I know everyone says that the education in all of the local schools is all good, but I am looking for the experiential part of it...the culture of the school, attitude towards foreigners, teaching quality, environment, etc. I read one thread on here about an expat kid getting beat up a few times at one school, don't want that LOL! I should mention one of my kids has high functioning autism (he is mainstreamed) and they are 9 and 7 years old.
Thanks for any tips!
Jen
No, I have not! Really strange, no info. I do have a conference call next Tuesday with an organisation that supports kids with autism in Geneva and they claim they can help me with the school info. I will post anything I learn from that convo here. If I forget feel free to nudge me.
When are you moving? We have pushed our move date back to June 2015...
I don't know anything about primary schools in Geneva, but our local schools here in Nyon (in Vaud, next canton along) are excellent for the average Swiss student. They are designed to provide the majority of children with a very high level of education. If your needs move away from the average requirement - i.e. if your kids don't speak French, or have special education needs, then support is available but can vary depending on the school and your ability to access the information/help that you need.
Our kids started off in the local system but moved to an English-language primary school in Genthod as they developed special educational needs that weren't able to be met by the local system. They are both very much happier now!
Good luck with your search!
were are in a similar position. the family will be moving over in late spring or summer and i would like an english or bilingual school for my 9 year old son within striking distance of geneva or the outlying communities.
the english school in genthod does look good, though a little expensive. could you tell me a little more about your experience there and the admissions process?
thanks!
I don't actually hold with separated schooling. I think it's great for kids to be integrated into local life. They pick up languages quite quickly and can go out to play with others in the area rather than being stigmatized as foreign. Geneva is international.
We are now in the process of looking at public and private schools including the Geneva English School, which it seems your children attend? You said that they started in public school but developed special needs that public school could not support. I have been told by both ASK and Autisme CH that the geneva schools cannot support special ed even though my son is virtually independent in his current school, but I also do not know how to broach the topic with GES or other privates as in the USA just raising that topic can negate any chance of admission....do you have an suggestions and experience to share for GES my husband is going to tour in the next week? Thank you vm.
My hubby is in Geneva the next three weeks hopefully doing some serious investigating and touring. I would be happy to share what we find and have found out, I forget your children's situation...how's your search going?
Best
Jen
I heard that in Geneva those bullies happen more often in middle schools than elementary schools... And Geneva is very international, you can find kids from different countries in one class.
However, I only know that some high schools are "better" than the others I Geneva. Elementary schools are hard to judge...
Good luck on your search!
Sorry for the late response - I don't check EF that often...
It's interesting that you got such a definitive response from ASK and Autisme CH about local schooling in Geneva. Here in Nyon, some children whose needs are not met in the local school system are offered places in a specialist day school. We were invited to have a look round and it looked fantastic - a great pupil/teacher ratio, tailored to fit in with individual needs. The learning support offered by the local system is also very good, but of course in French. The other hitch is that access to all of this is via the school psychology service which itself is accessed by request from the parent (not through the school), so you have to know what exists to know to ask for it, and then to keep on asking until you get it. Our paediatrician was great for advice on this. But Nyon is in a whole different canton, and the parents at ASK will have been through all this in Geneva : if they say that it's a dead-end, I would trust their experience.
My impulse regarding international schools would be to contact the schools that you're interested in, give them as much information as you can about your son (recent reports, feedback from educational psychologists etc) and allow them to decide whether they can give him the support that he needs.
One of the things that really impressed me about GES was that several senior staff members were involved in meeting my son, seeing how he got along in class, as well as taking the time to understand his condition. Ultimately he got to spend the day with his potential future class / teacher to see how it went. This way, both sides were happy to know they were making a decision based on as much information as possible - and it has been a great success.
However, GES is a small school and can't offer to meet everyone's needs. We were told in very certain terms right from the beginning of the application process that if they felt they couldn't give our son the support he needed then they absolutely would not offer him a place. I felt this was very fair, and would have respected their decision even if it had meant finding another school.
From what I remember, the Ecole Internationale de Genè€ve offers more specialised support for children with 'moderate to complex learning difficulties' but it comes with a steep price-tag. There's lots of information on their website http://www.ecolint.ch/learning-ecoli...cational-needs . There's also a specialised school in Morges, but I'm sure Autisme CH will be able to give you more information there.
Good luck with your search - PM me if you'd like more information!
Rowan