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SCHOOLS ...moving from london

amms78698883

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 17 September 2014 - 19:02

hi all
i am new to this forum.as you can tell from the subject,we are moving to doha from london and i am worried about my kids schooling.i have 2 children.my son whos 12 is in year 7 and daughter who is 8 is in year 4.
they both go to an independant school in london.
could anyone please tell me the best school for 12 and 8 year olds.
STRESSED :-(

ale12396670

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 06 October 2014 - 11:27

Hi all, I noticed there was some discussion on which schools were still enrolling students. I am a teacher at the Pearling International School of Doha (Almuntazah area) and we still have places available in each year group from pre-school up to Year 6 as we only opened in September. We follow the British curriculum for Literacy and Maths and the IPC for topics - all teachers are British too :) For children that have not yet arrived in the country we can also offer assessments via Skype. I hope this helps! Hi It is surely a great help ,we know some person British too and living in the area , if somebody need private tutoring for their child English, Maths ,Scinece subjects ( GCSE and A Level) .They are great help for our kids. We can recommend them. Hope this helps too :)

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EWpearling99248

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 26 September 2014 - 10:38

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marycatherine

1759

Posts

EW EXPERT

Latest post on 21 September 2014 - 13:07

Here's a quote from the ACS website that might clarify the RP requirement further: "In compliance with the Supreme Education Council, [b'>all enrolled students and parents are required to have their Qatar National Identification number / Resident Permit Number on file prior to the child’s first day of school.[/b'> The following documents must therefore be provided before the child can be admitted: A copy of the child’s Qatari Visa (residency permit) in their passport A copy of both parent’s/guardian’s Qatari visas and Qatar ID cards" so it looks like you can apply while the RP is being processed but it must be in hand on registration day. <em>edited by marycatherine on 21/09/2014</em>

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khokha2

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 21 September 2014 - 10:35

OK ladies, about the RP, is this a new law? Because we just moved to Doha about a couple of months ago and the schools we applied to had no problem with us not having an RP as long as we provided them with that information once we got it. Besides the schools mentioned earlier, there is a new one called Pearling Season. This is their first year and the some parts of the school are not ready but the teachers are amazing and principal is a wonderful woman. On a slightly different topic, this can be the experience you choose it to be. True, you can't compare Qatar to the US or UK but it is definitely better than other countries in this part of the world. Honestly speaking, besides a small incident here and there, my only complaint about this place is the heavy traffic and the bad driving (although compared to driving in Saudi, driving here is great!) Best of luck :)

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Eleonor

185

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 21 September 2014 - 10:11

Maybe you have not clear what the school situation is...very often you can't choose, You will be just happy to have a place in a school. Any school. Now you will say "no", but you will change your mind on the way. I had to change my mind and accept the situation as it is. Otherwise you better not to come to Doha. here, schooling is a part of the evaluation BEFORE accepting a job position, not after. - check if your husband employer has a fast track to some schools - if so, accept this school for the first year and put your kids in waiting list for the other schools you would have preferred - you as a British will have more chances with british schools as DESS, DC, Sherborne - but it is not said - depends on grades and pressures from employer. - apply as many schools as possible - we applied for 8 schools and had been offered place in two. We even did not dare to apply at all the above mentioned schools as we knew we had no chance. Our daughter is in ACS and we have been very lucky to find a place. - there are all the above mentioned restrictions about application and residence permit. Talk with the schools now and ask carefully for the application requirements. - you might also consider the location of schools. If your school is far from where you live, taking your kids to and back fro m school can become a real challenge as schools start at 7,30 and it might take you one hour or ore to reach the school at that time in the morning if the school is far from your house. Many people told me "find the school first, then find a house". there is also another english curriculum school, Cardiff International School. It is new, little and with not great facility but I know people there and they are very happy because teachers and principal are very good and kids are happy. good luck Eleonor Thankyou so much for your help. Yes I am aware that it will be boring coming from London,so I am prepared!dont have a choice. Husbands starting in November and I have no time frame that when we shoukd come there.i want a place in school first before I even think of coming.so have no time restrictions as long as kids can manage to get a place in a good school. Can anyone help me with the names of good schools please :-)

