deboc

Hi

We are moving to Spain in Jan and are looking at International schools for our 14 year old son. As he is to start his GCSE courses in Sept we thought it would be unfair to give him the added pressure of learning in a foreign language. At the moment our favourite schools are St Anthonys and Calahonda International College. Has anyone sent children to either of these schools? I have heard rumours about the legality of Calahonda College and that it may be sold soon, has anyone else?

Would really appreciate some input as it is such an important decision for us.

Thanks

marisol

Hello deboc
Maybe it can help

International Colleges

deboc

Thank you. I was wondering if anyone has had personal experience of either school.

marisol

I'm sorry i neither have children nor live there so i can't help you.

chilli33

Hello

Can i ask if you are wanting a good education for your son or just somewhere he can get an english education?

I knew a couple of students that went to St Anthony's (Fuengirola) and the news was not good.

My boys (all 3) went to Sunland at Cartama. It very small and personal and because a lot of students have left to go back to the uk the secondary is quite small and facilities are not as good as some on the coast....BUT...the quality of the education has stood, all those that have left and gone back or moved on, them all in good stead. It's not everyone's cup of tea but it's small and personal and to date...no drugs! I was on the parents and friends association for a couple of years there and they are dedicated to educating the students. If your son is the sensitive type then it could be good. they have a bus service from all over the coast.

If it is a good educational institution you want on the COAST then can i possibly recommend Sunnyview at Torremolinos?...they have an excellent record of their students graduating and going on to University some even to Cambridge they offer lots of subjects for GCSE and A Levels. Also the British College at Benalmadena...not the other one (Benalmadena college ) ...this one is in an Urb. Torre ...something?..you can find it on the web they have a lot of French and Spanish Students and they are quite academic.

Don't buy into the Baccalaureate hype....for some it's great for others not so! and it costs a fortune...like Aloha...where kids turn up to school in Porche's or the like....English International College ...one girl of 17 got a boob job for her birthday ...from her parents ...that is what it is like on the coast...which is why we loved Sunland.

I hope this helps!

cheers

chilli33

just to add....

a couple of years ago i rang Calahonda to enquire about year 11 for my eldest and they said they were not running it!! They have an uncertain future for the secondary school....so i would definitely stay away from them

fionamw

[QUOTE=chilli33;6967864]

Can i ask if you are wanting a good education for your son or just somewhere he can get an english education?........I knew a couple of students that went to St Anthony's (Fuengirola) and the news was not good.........
If it is a good educational institution you want on the COAST then can i possibly recommend Sunnyview at Torremolinos?...they have an excellent record of their students graduating and going on to University some even to Cambridge they offer lots of subjects for GCSE and A Levels. Also the British College at Benalmadena...not the other one (Benalmadena college ) ...this one is in an Urb. Torre ...something?..you can find it on the web they have a lot of French and Spanish Students and they are quite academic.........Don't buy into the Baccalaureate hype....for some it's great for others not so! and it costs a fortune...like Aloha...where kids turn up to school in Porche's or the like....English International College ...one girl of 17 got a boob job for her birthday ...from her parents ...that is what it is like on the coast...which is why we loved Sunland.

You've touched on a number of points I've been trying to get a handle on. I want my son to have a good education, point one. However how does going to an International/British school square with keeping up the Spanish he's now fluent in? I was encouraged by what you said about Sunny View, is that info pretty much up to date? What hype do you mean about Baccalaureate? Do the Intern./British schools do that? GCSE courses? what's wrong with Bacca? And do the (for example) Sunnyview output go to good Unis in Spain as well as good ones in UK? I do realise I could ask the schools all this - and would have, eventually (he's not even out of Primaria yet) but getting a firsthand view is invaluable.
ps boob job from parents indeed!

deboc

Thank you Fionamw for the invaluable advise. I am now looking at Benalmadena College, Calahonda is definitely struck off our list and I think that if we chose St Anthonys we would probably have to supplement it with a tutor!! A good education is important to us but equally important are the friends that Tom will make which you hope would be from good homes with the right values, boob jobs indeed!!!
Thanks again

chilli33

you are welcome .... it is only my opinion though....although i do like to do the research...this is the link to the college

http://www.thebritishcollege.com/

They informed me that a lot of the British children didn't stay on after year 10. Mainly spanish and french students stayed on being that they took it more seriously the same if you sent your boy to a private school in Britain you expect them to do well for the price you pay....so there is a coastal attitude i mentioned before....that they only want a british education and the kids are not aspiring to much...that was 18 months ago so hopefully that may have changed

