Re: Schools in Barbados
 

Hi there,

Leacocks is a very small school near Speightstown. Mrs Leackock is very old now but is still Principal there. My niece has just finished at the school, she came to Barbados from Venezuela 4 yars agao speaking no English, she just passed her 11+...

I believe the school has very strong values and morals and may not be for everyone but they also get good results. The class sizes are small, 9 or so in a class (well there were in my nieces). They are very strict on discipline and in my opinion this is a good thing and very much laking in schools in the UK now. They do not do much in the way of drama/sports/extra activites but you can always do these elsewhere if your child is interested...

My DD will most probably be going there from next year as she has to start school that year, the fees are affordable and it is close to home for us. Both big benefits, a trip to the other bigger school each day would mean 2 hours in the car, I left london to get away from such travelling...

HTH

Sue

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

I agree with you about the problem of a long drive to school. Also it is bad for the child because his/her friends are not likely to live nearby and a kid should be able to visit and play with friends after school and easily on weekends.

Where do you live? How close is the school and do most of the children come to the school from nearby or not?

Can you suggest some communities which are pleasant, safe for kids to bike or wander around, and close to a good school where most of the children live nearby?

Dale

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

Hi there,

At Leacocks you find mainly Bajan children and all will live close by for sure.

I have a 3 yr old daughter and we live in Fustic, St Lucy. I find most communities are safe to wander round, not so sure re the biking, depends on the age of your children. The roads round here are country roads and, as usual, lack any kind of pavement, I don't think I would allow my daughter to cycle round until she is much older, 9 ish or so.

What type of community are you looking for, around where we are is all locals and that suits me fine as we are going to be staying here i would prefer to blend into the local community. Maybe you want something with more expats, you would find that down towards to South of the Island a little more I think...

Sue

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

Hi

I sent my son to Leacocks last year for a short time and he really enjoyed the experience. Leacocks is a local private school, the staff are really friendly I would recommend this school for local tuition.

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

Hi Dale

Just to say I sent my son there last year. We are from the UK A lot of the children there are local children but my son was made very welcome and made some wonderful friends. I have to say that I met Ms Leacock and found her to be very helpful and experienced. My son never had any issues with any of the staff. There was certainly no mention from him of any cruelty! (and he would definitely be the first to say if there was!!). The school is quite disciplined but in a positive way. I would have no concerns about sending a child there if you are looking for a small, private, local school. It may not suit everyone but it suited our needs.

Hope this helps.

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

Thanks, Molly, that was very useful info. Where is your child going to school now? Are you still living in Barbados? Do you have any opinion on any other schools in Barbados? You must have looked around a bit before you sent him to Leacocks.
Thanks,
Dale

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

Hi Dale

We were only there for a term and as we were in St Peter it was the best local school. The other schools were not close and would only take him for the year. A friend of mine went to st gabriels and thought it was a good school. We are back in the UK now but may come back on 6 monthly basis. Are you still there? On the west coast? How old are your children?

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

Hi Molly,

I was interested in your comment regarding staying on a 6 monthly basis, I too live in the UK in Nottinghamshire, and like you may have to resort to the same kind of living style. You have given me hope that it may well be possible to live that way, what do you think?
Are you back in the UK now?

Take care

Elizabeth

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

My son is at Codrington and has been at the school for just over a year. It is not strictly true that Codrington does not follow the Barbados National Curriculum. It does but the difference lies in the method of teaching it. Codrington is an International Baccalaureate school and uses an Inquiry based approach to teaching. I think this means that the direction lessons take depends on the questions the children ask rather than the teacher pumping out facts. Codrington takes boys and girls at all ages but at the moment only accepts them up to the third form of secondary. Each year they add another year to the secondary age group so that current third years will be able to continue right the way through to 18. Some classes are full and have waiting lists but there are generally still gaps at the younger ages.

Class sizes are small at Codrington - the average class size is about 10 and no class can be bigger than 15 - and we are very impressed with what we have seen.

We did visit the other schools and can comment on their racial mix. St Gabriel's has quite a good black/white mix. St Angela's (the convent) has a broader racial mix (a good mix of Black, White, Asian etc) and St Winifred's is very White (and pretty "Old Bajan"). The Wills has a bit of a mix. A word of warning about the Government schools is that teachers beat the children for what seem to be to be quite minor offences.

On how battered St Gabriel's looks, it isn't surprising when you consider the fees. Most Barbados private schools charge incredibly low fees - equivalent to only three or four hundred pounds a term and once you have paid teachers' salaries there is not a lot left over for maintaining the schools. Codrington's fees are higher but nowhere near as much as you would have to pay for an equivalent school in the UK or the US.

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

We're not there yet. Thining of going in Vovember. My boy is almost 4 and just getting ready for school. It is not so important right now, but it will be soon, and I want to get to know all the possibilities.

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

If your little boy is "rising 4" you may want to put him in a nursery school when you arrive. Some are very focused on academics and very strict - sitting in rows etc. the preschools attached to the Primary Schools can be very much like that. Two that I think are well regarded are St Nicholas at Stepney in St George (quite hard to get into but lots of play and fun) and Casa de Bambini near Speightstown (Montessori). There are other good ones too

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

Hi Elizabeth

I was thinking that we would be there from September to March/April each year and then do the summer term in England. Which months were you thinking of? I am sure that there will be a school on the island that would do that. Do you have children? Are you from Barbados or have you been there for any length of time before? I am sure quite a few people must do similar things? Be great to hear when you are thinking of going and what you would plan to do whilst there?

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

Thanks also to Peazel for very interesting comments. I am particularly interested in you mentioning an “Inquiry based approach”. Is that official school policy? It sounds very Montessori and not much like your usual international school. And are you talking about the primary school or the secondary or both?

By the way, after being on this forum for a while I realize that I don't really know what one means by the word “Bajan” as in “they're very Bajan” and "Old Bajan".
I realize that it means “A Barbadian”, someone who is a native to Barbados, but I suspect that it has other more subtle meanings.

When someone say a school is “very Bajan” do they mean it is inhabited by mostly white people who were born in Barbados, as opposed to black, or do they mean mostly Black, or 50-50 or what? Of course, whoever the students and faculty are, they would come with their slang, customs, attitudes, etc., but I assume those would be very different between the native whites and the native blacks although there is obviously a mixed and shared culture also.

Anyway, I would like to hear from anyone who can tell me what people imply when they use this word. (and please, lets not get into heated discussions about racism, let's just stick to word meanings.)

Dale

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

Bajan is a locally used term for a Barbadian.

Sue

Re: Schools in Barbados
 

Hi

You're right there are subtle nuances around the term "Old Bajan" or very Bajan. My take on it (and others may want to add theirs) is
Very Bajan - very culturally Bajan (quite conservative approach to schools and in the context of the school referred to in the post mainly Black but it doesn't have to be). Bajans (of any colour) who have not travelled much can be quite inward looking
Old Bajan - very White and a strong tendency towards the White families who wish Barbados was more like it was before Independence :) - perfect example of this is the Yacht Club and to an extent IMO St Winifred's school