultures; offering new ways of learning, access to exciting resources and bringing fresh opportunities to learn new stories and perspectives on complex global issues.

So how do you know you are making the right choice for your children? How do you know if a school is right for them? My advice is simple: visit each school; meet the people who work there; talk to them about the hopes, fears and expectations you have for your children; and ask lots of questions about the school's core values and philosophy of learning.

[Our emphasis]

Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2009

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