English College

Hi ..Sadia ag , just read this thread and noted you have entered your kid in 2011 to the english college.I would like to know whether you are happy with the school , teaching ,extra activities and all the other aspects of the school.Im planning register my kids for next year and would like to know what are the reviews about the school overall .One will be in year 2 and the other will be in KG2 Thank you

Sorry, I haven't been on this forum for a while. I think the KHDA recommendations you mention refer to the senior school and they have been implemented, as far as I know. The primary has had a new ICT suite installed - how much time FS2 would spend in there, I don't know. Personally, I don't have a problem with teacher turnover so long as it is at the end of the academic year and the numbers aren't ridiculous indicating an underlying problem. I think it is healthy to have 'fresh blood' in a school, bringing in new ideas, updated ways of teaching and enthusiasm; I get really worried when I hear about schools which have teachers who have been there for years and years. I think primary has 2 new teachers out of 14 this year. HTH

Hi blimey, I have accepted the offer from the English college and due to start in the new year. Do you have your DD in FS2, if so, would love to be in contact. Would be great to know someone already on the first day.:) edited by SADI AG on 31/10/2011 Yes Sadi AG, DD will be in FS2 as well. I would be happy to meet up but as I work full time, could only do it at weekend or this Eid holiday. <em>edited by blimey on 03/11/2011</em>

Hi Sadi Ag, I have 2 children at EC, one senior and one primary but don't know anything about the foundation stage. I would say EC is a good, solid BC school with few frills. The primary school has better facilities than the senior as it is newer. I think there are 22 children in a class with 2 classes per year which is quite small compared to other primary schools here - ditto senior with 5 classes per year. I believe all the teachers have to be UK qualified. The new primary head is making good changes and is always available for a 'chat' as are all the teachers I have been involved with. Whenever I have had any queries I have always been seen immediately and have always come away happy with the resolution. I do believe the staff have the best interests of the child at heart and my 2 are very happy there and have made excellent progress in the 2+ years they have been there. The senior school does not offer such a broad range of subjects eg design and technology, food technology etc as some other schools in Dubai but there again the fees are much cheaper and I believe they are working on broadening the cirriculum. I think the GCSE A*-C pass rate was 95% this year. I'm not sure what you mean about 'are parents actively involved in their children's education at the school?' I think you can be as involved as much or as little as you want. Certainly the staff have always explained any questions I have had. There is no PTA but in primary there are class reps who fulfil a similar role. Parents are also welcomed on school trips and to help with swimming etc. Communication with parents is usually by e-mail and text and homework diaries. It can be a bit last minute but I've never found a school yet who has perfect communication with parents. The only problem with traffic I have found is having to cross over the SZR as EC is in the same area as JPS/JC/JESS/EES/SAFA+++. If you can live the beach side of the SZR it may be better but then you have the Al Wasal traffic to contend with. Go and visit them next week and specifically ask if you can speak to the revelant FS teacher before hand and hopefully that will answer any questions you have. HTH

Did they mention anything about how they communicate with parents? Are parents actively involved in their children's education at the school?( Like many schools, EC also uses emails as their communication channel. Right after I paid the deposit, DD's name is on the school systems and I have started receiving emails from school already with regard to their activities. I am not sure whether or not they use communication book. As for parents' involvement, unless it's major issues such as the one that Greensfield Community School is currently facing, I am personally not so keen to be actively involved. Based on the one and only PTA meeting I attended at DD's current school, PTA activities here are quite different from what we have in my country. Anyway, if you do decide to accept the offer in the end, do let me know ;-)

Can't help you with making up your mind whether or not EC would be better to your DD's current school. We however did attend EC's open day recently. Students from Year 6 acted as tour guides to parents/family on that day which we found quite refreshing. The students seem very happy and very proud of their school. The school's administration was at the reception at the end of tour to answer any query. The FS area is separated from the other primary students area and have their own reception and playground. For FS students, you will drop them off at FS reception at 7.45am and they will make their own way to their classes which are just behind the reception area.The playground is shaded and have gate around it. Each FS class has its own sandy area just outside their classroom for children to play. We didn't get the chance to talk to FS2 teacher as the school was still in session at that time. We did talk to FS1 teachers and their assistants, music teacher and art teacher. The school has great facilities for the fees that they charge and of course, we could only compare their facilities to the one of our kid's current school. They have a big gym and swimming pool, playing field, a music room, drama/choir room, arts room, science room, two computer labs and all over the school, you could see the projects that children of each year are learning and working on. I know it's not much info to help you decide. For us, we like what we see and we do know ppl that have children there both in primary and high school. So, it's easy to accept their offer despite protest from the little one. Anyway, good luck with your decision making. I am going through a tough time convincing DD that this change will be good for her in the long run ;-) <em>edited by blimey on 23/10/2011</em>