Help from parents in Indian Schools - ICSE vs CBSE

Dear friends, My son will be 4 by next April 2016 and he will be starting his schooling. I have gone through above posts but I wanted to know about IHS (Indian high school) education structure and schools under Gems (CBSE) like Our own and KGS. How about St mary's school in Oud Metha ? ( O level) I am little confused selecting between O level and CBSE since we want him to involve more in different kinds of activities rather than only focusing on studies. So Ladies please advise me. :idea:

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Appreciate the feedback, I realise that it has everything to do with what expectations ee have as parents. Though, the main reason for wanting my daughter to study at o levels is the unnecessary pressures of indian curriculum. Lets see how this pans out. Thank you once again. Have a nice day.

Nams will do a detailed email for you on our school but in the meantime would like to let you know that my DS now going to go to Year 6 in sept and they do get some homework (and have been getting since Year 1 I think, but this is something he can finish on his own in 1/2 hour, its basically related to the topic of the week and something the kids would enjoy doing and sharing their learning with parents and I for one dont mind that... Yes, agree with Abby - if the child has to go to Uni in India - Indian Curriculum would be the best - no point - shuffling the kids around b/w curriculums...

nams-new... Horizon has a NO HOMEWORK policy all the way till Year 6!! :)

nams_new - my DD goes to Horizon which is a British curriculum school... they have a very nurturing environment and a small school feel where everyone knows everyone... which I fell in love with... the school has really helped my DD bloom for me that school was a perfect fit... schools under the GEMS umbrella may have the fancy campuses but it wouldn't work for my child as she would have just got swamped in the sheer bigness of the school... O'level is basically the name given to the board year at British Curriculum schools (equivalent to an indian school 10th standard)... and A'level is the name given to the Indian equivalent of 12th. It does not have any reference to schools that are providng british curriculum with asian management/teachers. if you intend for your child to eventually do university in an indian university it is probably best to gear them right from the start with an indian primary/secondary schooling... this way they will have no adjustment issues or delays in grasping the reigns... however, if you want to mix up their education styles then you can still do so... but that would mean they would need extra coaching to adjust to the new style/methodology later on... There are many British curriculum students who have ended up doing Arts or Engg or Medical degrees in India... and vice versa... and have been successful at it... so it really just depends on the adjustment capability of your chilld and their learning and understanding. IB is, again, not for all... in the Middle East it is still a very expensive curriculum to be learning... most IB schools charge AED 40,000 onwards for fees (and that's just for the early primary years)... by the time they reach senior school you'd be paying well over the AED 60,000 mark... I for one cannot afford that... so am very happy for her to learn in a moderately priced British curriculum school...

Watching this thread with a lot of interest as we are facing the same dilemma - what curriculum for our LO (even though he is just a toddler now)... My LO is currently in an IPC based nursery (preschool curriculum of IB) and we are extremely happy with his overall development. I am planning to do a few school tours in the summers (taken a whole week off from work for this purpose) and at least get a few schools on our shortlist so that we can start applying wherever applicable. Personally, as a mum I am looking for a school with a nurturing environment with minimal pressure on academics at least at the primary level - the little ones should be enjoying now, they are too young to be pressurised. My ideal school has no homework and no exams for the junior classes :D edited by nams_new on 27/06/2013

We went through the same delimma when choosing a school for our child and in the end went for IB after doing a lot of research and school visits - and today my DS is thriving and blooming... There has not been a single day when my DS has not wanted to go to school, he has attained 100% attendance for the past 2 years. There is no cramming for exams (we dont know when the exams are held - so they write what they know not what they could cram in a day or so), however for our friends with kids in Indian schools - 2 weeks before the exams all outings/extra-curricular activities are stopped and its just study, study, study - this alone makes a child averse to school. And this I am talking about Primary, one can only imagine what would be the case as they progress further. As Abby mentioned, IB/BC promote overall development as compared to only academic - everything is hands on and practical and hence stays with you longer as compared to something you read and were told... As for your question on when is the right time to switch - again from a friend's experience who moved her DS from ICSE to IB in Year 7 as he wasnt doing too good at ICSE and they thought IB would be easier (???!!!) - as the teaching methods are quite different, he had a lot of issues in the beginning as his mind was conditioned to doing things in a particular way, however after that first year, he is quite happy at his new school. So, in a nutshell, in case you want to give your DD an Indian Base and then move her to IB - do it at an early stage, Year 3-4 so that she can cope better. JMO. HTH

Hi, I am going to put up a question thats been on my mind for sometime and is kinda related to this post, hope you dont mind, ST. All Indian parents, whats ur take on IB?? As a curriculum, I know it has immense advantages. I have enrolled my daughter in icse with the intention of eventually moving her to ib cos I still believe in the effective ness of the strong indian primary system. Am I right in thinking so? Also, Is there like a right time/age to make the switch? Having read on EW abt wa7ting list horror stories, I don't wanna miss the bus again.. Experienced parents pls share stories ....thks a lot. se i spent my entire schooling (fs1 till O-Levels) in a British curriculum school and then went on to an Indian curriculum school to do my 11th and 12th... and I cannot possibly explain all the difference here on this forum that I faced myself... I could right a book on it! :) anyway... long story short... both curriculums are different and both have their advantages and disadvantages... the biggest thing I have learnt is that in the British or IB curriculums the focus is on learning and understanding for long term recollection... which is why I still remember most of what I learnt in my first school... however, the Indian curriculum is more theoretical and hence focussed more on rote memory and this unfortunately, for a majority of people, only stays in one's brains long enough to ace the exam! it really depends on your choices as a parent... what do you want for your child... horses for courses

