My school visits - for anyone who is interested

Hi ami0802 You're right there is no preschool at Sherborne, it's my sons school that has the preschool. I often get totally mixed up and confused having children in different schools! Apologies for any inconvenience caused!

Cal-Hob, for the EYFS stages of the British Curriculum it is sort of "subject based. There is: Understanding the world (pretty much like science/social studies) Communication & Language Literacy Mathematics Physical Development Personal, Social and Emotional Development Expressive Arts & Design Each of those learning areas has goals associated with it. The school where I work we plan activities for each learning area based on one or two goals under that area. However, it often may also relate to other learning areas. For example, our Theme for the week is Zoo Animals. Today for our Literacy activity we read the story Elmer. The children listened to the story and then answered questions as we read, and tried making predictions before turning pages. (This branched in to goals from Communication and Language.) We named the different animals we saw in the story and talked about the habitat they live in (this branched in to goals from Understanding the World.) We discussed how Elmer felt in the story (which covered goals from Personal, Social and Emotional development.) Then we got out the crayons to decorate elephants so they were ready for the elephant parade and covered the crayon designs with a wash of paint (Expressive Arts & Designs). We also counted the animals we saw on each page (which would fall under Mathematics.) Lastly we put on some music and had an elephant parade around the classroom moving like elephants as we went (physical development) and then slowly changed that in to moving like other animals. My paper version of the planning for the week had that all under one learning area, but it covered all of the learning areas. I think a lot of it depends on not only the school, but also the teacher in the room. At the school where I work there are four different preschool teachers and we all follow the same plans for the week and do the same activties. However, the way I do an activity in my classroom may differ greatly from the way another teacher interprets it and presents the activity to her class. hi DebK r we allowed to ask which school You work at in this country where good schools rarer than hens teeth :( Or r u not allowed to disclose this for fear of loads of applications Also do they follow the same system in grade 2-5 You know I feel schools r so wonderful in theory But it really come shown to each teacher and unless they have been here for a while it takes long to gel and get in sync wiht the philosphy of the school Would u be bale to email em [email protected] if poss? Many thanks

Ami, you are quite right, there is no pre-school at Sherborne, but there is a nursery almost next door where some brothers and sisters of Sherborne children go. I think that must be what Dottymum is talking about.

Hi Dottymum1 - My husband has called Sherborne several times however he keeps getting told that the child has to turn 5 between the sept-aug in the academic year. My son is 3 year + 2 months at the moment and we asked about academic year sept 2013 and they told his that he should apply for sept 2014. I believe (from their website and after speaking to them) Sherborne don’t have a Pre-school and start at Reception so the child is turns 5 during the academic year. When you say you have you know someone with a 3 year old in there? Do you know what class they are in? reception? Hi swizzle stix – was your little one 4 already during the academic year i.e in sept 2012?. My son turns 4 in november 2013 and therefore they told my husband he can join in Sept 2014! Thanks for all your help

I have a daughter in Sherborne and we are living in West Bay Lagoon, the trip takes between 25-30mins. She has a student in her class that lives at the Pearl. I take a short cut to Sherborne from the back of education city housing that shaves a good 10 mins of my trip. I have a friend that has her 3 year old in Sherborne preschool. They start at 3 years old should you want to put your child in a British school. I have another child in a different British school that is much closer to home but with the traffic it takes the same time and sometimes longer than the Sherborne school run. School places are very difficult to come by and many of us mums do quite a drive to get our kids to school, unfortunately that's the norm here. It might be worth doing an early morning dummy school run to all the schools you are considering! <em>edited by dottymum01 on 31/01/2013</em>

Sherborne takes from 4 yrs...my son is 4 1/2 and is in Reception. I have two children there and we are very happy. We live fairly locally to the school but I do know of some parents who live in West Bay and who have found short cuts to the school. However I agree that the Pearl may be a little too far.

Thank you so much for sharing Cal_Hob...I'll be in Qatar in about 10 days for a short 2 day visit..so Im not sure how many schools I can see in that time...but your insights are great to help me narrow it down...

So, CalHob, how did your Sherborne visit go today? I was there early to pick up a sick kid and saw 2 prospective parens being shown around - I wondered if it was you? DH in white coat?

Cal-Hob, for the EYFS stages of the British Curriculum it is sort of "subject based. There is: Understanding the world (pretty much like science/social studies) Communication & Language Literacy Mathematics Physical Development Personal, Social and Emotional Development Expressive Arts & Design Each of those learning areas has goals associated with it. The school where I work we plan activities for each learning area based on one or two goals under that area. However, it often may also relate to other learning areas. For example, our Theme for the week is Zoo Animals. Today for our Literacy activity we read the story Elmer. The children listened to the story and then answered questions as we read, and tried making predictions before turning pages. (This branched in to goals from Communication and Language.) We named the different animals we saw in the story and talked about the habitat they live in (this branched in to goals from Understanding the World.) We discussed how Elmer felt in the story (which covered goals from Personal, Social and Emotional development.) Then we got out the crayons to decorate elephants so they were ready for the elephant parade and covered the crayon designs with a wash of paint (Expressive Arts & Designs). We also counted the animals we saw on each page (which would fall under Mathematics.) Lastly we put on some music and had an elephant parade around the classroom moving like elephants as we went (physical development) and then slowly changed that in to moving like other animals. My paper version of the planning for the week had that all under one learning area, but it covered all of the learning areas. I think a lot of it depends on not only the school, but also the teacher in the room. At the school where I work there are four different preschool teachers and we all follow the same plans for the week and do the same activties. However, the way I do an activity in my classroom may differ greatly from the way another teacher interprets it and presents the activity to her class.

The Canadian school follows the Alberta Curriculum so may not entirely mesh with the curriculum in Ontario schools. In Canada the curriculum can vary greatly from province to province. Plus, spaces at the Canadian school go first to employees of CNA-Q. For others it may be a little more difficult to get in. <em>edited by DebK on 26/01/2013</em>

Cal_Hob just wondering why you are not looking into the Canadian school here?

I will consider compass if I have no choice :( From everything I'm reading, I need to keep my options as open as possible at this stage....my sons teacher in Oz was teaching there and recommends it.. But yes v$$$

Cal_Hob (still love the name). Have you tried Qatar International School? They may or may not have places but maybe worth a try as a 'temp' school

Thx for the info..my kids are 4,6,13,15.. So quite a spread in terms of educational needs....ACS & ISL also on my list...have you thought of Compass? Look forward to hearing of your next visits....

Thx for the info..my kids are 4,6,13,15.. So quite a spread in terms of educational needs....ACS & ISL also on my list...have you thought of Compass? Look forward to hearing of your next visits....