Hi everyone.
We are considering opportunity to make a permanent move to Rome in the next year and would welcome any information, experiences or thoughts on International schools in Rome. Our children, 2 boys, are 7 and 5.
Looking forward to responses. Thank you.
ADL&M
Category
General chat about Italy
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sat, 01/17/2009 - 05:26
Andrew,
Welcome to the forum - I am sure you will find plenty of useful info re any issues you may have when considering a move to Rome.
Re the international schools in Rome, there are plenty dotted all over the city, any google search will come up with a list. We lived in Rome 8 years ago and our daughter, who was then 4, attended the nursery of one of the international schools. Subsequently, we also have experience of international schols in Verona and Varese so hope that some of the following helps.
From what I remember most of the Rome international schools had a good reputation, obviously over the years this can change so I would suggest you get hold of their prospectuses and make a short list before visiting those that you feel offer what you are looking for. All are happy for prospective families to visit. When we were in Rome the main schools attended by the expat communtiy we knew were Southlands English School (up to GCSE only), St Georges and I think it was The New School.
Some of the main points to consider (not in any order):
1. Situation - most offer a school bus service but to a limited area fairly local to the school - if you are provided with accomodation this is a limiting factor as a commute to school each day across Rome is not viable! Therefore, there tend to be clusters of expats in the areas serviced by the school bus routes.
2. Curriculum - some offer the English school curriculum, some an American, some Italian, some IB etc etc. Which curriculum would you want to your children to follow?
3. What is the background of the teaching staff? Many at English speaking schools are mother tongue English speakers who have trained in UK, USA etc depending on the curriculum offered by the school.
4. What is the mix of nationalities of pupils? If the school has a high ratio of non mother tongue English speaking children this can seriously slow the progress of the mother tongue English speakers. This was our experience of the school in Varese, in one class of 30 children 3/4 were non English speakers so the classwork largely progressed at their pace leaving the English speakers bored. Worth checking how the school deals with such a situation.
5. How transient is the pupil population? As many of the children are accompanying parents on a 2 -3 year placement some schools do have a very transient population. For some children, constantly having friends move on and having to make new friends is a problem.
6. Do check the fees carefully so you are not left with any nasty surprises financially! Many children have their fees paid for by the parent's employers, this often means that the fees are horrendously high (the school's attitude being that the company has to pay regardless) and there are often a few extras thrown in for good measure! If there is a limit to how much your employer will pay, or if you are self funding, do check this out carefully. Many companies have a contract with a school for employess children to attend. Does your employer have this? If so there may be no choice unless you are prepared to self fund elsewhere!
7. How long are you likely to be in Rome? Why not consider an Italian primary school? Our daughter completed her primary education at a local primary school and loved it, we were also very pleased with the standard of education. Admittedly this does vary, as with everywhere, from school to school, but I would not rule out your children attending the local school. It also means you will have a greater opportunity of integrating with Italian families rather than leading a predominanly expat type social life.
I am sure I have missed some considerations but no doubt others will fill any gaps.
Andrew,
Welcome to the forum - I am sure you will find plenty of useful info re any issues you may have when considering a move to Rome.
Re the international schools in Rome, there are plenty dotted all over the city, any google search will come up with a list. We lived in Rome 8 years ago and our daughter, who was then 4, attended the nursery of one of the international schools. Subsequently, we also have experience of international schols in Verona and Varese so hope that some of the following helps.
From what I remember most of the Rome international schools had a good reputation, obviously over the years this can change so I would suggest you get hold of their prospectuses and make a short list before visiting those that you feel offer what you are looking for. All are happy for prospective families to visit. When we were in Rome the main schools attended by the expat communtiy we knew were Southlands English School (up to GCSE only), St Georges and I think it was The New School.
Some of the main points to consider (not in any order):
1. Situation - most offer a school bus service but to a limited area fairly local to the school - if you are provided with accomodation this is a limiting factor as a commute to school each day across Rome is not viable! Therefore, there tend to be clusters of expats in the areas serviced by the school bus routes.
2. Curriculum - some offer the English school curriculum, some an American, some Italian, some IB etc etc. Which curriculum would you want to your children to follow?
3. What is the background of the teaching staff? Many at English speaking schools are mother tongue English speakers who have trained in UK, USA etc depending on the curriculum offered by the school.
4. What is the mix of nationalities of pupils? If the school has a high ratio of non mother tongue English speaking children this can seriously slow the progress of the mother tongue English speakers. This was our experience of the school in Varese, in one class of 30 children 3/4 were non English speakers so the classwork largely progressed at their pace leaving the English speakers bored. Worth checking how the school deals with such a situation.
5. How transient is the pupil population? As many of the children are accompanying parents on a 2 -3 year placement some schools do have a very transient population. For some children, constantly having friends move on and having to make new friends is a problem.
6. Do check the fees carefully so you are not left with any nasty surprises financially! Many children have their fees paid for by the parent's employers, this often means that the fees are horrendously high (the school's attitude being that the company has to pay regardless) and there are often a few extras thrown in for good measure! If there is a limit to how much your employer will pay, or if you are self funding, do check this out carefully. Many companies have a contract with a school for employess children to attend. Does your employer have this? If so there may be no choice unless you are prepared to self fund elsewhere!
7. How long are you likely to be in Rome? Why not consider an Italian primary school? Our daughter completed her primary education at a local primary school and loved it, we were also very pleased with the standard of education. Admittedly this does vary, as with everywhere, from school to school, but I would not rule out your children attending the local school. It also means you will have a greater opportunity of integrating with Italian families rather than leading a predominanly expat type social life.
I am sure I have missed some considerations but no doubt others will fill any gaps.
Hope this helps.