Brit School in Chicago/USA
Mar 10th 2007, 10:58 pm
#1
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 4
Brit School in Chicago/USA
Hi, I posted this question under a different thread but I think I might have "named" it wrong.
What I am wondering is has anyone here had any experience with the British Schools in America? I know that it is a for-profit private school system, and it is quite expensive. On the upside there is no fundraising or added costs aside from tuition. I am married to a UK citizen and we are looking to move to England within 5 years. My daughter is just starting school, and we are not sure if attending the BSA will help her settle easier once we move.
It looks like a great school and they are building a new building to accomodate their growth. It's just so expensive, so we were looking to see if anyone had sent their kids to one in the US, or if they knew anyone who had.
Any opinions?
Thanks!
What I am wondering is has anyone here had any experience with the British Schools in America? I know that it is a for-profit private school system, and it is quite expensive. On the upside there is no fundraising or added costs aside from tuition. I am married to a UK citizen and we are looking to move to England within 5 years. My daughter is just starting school, and we are not sure if attending the BSA will help her settle easier once we move.
It looks like a great school and they are building a new building to accomodate their growth. It's just so expensive, so we were looking to see if anyone had sent their kids to one in the US, or if they knew anyone who had.
Any opinions?
Thanks!
Mar 11th 2007, 1:26 am
#2
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,848
Re: Brit School in Chicago/USA
We have some Scottish friends whose children attended the British School of Boston (although they did get a small allowance towards the fees from the husband's employer as he was on an expat posting).
They were pleased with the education there (5 academic years I seem to recall) even though at the time the school was still quite new and facilities not that great. There was also a tragedy when the Headmistress was killed in a car accident by a drunk-driver. What appealed to them was that the school adheres to the UK National Curriculum (this is where all children throughout the country will learn the same curriculum content according to their age/year group). For example, in primary (elementary) schools they will all get to learn about the Ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, Victorians etc. but not just in terms of history - they will cover elements of it in art, geography, science, maths, English composition & literature etc.
You might wish to go the the UK sites of Yahoo or Google and do a search for "UK National Curriculum". The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Times newspapers online have good information sections on education and in particular you might want to check out TES (Times Educational Supplement) which is aimed at those in the teaching profession for the latest news about schools.
http://www.tes.co.uk/
http://www.britishschool.org/
My friend said that there were quite a number of American children there with both parents being American; they liked the fact that their children would get a 'head start' on their schooling compared to the local public and private schools. They also preferred the academic calendar which meant longer breaks at Christmas and Easter compared to the local schools.
My friends returned to Scotland a couple of years ago - the wife is a dentist but to work in the US she would have had to do a conversion course costing around $100,000! She's now back working part-time for the NHS near Edinburgh.
The children were enrolled in private schools in Edinburgh and slotted straight in (and I believe that the Scottish education system is more rigorous than English schools) and doing very well.
There was a teacher who posted on this site that she'd just landed a job at the British School of New York which opened recently. I'm not sure if she has made any further posts though to share her experience.
Have you been on a tour of the British School of Chicago? I think it would be very interesting to see the work that the pupils are doing and get a feeling for the ethos of the school and teaching staff.
One major thing that I've noticed in the States is that the middle classes tend to send their children to the local public school, whereas in the UK, Australia and New Zealand they would go to a private school instead. There are houses in our town costing $1 to $7 million and most of the children in these houses go to the local public schools....this would never happen in the UK!
However, housing taxes do seem to be much higher here in the top school districts than in the UK. Of course, there is only one private university in the UK and although parents grumble about the tuition fees (max of 3000 pounds per year) it's still cheaper than many of the American colleges. I guess it's all 'swings and roundabouts' really.
They were pleased with the education there (5 academic years I seem to recall) even though at the time the school was still quite new and facilities not that great. There was also a tragedy when the Headmistress was killed in a car accident by a drunk-driver. What appealed to them was that the school adheres to the UK National Curriculum (this is where all children throughout the country will learn the same curriculum content according to their age/year group). For example, in primary (elementary) schools they will all get to learn about the Ancient Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, Victorians etc. but not just in terms of history - they will cover elements of it in art, geography, science, maths, English composition & literature etc.
You might wish to go the the UK sites of Yahoo or Google and do a search for "UK National Curriculum". The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Times newspapers online have good information sections on education and in particular you might want to check out TES (Times Educational Supplement) which is aimed at those in the teaching profession for the latest news about schools.
http://www.tes.co.uk/
http://www.britishschool.org/
My friend said that there were quite a number of American children there with both parents being American; they liked the fact that their children would get a 'head start' on their schooling compared to the local public and private schools. They also preferred the academic calendar which meant longer breaks at Christmas and Easter compared to the local schools.
My friends returned to Scotland a couple of years ago - the wife is a dentist but to work in the US she would have had to do a conversion course costing around $100,000! She's now back working part-time for the NHS near Edinburgh.
The children were enrolled in private schools in Edinburgh and slotted straight in (and I believe that the Scottish education system is more rigorous than English schools) and doing very well.
There was a teacher who posted on this site that she'd just landed a job at the British School of New York which opened recently. I'm not sure if she has made any further posts though to share her experience.
Have you been on a tour of the British School of Chicago? I think it would be very interesting to see the work that the pupils are doing and get a feeling for the ethos of the school and teaching staff.
One major thing that I've noticed in the States is that the middle classes tend to send their children to the local public school, whereas in the UK, Australia and New Zealand they would go to a private school instead. There are houses in our town costing $1 to $7 million and most of the children in these houses go to the local public schools....this would never happen in the UK!
However, housing taxes do seem to be much higher here in the top school districts than in the UK. Of course, there is only one private university in the UK and although parents grumble about the tuition fees (max of 3000 pounds per year) it's still cheaper than many of the American colleges. I guess it's all 'swings and roundabouts' really.
Last edited by Englishmum; Mar 11th 2007 at 1:29 am.
