How good is King Abdul Aziz international School

Hi,
My wife and kids will be in Riyadh soon, and I have short-listed Saud Intl and Abdul Aziz Intl schools based on discussions with friends. I will visit the schools in a few weeks, and maybe your husband needs to do the same.

I did hear some negative reviews about Ar Rowad and Manarat, but it depends on who you talk to, some people might like a school tough discipline.

also when it comes to finding a place to live, Sulaiymania and Olaya are close to the schools I mention and they are both relatively cosmopolitan areas.

Good luck!

Thanks for your reply. I have a relative living in riyadh and she asked her circle of friends about king Abdul Aziz school. Most of the parents were very happy with the school. I'm hoping that should be the case here. Do share your view after you visit the school.
Best of luck

Dears,

My son aged 3.5y and now he is studying in one of Pakistani school but i want to change the school. Please need suggestion about King Abdul Aziz International School.
thanks

My cousin's daughter was studying there and he removed her from the school after two years of study. She is now in British Alameen International School.

hello!i'm coming from greece in a few days and i don't know anything about schools,i have 2 girls 6 and 4,5 years old ,they don't know english at all and i was wondering what is the first step regarding school.can you please give me some information?thanks

What languages can they speak?

My two bits about the schools:

King Abdul Aziz International School is generally a bit tough to get into it, they have few available seats that generally get filled up in Feb / Mar timeframe, although i don't know anyone with kids there, but this indicates that school must be good.

However, I wouldn't still want to go without recommendation, considering that King Saud is also considered one of the good ones, however, last year, i pulled my children out from there; to me they overdo the discipline bit (very harsh) and their administration is a bit of a mess. Otherwise, very good curriculum, loved the books they use etc.

Manarat and Rowad are bigger schools, comparatively Rowad is bigger on discipline, but i genuinely feel that Manarat has the best teachers. I like the approachability et al but most of all, for a boy going into grade 6, i would specifically recommend Manarat because to me that is probably the only school comparatively better for higher classes, such as O level etc. and admission to Manarat becomes a bit harder from Grade 7 onwards (due to people wanting to move their kids to Manarat for higher education).

Hi, I will be moving to Riyadh next year in April, 2015. I saw your query and had the same concern, I am thinking that you have already moved by this time. Can you please guide me as well, my daughter will be 8 next year and she has to go to grade 3. Kindly help.
Regards
Khan

Khan,

If you only have a daughter and not a son, and you don't want to go to British School, the option i'd recommend is Learning Caravan School. Though there isn't much of Islamic curriculum there except for the mandatory requirement. However, having gone through many schools, i've felt this to be a better option among them.

Thank you for your reply, few more questions, Teaching style in Manarat how it is like, my daughter will be coming from Canada, so I think i have to find a similar school environment. British school and American school are beyond our budget, besides they donot have any islamic curr. how about Multi national school riyadh, do they teach islamic studies. I saw arabic and french on their website? also for saud international: does she has to appear for arabic language placement test as well, or is there some help initially for non arabic children.
JazakAllah

Well,

Let me just share my experience and perspective, others can add / disagree.

For starters, almost all of the international schools don't have Islamic curriculum which is much to right home about. I have Rowad school has more detailed learning but what i've seen till date in most schools is a bit of religion history and a bit of Quran; So don't have too high hopes on that front.

Second important thing to know is the level of curriculum. Most probably, your daughter who'd land in third grade over here would be studying curriculum over here, which maybe comparable to grade 2 or grade 1 in other countries. This is generally across the board, except for british etc. because they adhere to their native country curriculum (mostly).

Arabic is included to fulfill the government requirement here and again not much emphasis is placed on it. No measures are generally taken to bring new students at par with existing students and the only requirement is to memorize a few sheets in the end and just pass over the line.

Manarat has a mix of good / average teachers, many coming from UK (though may originally be Pakistani, Egyptian, Lebanese, Saudi etc etc.) however, despite having some good teachers, the real issue again is curriculum where a grade 5 / 6 student coming from lets say UK / Canada etc. would definitely end up being on top of the class but would not be learning much new for a year or two.

Environment is generally extreme, from way too lenient Manarat to way too strick King Abdul Aziz ... Saud was largely recommended to me but my experience with them was them being way too strict for all the wrong reasons.

The reason i think Learning Caravan is a good school is maybe because its a small school, fewer classes, fewer students, principal i think is British, teachers are a good mix, students are largely expats and children are taken care of well; getting a good moderate environment (not too strict, not too lenient) is detrimental to a new kid coming in and getting settled in a new environment.

Regarding Multinational school (it is also called Australian school), that is similar to British with british being better obviously, fee structure is 'not too different' from british as well. But yes, it is considered a good school and no, not much in terms of Islamic education there.

Admissions though will also depend upon the time of year when you land here.

Hope this helps.

regards,
Affan

Jazak Allah, brother for a detailed Insight. Regards, Khan.

affanhaider wrote:

Well,

Let me just share my experience and perspective, others can add / disagree.

For starters, almost all of the international schools don't have Islamic curriculum which is much to right home about. I have Rowad school has more detailed learning but what i've seen till date in most schools is a bit of religion history and a bit of Quran; So don't have too high hopes on that front.

Second important thing to know is the level of curriculum. Most probably, your daughter who'd land in third grade over here would be studying curriculum over here, which maybe comparable to grade 2 or grade 1 in other countries. This is generally across the board, except for british etc. because they adhere to their native country curriculum (mostly).