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Applelady

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 20 September 2014 - 05:46

Doha College, Park House, Sherborne and DBS are all great british schools BUT as someone has already mentioned , you cannot apply to schools until you have kids RP and you can't get that until you are in residence . Most newbies will have to come here and accept their kids will be out if school and home schooled for a year or two ,

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amms78698883

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 20 September 2014 - 00:37

Thankyou so much for your help. Yes I am aware that it will be boring coming from London,so I am prepared!dont have a choice. Husbands starting in November and I have no time frame that when we shoukd come there.i want a place in school first before I even think of coming.so have no time restrictions as long as kids can manage to get a place in a good school. Can anyone help me with the names of good schools please :-)

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rubyblue

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 18 September 2014 - 11:21

[b'>Moreover: coming from London you will find Doha very very boring. Are you aware of it?[/b'> Hahaha- how true this is !! Factor in the whole school search and crazy traffic and it really makes you wonder why we all came here !!:\:

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lostlumme23406

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 18 September 2014 - 10:36

I agree with the previous posts. My husband started to work in Doha in January and the rest of the family moved at the beginning of September. Meanwhile we have been here for five years and switched school once. You might want to take what you get to start with and then carefully decide what is best for your children. The traffic is an absolute nightmare and has worsened significantly since 2010. Make sure you move close to the school. Check if they have school buses running and where/ when they pick up/ drop off. We decided to employ a driver but still, my children need to leave the house at 6:15am to be there in time. I have heard that there might still be places available at Sherborne (for the younger one) as they have moved the primary school to a new premises, the Finnish School (but I am not sure if they already run until year 7) and ACS. Be prepared that you won't find places for both of them at the same school. Good luck, lostlumme

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Eleonor

185

Posts

EW NEWBIE

Latest post on 18 September 2014 - 10:17

I subscribe all Lalala wrote. It is likely that one of you come here and the other follow after month or even one year. My husband arrived in June, I arrived in August. We started looking for schools on Dec 2013. We applied at 8 different schools. We had two offers, not the best choice. We had to take what we have been offered and at the end we have been lucky. In June we had a place offered after months and months of enquiring. Being you british it could be easier but don't count on it. Ask you employer clearly what they can do for school. Ask if they have contracts with schools. Tell them clearly that if you don't find a school you will not accept the position. Don't rely on vague promises. Choose schools close to where you are going to live, or vice versa. Anyway try to live near the school otherwise you'll get crazy. Moreover: coming from London you will find Doha very very boring. Are you aware of it? good luck Eleonor

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lalala10594

616

Posts

EW GURU

Latest post on 18 September 2014 - 09:20

Search this forum. There are many, many, many threads about schools. Then get on the phone. When are you moving? You need to give up on the idea of being able to get them into the 'best' school. That isn't going to happen - the 'best' school people will recommend will have a waiting list several hundred students long. You need a school that is a better option (for your family in your circumstances) than homeschooling or boarding. It may not be the same school for both children. For most (but not all) schools your children will need to have their residency permits before they can start. The 'not all' schools are usually the ones with a long waiting list. Depending on the employer involved (and their ability to ask immigration for an exception) you may find that your husband will need six months of payslips before you can get family RPs. I'm assuming it's your husband's job for ease as that's normally the case. Same thing for you. There's debate about whether children can start at school mid-school year. There's definitely a restriction on joining after the start of Easter term. Again, not all schools seem to have to abide by this but the ones who don't have to are the 'big name' schools and they have long long long waiting lists. This assumes you/your husband's employer doesn't have a debenture with a particular school. Some employers are able to guarantee school places. These employers are fairly rare though. Sorry to be all doom and gloom but you're right to be stressed. School places are a nightmare here. I think it eases off a bit as kids get older but I think still likely to be an issue at the ages you're dealing with. Several new primaries have opened this year but those generally don't have linked secondaries at the moment.

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