One way to see how good a school is academically is to see how many British kids continue on to yr11 and 12 after their GCSE's ...bearing in mind that these populations are transient in nature, are the classes full? you can ask the schools and those that do well publish their results because they are proud of them

It's a big decision cause if they aren't happy then neither will you be :curse:

best of luck

arko

I went to Sunnyview about 14 years ago for a year. It was a fantastic experience and put me in good stead for when I returned to UK a year later to do my GCSEs. Of course, back then some of the teachers probably weren't the best qualified but things have changed a vast amount since then and from what people say, the school is much bigger and better now.

chilli33

[QUOTE=fionamw;6968016][I] Hello

Indeed!...So...as always these are my opinions expressed here....and i asked advice from lots of people who knew the schools and then made up my own mind ?

If your son has learnt spanish from Primaria...then he won't have a problem with it in an international school...they all have to teach it in their curriculum but if you want your child to be totally educated in the spanish system then you won't be sending them to International ...Sunnyview ...i may be wrong but i don't think they do the spanish system there but they do both at the British college of Benalmadena...mostly spanish and french do it cause the Brits drop out after year 10...very few go on!

A lot of the schools on the coast suffer from British expats who live on the costa's and don't worry about what sort of education their children are getting as long as it's British (boy will i get in trouble for that ).

We chose spanish initially and changed after 2 years....for us ...our decision was not to educate ours totally spanish in case we wanted to move anywhere else...how would they cope if we wanted to go to Canada or the States or anywhere else for that mattter? So if you feel that you will always be living in Spain forever then go with it...but i am not so sure about it. you need to wait and see how your child makes friends with the spanish if they really do integrate...mine were well accepted but really they made their best friends with the other expat kids!!

in regard to the hype that surrounds the IB...

I looked into moving my eldest from Sunland because he was doing so well they made him take his GCSE's a year early and all the teachers supported him and put themselves out but where to go next? Sunland didn't have a year 11 at that point in time....that was when i did a lot of reading about the IB vs A levels and found that there was no difference, weight wise, meaning one was not better than the other and the IB schools were nearly twice the price- I went on student forums etc...and that was MY conclusion. Ultimately they are both pathways to Uni and depending on your child depends on how well they do.

if my boys didn't get a great term report i would threaten them with Spanish state school that always did the trick and now they are continuing to do well in Australia.

long winded i know...but it's so hard to get any good info these days about schools...so i hope i helped even just a little although you are in Colmenar...Sunnyview was recommended by a dentist and also a spanish friend and some others the info is now 18mths old?

cheers

chilli33

yes it's probably one of the best schools offering a huge range of subjects for the senior years and it's academic...not fluffy!

The headmistress there is fierce apparently....i think that's great

to Fionamw you should look at that one as well as the british college...

arko

Yes, she is fierce. She wasn't the Head when I was there (she was the Spanish/French teacher) but I can see why they made her the Head.

fionamw

Help
It was Chilli33's advice, not mine - though I took a lot from it & continue to get loads of info as usual from subsequent posts. Hate to take credit for someone else's useful stuff, probably the way I posted the quote.
Anyway my son's still young enough to give me time to think, and unfortunately/fortunately for staff & standards to change both for good or bad. It seems almost inevitable that if he's to stay in Spain it means a move to the coast.....just remains to decide where!
nb fierce heads rule ok!!!!!

chilli33

yeah...i got confused too

I did mean that deboc needs to look into Sunnyview as it appears that at least there, lots of British kids do well and go on to yrs 11, 12 and Uni and although Torremolinos doesn't have a great reputation there are areas that are quite nice....i just wouldn't want to live there

by the way fionamw...there is another good school at the back of malaga....St georges?....british curriculum...it was recommended but too far away for us...keep your eye on them hey?