Schools-a personal opinion and experience

I would love to tell you pros and cons of Cyprus and schooling in Limassol I believe you already know the ages of our boys so they are coming to their final year of school wow! Time went fast!

Ok if you like the idea of Limassol and personally I think it’s the best town, lots of British people go to Paphos but commercially Limassol is far superior.

There is so much for the kids to do I will get to that later…. Schools well we started off with applying to St Marys School, a catholic school with two parts one English part teaching subjects in English for English speaking or foreign kids from all countries with good English. Then theres the Greek teaching to the other part of the school same school just teaching in different languages. I personally loved that school it was so cheap back seven years ago it worked out about sixty Cyprus pounds per month per child but the head nun is so slow and there is a waiting list. It specialises in languages and kids do Italian, French, Greek and English not sure could be more. It has a primary section but don’t think that’s for you ages of your kids?? You can call them from UK and make an appointment to see the head and talk about if theres places etc I will provide you with that number if you like I can pop in and get it.

So we put our kids into Logos school which we did visit before on a recce trip, they are a religious school and the kids were referred to as sinners etc from time to time, academically if the child can cope they are a good school, two incidences made me withdraw all my kids without notice after four months.

So we moved our kids to Heritage School which is a good school if the child is disciplined and doesn’t fall behind. At that time our kids were not excelling although now the school has new premises out in the hills which I hear are just great and have stricter rules. Dr Kouris is the head and hes a really nice guy I just wished our kids all settled there but they didn’t and missed homeworks etc were not notified and our kids fell behind, I believe this is one good choice to consider although the travelling can be a lot.

Pascal school which is where our kids are now offer Pascal English and Pascal Greek. Same teaching as St Mary’s one in English and other Greek. Different uniforms though which I cant understand. Head of English is Mr Bedford very strict old school graduated from Oxford really nice approachable guy. Strict rules which our boys needed and good academically. Not happy with small choice of subjects and timetable which can be massive let down for kids when they come to their choices of subjects. Ours were! Anyway too late for that and they have accepted it. Funny but its surprising how many kids want to be accountants! Of course accountancy o and a are offered. Premises let this school down but they are also intending to build a new one.

Foleys, some of our friends kids go to this school, all teachers are more than qualified and offer a good choice of subjects. Based centrally they are convenient to get to. They do think they are a cut above and perhaps they are. Its more expensive but academically they are good. Good art department and nice premises.

Let me know if you want to know about St Johns School out at Episkopi for army families.

Most schools have a school bus which collects but you have to remember that with all the stops it can take about an hour to get there and home. Bearing in mind the early start either 7.30 or 8.00 depending on which school. All schools have small canteens and two to three breaks before lunch well not lunch cause they finish from 1.30 till 2.00 this leaves all afternoon free for studying etc. I would say that all the Cypriot kids go to extra classes in the afternoon privately. Bearing this in mind after paying school fees which are around 500 to 600 per month euros per child extra added costs.

[caroline cardwell]

Hi catherine

Interested in reading what you had to say about schs, any more info on the heritage sch, as this is the one we are trying to find more info on? thanks

will post a report asap will gather more info etc, nice to hear from you

[caroline cardwell]

Thanks catherine that would be great, will look forward to hearing from you again. Take care

Hi three diferent opinions will get you some more

We were not happy with the school but others are so it depends a lot on your children and even more on the teacher. So far five children have left to go to other Limassol schools a couple have left the country.

Its sad to say but I am another of those mothers who is very worried about there childrens education and very unhappy with the Heritage and at present seeing other schools with the prospect of moving come September.

lessons on u-tube has been known, but take note of the hidden expenses, take note that if ur child doesn't do after school activities it is frowned upon and will be put in their report card ( less money the school is earning)------- NOT HAPPY

From another mother
As with any school there are goods and bads and you will always find the people who have not had good experiences will be the most vocal. It really depends on the child I think.

My son goes to Heritage and I am over the moon with the progress he is making. His teacher is fantastic, as is the classroom assistant. Everyone else in the class feels the same way.

I was actually talking to someone yesterday who had moved their child TO Heritage FROM another school and mentioned that there would be others to follow.

My only criticism would be that you have to pay for absolutely everything on top and they don't mind adding those extras on, but I think that's probably the same with every private school.

Another....
Completely agree with the 'hidden extras'. My son had swimming lessons and we are asked to pay for them even though they were part of the curriculum and he could not choose not to do the lessons as they were in the middle of the day and he'd have nowhere to go!

After-school clubs were also really expensive and in my opinion, not very good. Mine did cookery and mostly spent the hour watching the teachers do the cooking! After-school clubs in their current school are very cheap and mostly good quality, also so far we have not been asked to pay for anything extra for Christmas parties, etc. They are not held in flash hotels but who cares?

As others have said, if you have a good teacher then you'll probably enjoy the school, if you don't then you won't learn much and possibly start hating school, as my son did. He was constantly being picked on by the teacher and was told 'he had a short memory'. His work was way below his work in the UK and he was starting to doubt his own abilities. After less than a week in the new school he was moved up a year and is now thriving.

Another
We love the Heritage school. Our daughter just started there this September in the nursery. I looked at every school in Limassol before we made our decision, not just for a nursery but for a longterm school for our daughter as we will be in Cyprus for a very long time. I have lots of friends with children in several of the schools across Limassol, both public and private. Heritage has provided my daughter with twice the opportunities, and education that any of her playmates are recieving at their schools. She's also started to pick up Greek and Russian simply by playing with the other children on the playground. I think it depends on what culture you come from and the age of your child. Personally, I have been appalled at the cheapness of some of the parents and their complaints about the money the school asks for at extra events which is usually no more than a couple Euros. They are also the last to attend a meeting or speak up but the first to come here and say something negative. I also come from a country where the extras are on you and not the school so i don't find it so odd when the school asks for money for field trips and extra activities. I don't find that the afterschool activities/clubs are all that expensive either. I believe it is about 30 Euros per term. Someone with older children in the school may have a more accurate figure for you. We were asked to contribute to the gas and entrance fee for two of my daughters field trips, on the other hand they brought in a troupe that performed plays and a ballet for the kids and a clown who juggled and didn't ask for money towards those things. I think you'll be hard pressed to find a school in Cyprus to rival the facilities and amenities provided by the heritage school. The heritage school is not perfect but none of the schools in cyprus are. The uniforms, especially the summer one's are atrocious. Usually when I'm disappointed in something at the school, I see that most of the time it is because I am used to a different system and a different way of doing things and that what I'm looking for would be missing at any school in Cyprus. Anyway, best of luck to you in your search and decision making.

Another
I too am very happy with the school- I have a daughter who started in nursery in sept, and i also have a son who is in his third year at the Heritage-he started in nursery, and is now in reception). I n my opinion the teachers in the little school are amazing, each of them helping to nurture my children, and give them what they need. My children are very happy in class, can't wait to get ready in the morning and go to school. (I hope they keep this attitude later on when they are stroppy teenagers LOL).
Anyway, as people have said earlier, it is a very individual thing, i have known parents who have pulled their children out of the heritage and -put them into one of the other schools, but then i have known others who have gone the other way. My opinion is, take a look around all the schools, i am sure you will be able ot get a feel of the school, and see which is right for our little ones- by the way, you didnt sa how old your children were?

[Aase]

I see that I have been quoted in quite a few of the posts about the Heritage as there's a thread going on on another forum.

Just wanted to add that you have missed out a new school, the Red Dragon School, and that I am happy to share experiences if anyone are interested. I am the one who moved my very unhappy children from Heritage to Dragon and it's the best thing we could have done.