Looking for a good and affordable school in KL

Hi, I am going to transfer my son who is 13 years old to another international school in KL. Anyone could give me some opinions about Tenby or other international school which is good for senior students about teachers and education. How is the O level results at each school?

Why dont you ask the school? Also A selective school will get better results but doesn't mean it is better!

Elc is selective and a low fee school. For budget parents a good choice. A million times better than global Indian "school"

If you r on a low budget, elc is much better than the indian school.

I shall ask the school about the result when I take a visit. I just want to know it earlier and other people's opinions about the school. We shall not consider about Indian school. Thank u for your reply.

Elc was one of our options but I heard the facilaty is old at sungai balu. The fees are similar between Tenby and Elc. How are the teachers there?

Hi Nemodot, Carlyle 1979 I had the same feedback - ELC being better than GIobal Indian from a couple of people I spoke to in KL. Any feedback on Tenby (Shah Alam) and a school called Tanarata in Kajang ?

One question: If I stay close to KL Sentral (office is close) , will it be fine in terms of travel time for going to a school which is away from the city centre (Tenby/ELC Cyber Jaya/Sungai Boloh/ Tanarata ) - that way you go opposite to traffic ?

Hi tenby used to be a rat hole of a school run by a very greedy Chinese man. He died and his son, a far wiser man it seems, has invested in hiring people who actually know education from overseas and put up salaries for local and expat teachers. So I past a real avoid, but now a school worth looking at.

As always a visit in term time is worth a lot. Not open days they are useless.

Thank u very much. I'll visit Tenby tomorrow and see how it is. But it seems most of international schools already are on holidays.:-)

Best bet is for you to visit the Schools personally, talk to the people, see the facilities and compare the fees. Then decide. Its your child after all. As Forum members, we can only guide, but best for you to check for yourself. After all, if so many parents have their child in a given school, there must be something that school is doing right too :-).

Have a happy stay.

Hi Manishja NOT in kl!! I asked some local friends - middle aged middle class types - abut this and they told me it is all about boasting about the name of the school and "my fees are higher than yours so I am richer hahhaha" effect. Factors like quality of education figure quite now it seems especially as mist parents have no idea what it looks like as local state schools are some of the worst in the world.

If parents voted with their feet though where to go? go one of the Malaysian international schools are really that good. most are terrible. Even the few elite are not that great compared to a good private school or state grammar school in UK. So what choice?

(Moderated: please post in Kuala Lumpur classes classifieds section)

[moderated: post your advert in the Language classes in Kuala Lumpur pls]

Hi Clio 1 - can you share your thoughts on Tenby post your visit. I plan to be in KL in Oct but family will move in by Mar - post end of school session. That will give me time to visit the schools personally. And are you planning to visit ELC as well ?

Hi Nemodot and Manishja - completely buy your point. There's no substitute to visiting the schools personally in term time. Probably speak to principal, may be to class teacher and if lucky to some parents.

The Registration Fees are something to be aware of:

http://www.ucsiinternationalschool.edu. … cation.pdf

Hi, Schatty,
I visited Tenby this Tuesday, the facilities at Tenby are good,  such as swimming pool, tennis, basketball court, labs and so on. As I see there, most of the students are Chinese, perhaps because of the people live at that area. There is no vacancy for my son's year group ,they said maybe in January but not sure. It seems that some international schools take your application fees (500RM above), even your kids past the assesment, they are still on the waiting lists. I have one experience at Garden international school, it was 1000RM for 18M waiting several years ago. Then they sent a letter said the period of waitting is expired, if u want to keep on waitting, you should pay the application fee again. So better you visit the school earlier for your kids. I 'll visit ELC as well.

Shatty, it may be an idea to check out the terms for different schools as some follow those normally governed by international courses and examinations. I am a bit afraid your family may arrive in March/April and find there is only a short term left. Malaysian schools break in June and overseas based curriculums in July. However, some of the so-called international schools also follow local courses and examinations as well. So well worth checking out how they cope with breaks.  Calling ahead to check out space in a particular year for a potential school of interest is important as well. But perhaps it is worth just researching now and waiting until you arrive in November, when you can get a better feel of the education standards here and visit schools. As there are waiting lists anyway, you can at least decide when your children should start and have less disturbance in their lives. They could well have to take entrance exams as well, so their first few weeks could be used for that. However, there seem to be fees for absolutely everything, even to take an entrance exam so its worth having a short list with vacant places known well in advance to avoid unncessary expenditure. I have a friend who sent his son to UCSI and is happy with that choice. As long as you are close to a train line you can live most places and get to work. Even Putrajaya has a rapid shuttle train, although a bit expensive.

This may be a good school..

Global Indian International School, Kuala Lumpur Campus, Malaysia

http://www.globalschoolmalaysia.org/

They have Cambridge board as well.

School fees, etc all are avilable on website.

Thanks a lot for the feedback Clio 1 and Gravitas. I plan to come in early with the family coming in after the session in India is over - around Apr. That will give me some change to do some on the ground research.

In advance, just check which schools have a place for your child. Beware of fees for joining waiting lists.

Hi Gravitas,

I just came to KL. Since my office is close to KLCC and I cant afford the likes of Mont Kiara or Garden or ISKL, guess I am left with only two options, The global Indian School and ELC Sungai Buloh. Is that right or you think I can try out anything else ? Plan to Visit Tenby in Shah Alam as well. Clio1 had good things to say about the school but I note the point on wait lists.

