Private schools in Cyprus have only internal quality assurance systems of varying effectiveness. The fact that there is no external moderation of standards has been the major stumbling block to admissions tutors accepting leaving certificates as equivalents of A levels. Many private schools on the island have no quality assurance mechanisms at all. In my experience the schools with the excellent reputations locally <snip> rely on the exclusive entrance examinations to cream off the ablest students who simply muddle through on their own to achieve good results (and also benefit from huge amounts of afternoon tuition foisted on them by overbearing parents). They have excellent facilities, but are first and foremost family businesses. It is often the case that staff are in some way related (and it is a case of not what you know, but who you know when it comes to staff).

There are very good private schools that employ properly qualified staff and have reasonably robust QA systems, staff training etc in place, but they are few and far between. In choosing a school, my advice would be to speak to the administration and have them convince you that they have an inclusive admissions policy, their staff are properly qualified (Teacher Qualified Status certified for primary teachers and PGCEs or equivalents for secondary teachers), they have an ESOL programme (English for speakers of another language) so that class time is not taken up by explaining the lesson in different languages, they have a proper counseling service and an effective and active PTA which has direct access to the Principal and Executive of the school. If they are unconvincing in any of these matters, move on to the next school, which will probably be in another district!

State secondary schools are very much a hit and miss affair when it comes to quality. They do have a system of inspectors, but it is in its infancy when it comes to effectiveness and staff training has been (until recently) almost non-existent. The State registers any Cypriot national who has a degree (in any subject) as potential teachers who join a waiting list. They are issued with a number and then simply wait for their number to come up. This can take 5, 10 perhaps even 15 or 20 years (if at all). This means individuals could have a career far removed from education and children and then be called up to teach. They invariably take the job if their alternative career is in the doldrums as a teaching post is considered a plum job as it has civil servant status with huge fringe benefits, free medical care, insurance, pension and relatively good wage structures. More recently, new teachers have to undergo a fairly rigorous training period in the Pedagogical Institute, so things are improving massively, but there are still a lot <snip> in the State system that are simply going through the motions for the benefits and counting down the days to retirement. Some state schools are excellent with fabulous teachers, others are less successful. The State also has a habit of reassigning teachers and heads every year so that the configuration of a school is constantly in flux. As I pointed out in a previous post, the State Schools also do not offer A levels or their acceptable equivalents, so most children end up doing a grueling programme of afternoon private tuition for their advanced studies if they want to go abroad for a University Education.

Before I get too carried away with running down the private and state schooling sectors of Cyprus, I should point out that I left the UK Higher Education system (where I was a senior External Examiner and heavily involved in Quality Assurance) because of the shabby state of UK education. <snip>. Cyprus does have its problems when it comes to education, but they do not compare with those many of us left behind, or are seeking to escape in the UK.

In some ways then, we should celebrate that Cyprus is not hamstrung by overcomplicated inspectorates and audits (which lead to fudging and cover-up and spending far too much time presenting facts and figures and less time teaching). But this does put the pressure on confused parents to make the right choices for their children. Ultimately that choice will be personal and depend on so many factors. It is, in my view, possible to get an excellent education in Cyprus (after all its population is the second most highly qualified on the planet after Canada, so they must be doing something right!) I hope this post goes some way in helping parents make their choices.