birthdaygirl

Has anybody had experience of applying for citizenship by registration, I have citizenship by descent, my husband is bajan and my younger son has citizenship by descent, I have to apply for registration for my older son and I have little knowledge of this process and when I phone immigrations, they are often very dismissive.

I am very worried as my sons immigration status will impact on his education choices, as there are only 2 boys secondary schools available to him Dottins and Codrington. As I was told by the education department, for last 2 years they have not had any availability in government schools for non-nationals. Does anyone know what Dottins is like? I have read several on Codrington.

Thank you

zanne

I've never heard that term used before, is your husband not his father?

Sunniebgi

Citizenship by Registration would be something (I'm guessing) that you couldn't do unless you have lived here for a certain number of years. if this is not the case, you need to likely go to Barbados Immigration and find someone face to face to talk to.

Re the school issues. .. how old is your son?? there is now a 3rd choice, ST. Winifreds, for boys, but this is not an easy option to get into either. I'm not aware that Barbados government secondary schools don't accept non-nationals, I have several friends, non-nationals, who have boys who are at several of the top secondary schools on the island. Harrison, Queens, St. Michael, Combermere. So I know it can be done. This will also depend on your childs grades.. he may or may not be eligable, based on grades to go to one of those schools, but he still should be able to get into any of the others. You have to apply and it will cost you something, but not nearly what it would at any of the other private schools.

You can also try Learning for Life, but I understand that they are fairly out their interms of money as well.

Re the education part. I'm going to give you a small hint. I found a phone number listed on their website (the e-mail address is useless as I doesn't work).. the number is to the School Attendance Officer. Try this person first and see what they say.. Any child in Barbados between the ages of 5 and 16 must be in an educational institution and it might as well be one run by the government.

Sunniebgi

I've just read through your other post that your oldest child is 14. You may want to consider Learning for Life as an alternative to a regular secondary school. he would be preparing for the CXC (O'level) exams (this will depend on his age and education ability) and even though it may be a bit more expensive might be a better alternative.

http://www.smartstudying.com/

shines

I would be interested in anything you find out re the citizenship by registration, I think this may be what I need to apply for for my eldest daughter.

Re schools - my niece and nephew are both at govt school and are non nationals, you need to acquire a student visa and your son will need to take an exam relevant to his age to assess what school he would be eligible to go to (altho check that with the Ministry of Education, I have always found them very helpful)

birthdaygirl

Thank you all for your replies. Shines how long ago did your niece and nephew start attending a government school, as it was from the Ministry of Education that I was informed that in the last two years that they have not had any spaces for non-nationals, in fact I was told that my only options for a boy of my son's age 14 would be private.

He actually encouraged me to open my own private school for boys as he said my options are very limited. I enquired what happens if someone could not afford private I was told basically that would be a problem for me.

I was surprised that there was no availability for non-nationals in schools as was my husband, as he said he has friends that their children are non-nationals and attend barbados schools, however, he was unable to tell me how long they have been at the schools.

However, I am going to Barbados in a weeks time and my first stop will be at the immigration department to get clarification on this matter, when I come back I will update everybody.


Zanne no he is not the father and that is where the problems lies and I too was not aware of citizenship by registration prior to being told by immigrations.

Sunniebgi

Don't get me started on the "private boys secondary school" thing.. and if someone from the ministry is telling you to open one, they must not have been there long.

5 very well known and fairly well off BARBADIAN Men.. tried to open their own secondary school for boys about 6 years ago or so. They all had numerous boys of their own, and knew the problems going forward. It was to have been an open school, anyone could apply, no restrictions etc etc etc, except that it would be for boys. Except that the ministry said no you can't open this school because it will be an exclusive school. and it was only said because the 5 men who wanted to open this school were well off, and for the most part white.. or of mix race. But all of them are Barbadian born and raised.

Don't accept this answer re the private school route for your child (especially if you are unable to afford the going rates for them). You may in the end find that at age 14, he would be better off going the private route - fitting into the system of classes, form 4 or 5 classes, going forward to the CXC exams. But on your trip here, make sure you also approach the ministry of education again and in person. Again, don't talk to just anyone. Find someone who can seriously help you.

birthdaygirl

Sunniebgi, thank you for your response, I agree I think the best route for my son maybe private. I merely contacted the ministry as there were so few private boys schools , however, I was surprised by their response. I will take your advise and visit the Ministry of Education.

Do you or anybody on the site know anything about Dottins School as this appears to be the only realistic option and although I have read several threads on schools there appears to be very little about Dottins.

Sunniebgi

I thought that I had read that Dottins had closed down due to lack of funding. But.. I could be wrong. I'll see if I can check some things out tomorrow and see what I find out. In all honesty, I'm not sure that even that is a good option for you. I have never heard very favorable things about this school, but I again, I'm not even sure they are still open. I think the headmistress also changed the name to D's academy.. and then closed the doors..

I will tell you, there is a private religious secondary school for both boys and girls in St. Michael. It is owned by the seven day adventist church. http://barbadossdasecondary.org/admin/admissions/ here is there website.

There was a muslim child who was in my oldest daughters class at primary 2 years ago. He didn't do well at the 11plus exam, or didn't make the grade to go into the school he wanted and was accepted into this school (so they do mean what they say about admitting studes of all religions etc.. I would suggest that you may also want to check with them. I don't know anything else about the school other than this.

shines

Hi again,

My nephew was 13 when he arrived 4 yrs ago and went straight into a govt school. My niece was 8 and went to Leacocks school in Speightstown but then did her 11+ and is now in a govt school, she started Sept 08...

HTH

shines

Also to add to this...

When I was looking to change school at Easter for my 4 yr old (non national) I went to see a govt school and they said they would be happy to take her... I ended up sending her to a private school though, not sure if that is of any use to you at all...

S

zanne

Shines, you changed schools?

Sunniebgi

I think I need to clarify something.

The only reason I'm even remotely suggesting private is that Barbados is a highly competitive country when it comes to education. When the children enter into secondary they are all pretty much doing the same courses up until 3rd Form. At 4th form you start to specialize. if your son is 14 now, but is going to be 15 (meaning he will turn 15 after Sept 1st 2009, he would in fact be going into 4th form and would really have to start concentrating on the 2 years (4th and 5th form) that it takes to do the Caribbean Council examinations (equipiv or higher of O levels). The hardest schools to get into, even for a Bajan, are the top 5 or so secondary schools (Harrison, Queens, St. Michaels, Combermere, Foundation, Lodge).. it's not to say that the others are bad (that includes the fact that even at the top schools the teaching may not be all that great.. it's more like being lectured to rather than being taught).. But, he may find it easier to move into his exams by going for a more one on one approach (or at least a much smaller classroom setting) if you can afford it.

another note. St. Winifreds would actually not be able to take him (well not sure) as they only started boys from this year, so next year there will only be boys in Form 1 and form 2.

birthdaygirl

I went on Dottins Academy website and they still appear operational, however, this does not bode well, on hearing their has been significant problems with the possible closure.

Sunniebgi, I would like to thank you for informing me of the Seven Day Adventist school as I did not know it existed, I phoned today and have arranged to visit the prinicipal next week. Do you have any feedback on this school.

In terms of schools for non-national the primary school I was told was not an issue it's secondary and this has only been implemented in the last 2 years, so prior to this time it appears their was not a problem getting a non-national into secondary school.

zanne

I'm not so certain about SDA but I like the "rules"...

http://barbadossdasecondary.org/sdaschool/rules/