Rash_3000

Can anyone tell me about good schools near airport Doha. I am after British Schools for my kindergarten kid (5 yrs )?

Alexa

There are no British schools near the airport in Doha.
There is Newton, which claims , I think an international curriculum, but they are as far from British as the moon form the sun.

British curriculum schools are:
DESS
Doha College
Compass (kind of British curriculum)
Newton British (different school from the one mentioned above






I think there are a few more, but I am out of the school loop, so can't say for sure.

You will find all those schools on line.

I forgot to mention, MOST, if not all schools have very long waiting lists.

EastWest

Hello guys

Sorry for posting on this topic again as it has been discussed before, but I seek updated information. I recently got a job offer in Qatar/Doha and the offer package includes school coverage (tuition only), regardless to the fee amount.
I know all the stories about school places but I wonder if the problem is still the same these days as before? I do not want to mess out and would like to get my kids in a very good British school (my preference) or Australian (second option, if available) or American school (third on the list). My questions are:
-What are the good British/Australian (if any)/American schools in Doha?
-Are there places in any of them?
-What is your recommendation on this: bringing kids directly with me or going first? Knowing that the job offer includes fully furnished accommodation for the whole family and flights are covered?
-The school year in Australia starts in February and ends before x-mass. This is not the case in Qatar where the school year starts in September and ends in May/June. What is your recommendation on this?

Thanks very much,

Bromleyboy

Congrats on the job offer. Right, schools- tricky to get places but by no means impossible... I have visited all of the following schools this is my two pennies worth...

Compass- 3 diff campuses around Doha, has a good reputation
Park House- my kids go here- its good. You could do better in Doha and you could do much, much worse
Sherborne- very new, its a long way out of Doha. I've heard mixed reports but generally positive
Doha College- old campus in Al Waab is massively over subscribed but they now have a campus in west bay. Quite a good reputation
DESS- among some expats this is considered the holy grail of schools.

Yes, there are places at them but you need to call these people and make a polite nusence of yourself. Visit them in person and beg- I'm serious- I did and I got offered a place at 4 of the 5 above- probably because they were sick of the sight of me.

Go ahead of your family, sort the schools then bring them out once a placement is secured and all is sorted

PM me if you have questions and help in any way I can...

EastWest

Thanks Bromleyboy for your feedback. I thought about going alone first, but the problems are:
-Kids have to be there for entrance exam
-flights from Doha to Australia are costly (although first one way flight is covered)
I will start contacting schools now (per email) and see how it goes. I went to Doha before and visited some schools before. At the time they were all full. I hope now I can secure some places in a good school, given it is still early for the next school year.

MaserMan

Would not have Sherbourne on your list, has gone down hill rapidly. They are nothing more than a money making organisation.

Removed my child last year as did a number of other western families.

EastWest

I have read somewhere in this forum that the good schools in Doha are (not in order)
Doha College
Doha British school
Parkhouse English Speaking school
Also there is a list of schools in this page:
http://www.expatwoman.com/qatar/mont...list_6031.aspx

Any idea about which ones are good - aprat from those listed by Bromleyboy above?

primularossa

Hi. We are considering moving to Doha and Sherbourne was an option fot our kid because we are academic and it is close to universities. Could you explain better why Sherbourne is no longer a god school, so to convince you to remove your child? Thank you so much.

P18PPS

Everyone has their own expectations and standards I suppose. My kids are at Sherborne and I think it is a good school compared with the others in the city, the main problem it has it that it doesn't get the support of the embassy to push its case for a new or improved campus like other schools. Academically my kids have come on very well there.

MaserMan

Don't want to go into the whats and whys just to say that if you do go there be aware that it is not everything that it makes out that it is. I will cite one example. At a GCC 'British' school I do not expect to have classes full of non english speaking pupils.

primularossa

Hi, I understand that having lots of non English speaking kids in a class may means to go slower with the education programme, but at the same time I think that this is something you should expect if you go and live in an international city, so it is something that people should accept, even in a private school.

All kids deserve an education, and "Indian reserves" have the only result to prevent integration.

However, due to the fact that those schools are so expensive, we parents should demand a programme to help children with English as a second language, like additional English classes and a second teacher in the class.

Separating classes according to the language does not help the children because does not reach the aim that a big international city should pursue: integrating different people and cultures, opening their minds, building future citizens able to live in complex and globalised world, avoiding conflicts, understanding other cultures...

I think that having pupils from different countries and languages may help to enrich my daughter. If I am not ready to accept this challenge, better to stay home.

thanks a lot for having expressed your point of view, Primula

britexpat76

What is more important in your eyes for your child. A child who has lots of friends and is a social success because they can integrate well or one with a top job and a career success?

Kix

Good luck with that - the response will be, if you don't like it take your kids to another school, we have waiting lists.

primularossa

What I would like for my daughter is that she will be happy in her life, whatever choice she will do. If she is smart she will succeed in what she wants. For this first year in Doha, priorities for me are that she feels at ease with the new environment, school, friends, freetime, and that she is not home sick.
She is just 8 years old, she is not an adult. She has a lot of time in front to build an eventual career. Intelligence is not built only with notions but with the ability to use information for inventing something new and giving new answers.

And moreover, do you know which schools attended people like Bezos (Amazon) or Larry Page and Sergey Brinn (Google)? A Montessori school.... :-)

britexpat76

I'm not disagreeing, Just your viewpoint is different to what I would do and interested more than anything else.

Brinn is not really a relevant comparison unless you are a professor of mathematics and teach your little one at home after school finishes.