Schooling for two kids

Hi,

I will be moving to Manila in mid-August '14 and my wife and two sons aged 12 and 8 will join me around Nov-Dec this year. However, I wanted to make sure they will get decent schools (not British School...can't afford it :)). Could someone recommend some good schools IB or otherwise that we could look at. I will have some time to research when I get there but wanted the general directions I should be looking at.

Also wanted to rent around Eastwood as the 1st preference and around EDSA/Boni Ave. as the 2nd option. Any suggestions on options and possible costs would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Hello,

Please send me an email through [email protected] now. We can discuss your situation

@ travelenthusiastsinc > Why email? I think that It would be great if you can discuss here on the forum itself, the other members will be able to beneficiate from these information as well. :)

Thanks

Priscilla

Thanks Priscilla! Wow I Salute all the Team here you guys are indeed very active and I appreciate all your concerns everytime! Are you guys hiring?  :D:D

Here's what I have to share:

Mahatma Gandhi International School, established in 2002, is an international school authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and the International General Certificate of Secondary Education. It is located at 3270 Armstrong Avenue, Merville Access Road, Pasay City, adjacent to Merville Park subdivision, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is close to Makati, Magallanes, Moonwalk, Better Living, and Parañaque being accessible from the South Luzon Expressway, C-5 Road, and Doña Soledad. MGIS is an independent, non-profit school modeled upon international practice. The school offers an education to students of all nationalities. Classes are offered from kindergarten to Grade 12. MGIS was established by the Mahatma Gandhi Education Foundation. It is a non-profit organization.

Mahatma Gandhi International School admits students of all nationalities. We can help you obtain the application form from the admissions office.

Admission Application
Parents are requested to give complete information including the necessary documents.
* Duly accomplished Application Form
* Copies of Academic record of the last 2 years
* Copy of student's Birth Certificate
* Medical Certificate

ADMISSION DURING THE YEAR
Parents may register at anytime during the year for admission in the current school session. In today's global society company executives move from one country to another year-round. An IB curriculum would be the best choice for their children's education. If the child is studying in an IB School, transition from one country to another does not affect the continuity of the child's education as the basic principles and objectives of IBO and the inquiry-based methodology is followed by all IB Schools throughout the world, so adjustment becomes easy.

THE SCHOOL YEAR HAS THREE TERMS
* FIRST TERM - August to October
* SECOND TERM - November to February
* THIRD TERM - March to mid-June
* SUMMER BREAK - mid-June to early August

SCHOOL TIMINGS
* 7:30 AM to12:00 PM - KINDERGARTEN I & II   
* 7:30 AM to 2:45 PM - KINDERGARTEN III to Grade 12

Thanks for the information Travel Enthusiast. I have looked at the MGIS website but cannot find details of fees. Do you happen to know if there is another location I can refer to for fees. I really don't have the kind of money that the British School Manila or the international schools are asking for and hence am keen to know.

Alternatively, are there other schools we could look at that may still offer IB curriculum or schools offering internationally recognized curriculums.

Thanks again.

There are 15 IB World Schools in the Philippines (12 of these are located in Manila) offering one or more of the three IB programmes. 4 schools offer the Primary Years Programme , 2 schools offer the Middle Years Programme and 13 schools offer the Diploma Programme. The first school was authorized in 1975.

Here are some:

Brent International
Chinese International
Domuschola
German European
International School
Mahatma Gandhi
Noblesse International
Southville International
The Beacon Academy
The Beacon School
The British School
Xavier School

This is how the Basic Fees look like in most of these schools.

1. Tuition Fee
                      ANNUAL FEE               SEMESTER FEE
             US Dollar and Phil. Peso      US Dollar and Phil. Peso
  Pre‐School 3      $4,680 and  PhP 151,700      $2,340  and  PhP 75,850       
  Pre‐School 4       $6,260  and  PhP 202,400      $3,130  and  PhP 101,200       
  Elementary School  (Kindergarten ‐ Grade 4)
        $9,900  and  PhP 316,800      $4,950  and  PhP 158,400       
  Middle School  (Grades 5 ‐ 8)
        $10,820  and  PhP 347,200      $5,410  and  PhP 173,600       
  High School  (Grades   9 ‐ 10)
        $11,500  and  PhP 370,200      $5,750  and  PhP 185,100       
  High School  (Grades 11 ‐ 12)
        $12,860  and  PhP 413,400      $6,430  and  PhP 206,700
       
2.  Matriculation Fee            US$  $3,000
3.  Facilities Enhancement Fund       US$    2, 500
4.  Application Fee               US$       400   

pushkar_m these schools are indeed expensive however they are the ones who offer IB Program here in Manila. Let me know if you need further assistance we could still look into something just about right within your budget send me a pm =)

Over 1 million pesos a year per kid.  Wow!  That's even more expensive than some of the best private schools in the US!

