Schools are the foundation upon which your child’s academic career is built. The average child will spend around 6-8 hours of their day at school so it’s really important that they attend the right school for them. Think of it like this, your child will be spending more time at school than they do at home, a little like your work life, no doubt so, if you want the best for them, then their school needs to be more of a home away from home, here’s what else you should look for;
Distance From Your Home
Some studies show that the most productive students are those that don’t have to commute a long way to school. Makes sense really, the closer you are to school, then the less time you or your child need to dedicate to travel, for some, commuting is fun, but for most it is a chore and can actually contribute to underperformance at school. When looking for a primary international school, Google will help you locate schools within distance of your home.
How Good Are the Teachers?
It’s all very well, having a school full of teachers ready to teach, ‘something’, but, how good are they? That question isn’t just aimed at how competent they are but also at, what International School experience do they have? Sometimes a younger teacher might not know as much in terms of content, but they may have a different level of understanding in terms of the school system. Things change and as people get older, they probably aren’t in touch with certain things as much as they once were, getting to know the teachers is important.
What extracurricular activities do the school offer?
How the students exercise their bodies, as well as their minds is really important. If you can find a school that has adequate grounds for the children to exercise and to undergo some activities that they really enjoy then you should make that one of your top goals. A school that offers instruction of sports such as yoga, martial arts, music and dance, cooking, coding or any other activities that might take their interest would be of great benefit to your child’s growth and progression.
Size of classes
In some countries this can vary drastically, in some cases, it can even double from say 25-50 students depending on where the school is. Whilst it can be good for cost saving from the school’s perspective, it doesn’t do anything for offering you or your child any dedicated support. The smaller the classes are then the better it will be for you and your child, especially if you are paying for their education, this should be something that, within reason, you can choose.
