Hello All,
After much trolling through old posts I thought I'd ask the same question again as reputations of KL schools seem to be ever changing!
Our son is 5 in March and we are looking for a school for intake in August / September 2015. We are from the UK and he will eventually end up back in the UK (we suspect anyway), so we have ruled out all schools with a non-British curriculum. We are also paying the fees ourselves (for now anyway). Although we are coming from India where he has been in an Indian pre-school; an Indian school is NOT an option. My husbands office is near the Tropicana Mall in Petaling Jaya.
So our criteria are -
1. Near-ish to his office (will find accommodation accordingly)
2. British Curriculum
3. Should have a good reputation and results (what is the feedback on the schools suggested near his work place, saw points made of racism at Alice Smith but cannot find any real evidence to support that)
4. Do they warrant the high price that many schools in KL seem to charge (despite often terrible feedback)
We have shortlisted Alice Smith and the British School, KL. We have also been recommended Tenby, elc (have reservations about elc), Taylors and the International School @ Desa Park.
I believe waiting lists can be very long and we are not joining my husband till March of next year, so am keen to gather as much information as possible in the mean time. Thank you!
International Schools in KL, yet another query
I think BIS may be the best choice because of its standards and position. You have good options of where to live. It offers a real British education. It has a nice clientelle as well.
Hidden extras in Malaysian Schools
As there is no public transport (train) near Tropicana your hubby will proabably have to drive. One Utama and Bandar Utama is closeby and somewhere you may consider living. You also have lots of other places, including Mont Kiara if you choose BIS.
Taylors ( a business and local school just being rebranded from being called Sri Garden - same owners so why?)
International School @ Desa Park ( middle class area and Chinese with dogs live there).
Check which schools have a place for your child when required and that may make your mind up for you. Dont be deceived by distances as what seems close can take a long time to reach by road because of various junctions and access to the right direction.
Hi Alice is the best one by reputation. BiS has a better rep with primary than secondary. Tenby and others are a different league as in local schools not British.
Desa is new and untested but for primary it looks good as in British teachers and nice facilities.
Any of the real 3 would be ok at least.
Hi...I was in a similar position couple of months back. We have now managed to secure a place for my daughter at Alice Smith to start in Jan 2015. Having considered Alice Smith, Garden Intl and British Intl, we felt that our daughter would fit in better with AS. When we got in touch with all of these schools, we found AS very prompt and easy to deal with. The school fees + all the extras was almost the same across the schools. We were not keen on GIS as it is in Mount Kiara and it is a traffiic nightmare and we also found GIS to be less International ( mix of kids+ teachers) when compared to AS. We were very concerned abt the racism talks about AS, but having spoken to mums whose children are in other intl schools in KL, we dissmissed it as personal experience/bias without any evidence to substantiate it...Check out the waiting list and register at the earliest...Good luck with the move...
The allegations/talk about Alice isn't the kkk type of rascism. More plum in mouth 1950s elocution lesson and stiff upper lip imperialism type of attitude. I have witnessed myself a few times and is harmless and almost funny.
Hi mincsc
Let me brief a bit about Tropicana. The location even though in PJ but in reality PJ is a huge area that connected to many residential parks. Tropicana is near to Kota Damansara that may connecting to Damansara Utama shopping centre, The curve and Tesco etc. You have few option to choose residential area. Either Tropicana, Kota Damansara, Mutiara Damansara, Damansara Perdana, NEO Damansara.
Mont Kiara is out of picture if you wanted to be nearer to your hubby's working place.
For school, I suggest International School @ Parkcity. So many facilities including transportation and education that meet to your requirements.
http://www.isp.edu.my
Anyway the choice is still yours and wish you all the best.
End
Beware of the curve and Bandar utama area.
A 5 mn journey takes an hour. It is hell on earth for traffic. Avoid all condos that require you to pass through that area.
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