Arabic is included to fulfill the government requirement here and again not much emphasis is placed on it. No measures are generally taken to bring new students at par with existing students and the only requirement is to memorize a few sheets in the end and just pass over the line.

Manarat has a mix of good / average teachers, many coming from UK (though may originally be Pakistani, Egyptian, Lebanese, Saudi etc etc.) however, despite having some good teachers, the real issue again is curriculum where a grade 5 / 6 student coming from lets say UK / Canada etc. would definitely end up being on top of the class but would not be learning much new for a year or two.

Environment is generally extreme, from way too lenient Manarat to way too strick King Abdul Aziz ... Saud was largely recommended to me but my experience with them was them being way too strict for all the wrong reasons.

The reason i think Learning Caravan is a good school is maybe because its a small school, fewer classes, fewer students, principal i think is British, teachers are a good mix, students are largely expats and children are taken care of well; getting a good moderate environment (not too strict, not too lenient) is detrimental to a new kid coming in and getting settled in a new environment.

Regarding Multinational school (it is also called Australian school), that is similar to British with british being better obviously, fee structure is 'not too different' from british as well. But yes, it is considered a good school and no, not much in terms of Islamic education there.

Admissions though will also depend upon the time of year when you land here.

Hope this helps.

regards,
Affan

Wow Affan! Great information with a lot of details!

Your post really helps a lot, I am landing in Riyadh probably in April, And I will need school for my 4.5 years old boy, and later for my 2 years old Daughter.

It seems that Multinational School, Learning Caravan School and Saud will be a choice list for expats who we can't affor British and American School.

Kind Regards,

One caveat though, Multinational costs about as much as British. Will help if you get in touch with schools in advance.

OH so sorry..  I just saw my post after a long time time...
Yes we went ahead with king abdul Aziz intl... And my kids love it..
I agree with Mr. Affan that coming from a different country, here  the curriculum is a bit easy, but for my kids it has helped with transition into this new environment. The school is strict on discipline which is good as less bullying cases as compared to other schools. No stress on religious studies at all. My son is in grade 6 and by grade 7, French is compulsory along side arabic. So studies get tougher.
I love their books and curriculum. They hardly send any homework.
I would recommend it 100% for bigger grades.. But for younger kids, I would go with learning caravan. I visited many schools and this one tops the list..
Best of luck with your move.

Nkkundi wrote:

OH so sorry..  I just saw my post after a long time time...
Yes we went ahead with king abdul Aziz intl... And my kids love it..
I agree with Mr. Affan that coming from a different country, here  the curriculum is a bit easy, but for my kids it has helped with transition into this new environment. The school is strict on discipline which is good as less bullying cases as compared to other schools. No stress on religious studies at all. My son is in grade 6 and by grade 7, French is compulsory along side arabic. So studies get tougher.
I love their books and curriculum. They hardly send any homework.
I would recommend it 100% for bigger grades.. But for younger kids, I would go with learning caravan. I visited many schools and this one tops the list..
Best of luck with your move.

Thank you very much for your feedback, so it seems Learning Caravan will be a good choice.

Where can I get their fees structure and their curriculum information?

Kind Regards,

affanhaider wrote:

One caveat though, Multinational costs about as much as British. Will help if you get in touch with schools in advance.

Affan, what do you think about Al faris school ?

I never got answera to my emails to Saud and Alfaris schools.

Will you recommend me too Learning Caravan School?

They must have an FB page.. Admissions are taking place these days for many schools around here.. You better get in touch with them soon.. BTW learning caravan only accepts  children ages 4 and above.

Hi

Can you advise the school timings at abdul aziz. I heard it is till 4pm?

Nkkundi wrote:

OH so sorry..  I just saw my post after a long time time...
Yes we went ahead with king abdul Aziz intl... And my kids love it..
I agree with Mr. Affan that coming from a different country, here  the curriculum is a bit easy, but for my kids it has helped with transition into this new environment. The school is strict on discipline which is good as less bullying cases as compared to other schools. No stress on religious studies at all. My son is in grade 6 and by grade 7, French is compulsory along side arabic. So studies get tougher.
I love their books and curriculum. They hardly send any homework.
I would recommend it 100% for bigger grades.. But for younger kids, I would go with learning caravan. I visited many schools and this one tops the list..
Best of luck with your move.

Hi

Can you advise the timings of AbdulAziz international school? I have heard it's till 4pm in the eve.

Hello,
Multinational school would be perfect for your daughters since it offers an option of teaching the student English and that would help them learn English and study at the same time

Hello
I am moving  to Riyadh the next month  ,I was  advised of king saud , king Abdul Aziz, oasis,al ruwad school ,I have two sons grade 1 and kg1 I didn't see them yet I just want to visit two of the what's your recommentons

Among the ones you mentioned I believe the ruwad is most renowned one here from what I hear, not sure about the others

My 2 daughters are studying there for last 3 years. As far as education is concerned I am satisfied. My issues are:

School continuously increases fee (For last 2 years 2000 per annum per kid) this year they didnt increase
On top of fee, school takes additional money for Books and uniform which will be between 2000 to 3000 Riyals
Curriculum is by SABIS which is not accepted outside SABIS

Rest it depends on your own standards and thoughts.

My daughter was in King Saud 3 years back. It was really a  good school but with change of management 3 years back most of good teachers left. I moved my daughters to King Abdulaziz and shared my experience and issues in another post in same thread.

Please mention the fee for king abdulaziz int school annual and how many semester or terms to pay is there registration fee too? How much till which grade is the school