Med High Larnaca

[loobielou]

Hi, We are moving to Larnaca in 8 weeks time. I have a 10 year old who will be starting Med High. Does anyone have any children there and can let me know if it is a good school. Thanks

[kimonas]

Originally Posted by loobielou

Hi, We are moving to Larnaca in 8 weeks time. I have a 10 year old who will be starting Med High. Does anyone have any children there and can let me know if it is a good school. Thanks

Med High School is part of an educational group that includes Intercollege - probably the most reputable college in Cyprus. I have worked in several schools in Nicosia and Larnaca including MedHigh since moving from the UK (my background was in UK Higher Education and quality assurance). You will find that locally MedHigh has a poor reputation in comparison with rivals such as the American Academy and Pascal (for all the wrong reasons). MedHigh is inclusive, employs well educated professionals and prides itself on being open, friendly and supportive - it is more like a decent comprehensive school would be in the UK. Its rivals are exclusive, rejecting (and indeed expelling) failing students and because of this claims to get great results - it also employs almost exclusively ex-graduates of the schools - and aspires to be somewhere like Eton (which it is not). I am biased because I used to teach there, but I can honestly say that MedHigh is a real school (with real school problems) whereas other schools may have better reputations, but they are based on exclusivity and (in my opinion) are manufactured through snobbery and not much in the way of real substance. They get great results because they reject weaker students. Because of MedHigh's inclusive educational philosophy, it has earned the unenviable reputation of being a dumping ground for weak students - it isn't. It supports all students whatever their ability and has just as many students applying to universities and aspiring to be lawyers, dentists, doctors etc (AND ACHIEVING IT) as competitor schools. I thoroughly enjoyed my time working there and would send my children there without hesitation.

[sharon kyriakou]

Originally Posted by loobielou

Hi, We are moving to Larnaca in 8 weeks time. I have a 10 year old who will be starting Med High. Does anyone have any children there and can let me know if it is a good school. Thanks

Hi I am totally new to this site so will probably get everything wrong but here goes!! I am very interested in hearing about the independent schools in Larnaca we are hoping to move there mid August 2010 and have applied to the AA for both of our boys they have agreed to send there entrance exams to their schools in England! Having seen example papers of the exams I am very surprised to see with my 7 year old that they are working a year ahead of us and he is at a private school and with our 13 year old they are working two years ahead of him which just seems bizarre as he is already a year ahead of himself in maths but the test they send is two years ahead and after his tutor at his present school looked over it he told him it is a higher grade Oxford paper for GCSE that he would be sitting to enter year 4 and that he wouldn't be ready for this for another year at this school he is already very capable of sitting his GCSE Maths a year early so year 5 but the AA are expecting him to be 2 years ahead which seems bizarre as they will be after all sitting the same exam at the end of it all!! I feel very concerned that our children would be happy at a school that clearly pushes them very hard. I do believe a happy child will do better in the long term. So we have decided to let them sit the exam just to see the outcome but now feel we should look at the Med School or Pascal but unfortunately I no very little about them as in Cyprus all anybody talks about is the AA. Any help from anyone on this matter would be greatly appreciated.