hi stovetop... not sure how effective my contribution to this discussion is as both my DDs are in British curriculum schools... however most of my feedback is based purely on reviews from my infinite number of cousins/nephews/neices who are based in the Indian curriculum schools in Dubai... [b'>Modern High School[/b'> [u'>pros [/u'> - well established school & alumni - outstanding reputation 'amongst the Indian curriculum schools' - exceptional range of extra-curricular activities on offer - under the GEMS education banner so get access to all the GEMS foundation events, awards, scholarship programs, publicity - strong academic focus (as with most ICSE schools)... work involves theory as well as lots of practical applications/project work - swanky new campus and state-of-the-art facilities - wonderful creative/arts/drama/music department - large student base so an opportunity to make lots of friends [u'>cons[/u'> - since the fees are expensive compared to other Indian schools, majority of the students are from very affluent Indian families... and the attitudes/competitiveness that comes with it... with birthday parties more at Sega Republic and Wild Wadi than just at the community park or home! - fees might shoot up at any time given the GEMS education penchant for constantly revising fee structures - lots of pressure on children who are not naturally academic... and hence one might need to supplement weaker students with additional coaching as they approach the higher classes - location is a little out of the way if you are staying within Dubai city limits - full day school... so children aren't home until 4:30pm - not all of the extra curricular activities are FREE or reasonably priced! - school trip end up being to Austria/Switzerland instead of Sri lanka/Nepal and hence fees is not the only thing you will be coerced (by your children) into paying! [b'>DPS[/b'> [u'>pros[/u'>- although the school doesn't have much history in Dubai it comes from a very good parent school in Delhi - lots of support for the school franchise here from the main campus in Delhi (including books/teaching materials/stationery/etc. coming directly from there) - new and competitive school so they take part for all interschool activities to gain as much PR mileage as possible - fees is more competitive than Modern High School but they are still one of the more expensive ones against the Indian curriculum schools - rating has been good so far (however only their Dubai branch has been assessed by KHDA) - Sharjah campus is expanding brilliantly and offers a lot of ver good facilities - they always seem to be getting top representatives from India (including Abdul Kalam, etc. visiting for school events) - children in the school seem more grounded... perhaps also because majority are from middle to upper income families living in the Sharjah/Al Nahda/Mirdiff/Deira/Karama areas - very inclusive in their policies hence always get every singlechild on stage irrespective of whether they can sing or not [u'>cons[/u'> - the Dubai campus of the school is not that academically or sports-wise strong... the Sharjah campus is much more highly recommended... in fact they have students living in Marina/JBR going to the Sharjah branch instead of the Jebel Ali campus - they have not got outstanding achievements in academics as yet... though individual students have scored well for 10th and 12th exams - school seems to have an issue with teacher retention (especially in the Dubai branch) - seem more laid back academically but on a pitch to take part in every single interschool event thus reducing actual class time - you might need to move to mirdiff to reduce your commute time to the school in Sharjah hope this helps you in making your decision... all the best!! :)

Hi, I am going to put up a question thats been on my mind for sometime and is kinda related to this post, hope you dont mind, ST. All Indian parents, whats ur take on IB?? As a curriculum, I know it has immense advantages. I have enrolled my daughter in icse with the intention of eventually moving her to ib cos I still believe in the effective ness of the strong indian primary system. Am I right in thinking so? Also, Is there like a right time/age to make the switch? Having read on EW abt wa7ting list horror stories, I don't wanna miss the bus again.. Experienced parents pls share stories ....thks a lot. se

I have frnds kids going to both DPS and Modern... my personal observations: Modern is very result driven along with great extra curricular activities. DPS on the other hand is like orchestrated circus(words of my frnd who has 2 boys going to DPS).Teachers come and go leaving kids stranded with multiple teaching styles. Modern on the other hand has strong admin...and good teaching crew... DPS is laid back CBSE( I am from CBSE background too) and Modern is academically oriented towards detailed studies as in any ICSE school. My husband is from ICSE background and he finds most of the curriculum way dated... Having said that our DD goes to O levels and planning to send our now 3 month DS to O levels too. We, as parents suffered a lot in CBSE and ICSE curricula...love to see our DD enjoy no homework policy of O levels.

Hi stovetop, Could write a looong reply to your post, since we were in a similar position as you but had to choose between o level and the indian icse. Will also highlight the difference in cbse nen icse. Cbse n icse are basically similar, except in the lateir yearz, icse has grt emphasis on english (Shakespeare) while with cbse its hindi (absolute 3rd degree torture-saying it from personal experience). Coming to the schools - I was too late in getting my daughter into fs2 for sept 2013, so she has joined modern in kg1 since this april. And all I can say dunno whats the big deal abt modern. Ok they have grt facilities and campus, but...I guess I need to give this more time. I have friends whose kids attend dps and she has mixed reviews. Her boy who is academically brilliant is doing well and her daughter who is younger and more inclined to creative avenues is not happy. So imo, it finally boils down to the parents and their expectations. I loved the all round development that my daughter gained at the o level nursery she attnd. I find that now the focus is already on academics. She misses her playtime and goofing around wth friends, but then thats growing up I guess. Regarding location, modern will pick up your child even if you are living on the moon, provided you shell out the exorbitant kg bus fees.