jinoman

Just back from Muscat, all schools say the same story that the spaces can only be finalised nearer the term commencing time as actual movement of expats will only be known then. I guess parents wouldn't want to take the risk of losing space before they know anything concrete about their next assignment. Our daughter has been in the waiting list since March this year and has not been given any assurances from any schools as yet!

GIS is a young school that is just began to grow. Our first impression, honestly were not great with this school as the South African lady who is running the day to day activities of the school appears to be a little lost with what she is doing and the teachers apart from one british, the rest are from various other countries, including phillipines! But it seems that the school has good vision and plans for the future but not sure if they will be achieved in right time. In my opinion, the school appears to be more suitable for children who have very little or no knowledge of English so that they can improve on this here before they can try to get in to one of those big schools.

Didn't get a chance to see MIS but visited BSM, ABA and TAISM. While BSM is very much a UK state school except that they have some extra curricular activities included, like swimming etc.. Space is premium here in this school as they have an extra section in each class compared to the other two big schools. So it looks a little cramped and congested.

ABA is spacious than BSM and the teachers we met were quiet friendly too. But it was a little shocking to know that a couple of students from the elementary grades were advised to redo the current grade another year as they were not ready for next higher grade. Does it say some thing about the teaching standards of this school or this is to be blamed purely for the students ability, not sure?

TAISM is purely an American international school as the name suggests. The school is huge with spaces everywhere and truly looks classic. ECA seems to get priority here and children do heaps of arts and crafts work. Excellent facilities like ABA but a little further away from the main QB area.

More to follow..

jinoman

Hi

Just thought of updating this thread on our case, the space isn't available still and the schools say they will review until the first week of August.

As we can't wait too long to commence the visa process, we felt we should start the visa processing to avoid any further delays (with ramadan already having impact on everything there!) and at least we will be there should there be a space become available.

So the wait still continues and more nerves...

OriginalSunshine

thing is there are people like myself out here - we have two kids at the BSM, but we won't know if we have visas ourselves to our new location (or even a bloody passport) until probably late August, so we are not giving up our school places for the kids in case it all goes tits up and we have to stay and the kids have to go back to school in September. Trust me, the school is calling me up almost every day to the extent that I had to effectively say "back the f off, I am under enough stress as it is, I will tell you when we know" to see if we have the visas and we can give up our spaces.

jinoman

Totally understandable, this is exactly what the schools keep telling us however, just seems a little extreme when you can't find school space in any school despite being on the wait list for almost 6 months and being forced into accepting space in schools that you don't prefer which also doesn't help the child's transition from schools in UK.

While I appreciate the circumstances are not so favourable, it would be nice do something about the system, especially in a place like Muscat where the demography is so much so expat centered things could be improved I feel.

OriginalSunshine

Good luck with that. This is how it works in expat land around the world. All the schools are private enterprises with minimal connections to each other, and have no need to smooth the system as it works for them as they are always full.

You're not forced into accepting anything. You can always choose not to come. Some families make that choice not to come, or choose to send their kids to boarding school, or choose to take a chance. But the bottom line is that whilst it may feel you are being forced, you are not. We have chosen to take jobs in a new location where our kids have school places where we want them to. We have prioritised schooling over career and money and location. This is what you do as an expat - you make choices and compromises, and only you can decide what is best for you.

jinoman

Finally, have just received a confirmation for space in one of the three big schools in Muscat, the ABA. At least for now we can be sure that there is somewhere that our daughter can start schooling for the coming term.

So all is set now, the removal company says 6 weeks for the freight, so planning to spend more time in UK without stuff as it would be easier to manage in a known place than in a new location. Tentative date of arrival will be 15th Aug. Still feeling a little nervous about this whole thing!!

calgarylady

Hi, it must be a relief having got placement into ABA.... when did you apply? My kids are still on the waiting list for ABA. ASM is out of consideration for us cos of distance. Did you apply to BSM?

jinoman

It is indeed, we registered in mid January and made a visit in May, when expressed our concern and seriousness of the admission. Then a repeated phone conversations every 2 weeks and finally made it through!

But, one think that caught my attention was the fact that the ABA lady said before accepting any offers from other schools, please do let us know which probably is some sort of clue, if you know what I mean.

We applied in both BSM & ASM as well, BSM were clear all this while that they will only be comfortable for next year while ASM is still reviewing, I think the last review would be in first week of August. But frankly we are happy with ABA as it is much nearer than ASM from where we will be living.

calgarylady

We applied to BSM Nov last yr and ABA and ASM in May . Nice you were able to visit with your family before relocating. My husband resumed in May will be joining him 1st week of August with our 3 kids. What do you think of Muscat? I hear its a nice place.

jinoman

We were there for only 4 days and it was melting in May.. but the people appear to be more friendly than we thought which is a plus. Traffic certainly can be difficult, we felt that the place is a hybrid variety of both a developed nation and areas where certainly it requires a lot of development. We have been to Dubai and Sharjah, but I think from a family point of view will certainly vote for Muscat.

In terms of schools, I'd suggest follow ups can be crucial, if your OH is already there, then it is probably worth phoning them regularly and visiting them nearer the time. Good luck, I'm sure you will land in one of three, it is just a waiting game.