What is your long term goal for your sons?  Do you plan to send them to colleges / universities abroad or in your home country?  Or are you sending them to local universities here in the Philippines?

International schools are extremely expensive.  I would suggest enrolling them in good private schools for the meantime, and not international schools.

When you sons reach high school level, you could consider getting home schooling material from a provider of curricula that's accredited by the country to which you plan to send your sons to college. Either you home school full time when they reach high school and take them out of regular school (if they are ok with this because they might miss their friends in school), or keep them in school and at the same time supplement their private school curricula with home school accredited curricula (which would be extra work for them). 

The cost of private school and home schooling fees together is still a lot less than the cost of international school.  You can research online for providers of home schooling curriculum and also other parents' experiences, especially expat parents, on home schooling.

But remember, it's not just the school accreditation that matters to universities.  They also look at GPA's, the student's extracurricular activities, scores in standardized tests, such as SAT's and TOEFL in America, and how they did on their essays and interviews.

Thanks for all the responses. I happened to get in touch with a colleague of mine who has also moved to Manila recently. He recommended some schools that travelenthusiastsinc had also recommended. Besides Domuschola, Reedley International and Britesparks are 2 schools which have a reasonable (around 200K per year) fee structures and still have an IB affiliation. I will try my luck with all 3 schools and see what comes through.

I will be in Manila by the middle of August and will get to school hunting straight after.

Thanks again.

Pushkar! Let me know if you need further help =) with arms wide open here

yes some collages and universities in canada  cost this  much   hahaha  good luck  hope  they teach good curriculaium!!!

Hi Pushkar,
So whats the final experience ?  which school you find better and affordable.
I am also moving to Manila in next couple of months and looking for good international schools in Manila.
Please advise.

Cheers

Hi Pushkar,

I am sailing in the same boat as yours. I have two kids who would be attending 2nd and 5th grade this year, I will be moving in June. So which school you finally selected? I know ISM and British schools are the best IS schools in Manila, I narrowed down my search to Canadian American School, which is in Makati city. My idea was to select a school which is close to office and home to avoid traveling. Since this is a new school, I could not find much information about the school except from its website. I wanted to speak to someone who is sending kids there to know the overall feedback; quality of faculty, curriculum, and whether it follows IB pattern?

let me know if you have any info to share.

Regards,
Deepak

Hello deevee23,

The initiator has not been active since july 2014. :(

In case you don't have any reverts, I suggest you create a new discussion in the Manila forum and ask your questions there.

GoodLuck!
Marjorie :cheers:

Dear Deepak / Pradeekesha,

I will be moving to Makati City by end of this yr. I have 1 child and looking for a decent school but not very expensive. Did you manage to get any information on the schools ? Please do provide your feedback, will really appreciate it as I heard schooling is not cheap in many of the schools in Manila

Regards,
Harpreet

Hi Pushkar,

Are you in Manila? Can you send me the best schools for Indian children with a maximum of 200-300000 peso fees (lower is better, not a snob :-) )

regards
abi

Is it necessary for children to study/learn local language in Private schools in Philippines? I am planning to move to make my move to Philippines but children education and hurdle  of language makes me uncomfortable.
I dont want my kids to sit in a class and be all lost while they are forced to learn or study local language? I heard some time foreign students are given an option to attend / study.

Greatstart International is good for young English speaking children in Paranaque. Looking for military school for a 12 year old in Manila. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Greatstart International is good for young English speaking children in Paranaque. Looking for military school for a 12 year old in Manila. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Hi pushkar
How are you . please can u tell me which school do you choose for your children because I also moving to Manila in this coming month and my daughter is in grade 2.I m by confused .We will live in BGC TAGUIG TRION APARTMENT.
waiting for your response
Thanks

Hi ;
We are going to move Manila at the end of May.I have 2 girls 7 and 11 years old.I already checked the tuition fees of international schools are quite expensive one.I already checked the Chinese  International one looks convenient for us.But I do not understand the fee of matriculation and school development fees.These fees are making the cost more and whether these schools have any reduction for second kids and any school bus facility.Thank you very much for your recommendation.I look forward to waiting your advices.

Hi there,

I'm new to this site.  My name is Steve and I'm from Sydney Australia

Just wondering if there's any further updates on this thread as I'm also interested in relocating to Manila through work with my family.  We have 3 young childrens age 3, 5 and 7.  Definitely can't afford international school so looking for some good local private school in BGC area.  Any recommendations?

Sorry didn't mean to hijack this post.

Cheers,

Steve

i am agree too