schools for Year 11 and 12

Hi Beate 2. Both of my children have attended BSB, one is currently in junior school, the other was in the senior school. It is definitely easier to get a place the older the child is so you shouldn't have to wait long. St Chris sends out its offers at the same time for all students so you will not hear anything until that date (I think it was around May) whereas BSB will let you know if something comes up earlier and the staff are definitely happy to field questions in the meantime. That may explain the lack of response from St Chris. It is probably better to apply to both schools in any case. We had offers of places from both BSB and St Chris but BSB came across as a friendlier school than St Chris, and BSB has one campus rather than 2 or 3 as some of the others do (both our kids could be at the same site). The other difference we found was BSB was happy to keep the kids in their age group and to work with them if they are a little behind (which happens sometimes when changing schools) whereas St Chris seemed to be very rigid requiring kids to be at a certain level before they would accept them (levels according to their exam procedures not the child's report and past work). As most kids are expats and will move schools a bit I thought St Chris's attitude a little tough. However, BSB is still building some of the facilities (library etc) on its new campus so St Chris may be a better option for your boys as they only have a few years to go. If you have a choice of places it might be best to visit both campuses with the boys and definitely check what is actually available on each - there is a lot of misinformation especially as there seems to be a bit of rivalry between the schools (and the families that go to them). I think St Chris has more extra curricular activities at the moment too. As with everything, you will gain some things and loose others. Both have great teaching staff and both are good options in any case. <em>edited by wobbegong on 14/01/2011</em>

My children attend the BSB and are relatively new to Bahrain. I can say we didn't have a problem finding places, especially for our older boy (yr9) once the testing was out of the way. My daughter attended Doha College a few years ago and I would say, whilst the BSB isn't perfect, I do get a better 'vibe' from it than DC. Just my opinion. With regards to my dealing with the administration prior to moving to Bahrain, I found the BSB very helpful via email and phone; their admin staff are just lovely. With regards to the school website, I've heard it will be up and running as of next week. I hope this helps.

These are the contact details for British School of Bahrain as shown on the web site: Tel: 1761 0920 Email: [email protected] Bahrain School does admit other pupils apart from US Military but it is expensive and I don't think they do A Levels. Both British School of Bahrain and St Christopher's are excellent schools.

St Christophers and British School are the ones you need to talk to. Sadly, education here is very expensive... Try calling the registrars office. I know that a new boy just started year 12. Good luck, but I think that with older children you will have a good chance with admissions. The schools have just gone back after a long Christmas break, so you should be able to reach them now. I think each school is as good as the other, so I would base my decision on the courses you need perhaps.