A question on Shah Alam - how much time do you think it would take to Shah Alam if I stay in Bangsar ----in the morning. Since it would be opp the traffic. Am told, folks who come to KLCC from Shah Alam in the morning take 1 hr. Thats a lot - but then we are talking the other way around. Will that make a difference ? That will decide whther I consider Tenby at all ? Unless both GIS and ELC dont work out.

Please text me ..I can help with information about schools ..it's not too expensive and many of teachers are foreigners .tq

Hello
My suggestion is AL NOOR INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL.

Is Sri KDU at Kota Damansara

You should consider Fairview International School - It's an IB world school that follows the English curriculum. The fees I believe are around 20000 ringgit a year. I know it had a reputation in the past for not being brilliant but it's definitely improving, especially if you look on the website at it's recent IBDP results. 37/45 average when the world average is 30/45.

Just a thought

Hi Cathy you read my mind. Visited Fairview school. You are right about fees. I heard that about reputation going down in the past. I liked what I saw.

Cathy and anyone on the blog, any recos between Fairview and Taylor's Intl ( the school in Taman Maluri - used to be Sri Garden) earlier). I have visited them as well. Taylor's is more expensive but I guess the Taylor's group has a big name.

Cant apply to both as applic fees is rm 1k.

There is always a lot of mystery surrounding Fairview and it does have history. KathyAnn works there. From what I have read and heard from teachers in the industry here, there is a lot of marketing going on about the school on visits, which never really reaches the general public for some reason e.g. publishing of results in local newspapers (this should have been done last month - was it?). 

However Schatty you have been there and KathyAnn although relatively new to the school and a young teacher (newly qualified?) should be able to debunk a lot of the myths about this school, which include grade filtering i.e. not taking grades across the board but from small subgroups. I do know the school tries to fish a few very good students every year by offering scholarships. Is this to help with the school's grading?

Schatty think about convenience for yourself as the number one priority. I can assure you if it happens to be raining a journey that takes 1 hr can take 3 hr.

Recommendations I hear about a school of choice for Europeans involved professionally in education, is UCSI in Subang Jaya. Apparently a hidden gem?  The location is very convenient as it is close to all the Sunway facilities and the Monash Univeristy keeps the area international.

UCSI - Subang Jaya

The KTM Kommuter Train is nearby which goes to Sentral, now with a direct link to the Monorail by foot and the KTM and LRT platforms are just opposite one another at the concourse in Sentral. Fees depend on grade but start at RM1500 for 5/6 year olds. This article explains fee structures.

Comparison of Fees

However, I am reading in today's paper that because the incoming GST (April 2015) does not allow schools to pass on the 5% tax to parents for supplies which they purchase and pay the tax. So it is inevitable that tuition fees are going to rise next year, probably by at least 10%.

Thank you Gravitas. Really value your views. Do you know anything about Taylor's ? I planing to stay in Setiawangsa. So both Taman Maluri (taylor's) or Fairview in Wangsa Maju shouldnt be too far. In fact Fairview is much closer. Will speak to transport folks in both schools.

KathyAnn lives in Wangsa Maju so she may be able to help with an orientation. Setiawangsa is on the LRT so convenient. However the area around Taylors has some of the worst traffic congestion I have ever seen. There are conflicting views about the school. Some see it as just a money-faced set up (little bit typical for Taylor's enterprises here) and it will obviously attract mainly Chinese students.

Taylor's only took it over recently, so I guess it needs some time to see how the Sri Garden image is going to be changed and potentially attract different clientelle.

Hello Gravitas,  I was reading your posts and my kids are also due to join Taylor's. We were quiet impressed by the environment and the approach the staff members had.  My kids also liked the school on first see.  Fingers crossed all works well for us. 
I was looking forward to connect with some of the parents and students specially who live around Setiawangsa.  I also am curious to know about the transport system in general and some general advice of the school system. Could you kindly connect me with your friend KathAnn so I may have a chat.
Thanks in advance.

Hi Gravitas - Taylors always owned Sri Garden so no change. It was a simple rebranding. Just a new lick of paint and  a chance to make some money out of new uniforms!

Nothing else changed. Same teachers and same standard as before

Nemodot - good to see you....! So what is the standard...??

Hi have you try
globalschoolmalaysia.org

It's in Brickfield, KL

Global Indian International School

Global indian school is not a school. It is a baby sitting service. They employ anyone with a pulse! Often wives of Indian expats with no teaching experience. Almost as bad as Fairview.

The truth is in kl you can have cheap OR good. Not both.

Sri Garden (now Taylors Int School) had a horrible reputation among locals (main clientele). I have no personal experience of it - just the rumours I wont repeat from parents in malaysia and someone high there telling me no change but rebranding. I honestly hope they up their game and focus on delivering a decent enough education at an affordable price.

Tenby I head many nice things about improvements. It would be nice if the chain schools focused more on quality as Malaysia needs it.  Tenby is doing better as they are hiring real educators. Fairview has two sons of the owner in important positions - both I met and I was underwhelmed by their total ignorance of education. The new Tenby owner is a smart man who realises he knows nothing about education. A very refreshing attitude for a Malaysian! Just because you have money doesn't make you an automatic expert on any business you buy. Of course the cempaka owner is the most infamous and a government advisor. She is the homer Simpson of education.

Malaysia boleh (unfortunately)

Hi, I am shifting to Setiawangsa. Any suggestions for a play school for my 3 yr old daughter around that place ? I am looking for a Montessori method of ducation. I saw Children's house in Ampang Hilir. It was nice but expensive at RM 5800 a term ( 3 terms). Planning to check out Children's Discovery House close to Damai LRT Stn which would be close.

Hi Irina, why did you suggest Al Noor school. What is the special of the school? thank you for your reply

I do not suggest ..I said that is cheapest school in KL .