USA to BLR - moving with 11 year old kid - IB or IGSCE or ICSE - confused - HELP

[Simsons]

We are moving next summer from USA to Bangalore with 10 and 11 Year old kids. There are so many confusing options for schools. We need a school where kids can do further studies in India or USA. Want to keep option open in case we return back to USA.

Schools we researched offer so many options - some international schools have IB, while others have IGSCE + CIE , ICSE. What should we choose so the Transition from USA is not only easy but we also are making good choice for higher studies any where Globally. Please please suggest.

Even confused more between IB and IGSCE.

Any recommended schools for IB and IGSCE.

who would you pick - Mallya or TISB
IB vs, IGSCE

Appreciate help - move with bigger kids is not easy.

Thanks,
Aruna

[r2ipune2009]

you will be surprised how quickly kids adjust to schools. Obviously parents have to do their part. We were in the same boat. We choose after visiting the schools. We got our kids into ICSE and schools where most of the kids around our house went to. This helps in adjusting. BTW, if you move to Bangalore, you will find atleast 5 families that have moved back from US. Kids form a social group and this helps them adjust. It takes few months, but they assimilate quickly. We were pleased.

Academically, most of the schools work with kids, who have no education experience in India. Private tutoring also helps.

I would say, visit the schools with kids and then decide. Please talk to them starting now about what to expect. Please focus on better aspects of the experience. This is the key. You want your kids to get in with a very strong positive attitude. Otherwise, there are things that are very frustrating. You want your kids to see beyond those and deal with it. For example, our kids expected lines to get in and out of the class. When teachers were around, there was some order to the chaos, otherwise it is chaotic - after a while my kids referred to it as free play time, they rationalized it. We were pleased -:).

Bangalore or other big city is a good choice to move to, as it makes adjustment easy.

Good luck. Cheers

[lsk]

There are so many confusing options for schools.

Let us split the problem into three sub-problems:
+ School with environment that eases the transition to India
+ School with syllabus that that eases the transition to India
+ School with syllabus that eases the transition back to the US.

School with environment that eases the transition to India
+ wonderful libraries, beautiful sports facilities, super labs for practical work, mix of indian and non-indian faculty, internation demography, local language not a must, french/german/spanish language options, ......and most important of all, CLEAN RESTROOMS :))
+ Examples: The International School, Candian School, etc etc
+ Cost: 5+ lakhs a year.

School with syllabus that that eases the transition to India
+ Assuming that kids will R2A at some point, here are my opinions.
+ If R2A is within a year, then it does not matter whether it is IB or IGCSE. Kids minds will be active anyways and they can recover.
+ IGCSE is for 9th and 10th std and IB is for 11th and 12th. Afaik, this is the closest to an International Syllabus and hopefully, the teaching methods will also follow. NOTE the important distinction. A school can have IGCSE but the teaching methods may not be suitable. So, assuming that IGCSE includes an international teaching methodology, I would pick IGCSE/IB vs ICSE.

School with syllabus that eases the transition back to the US.
+ The important goal of education is teaching the kids to think and to acquire knowledge...my thought is that IGCSE/IB schools have a more practical oriented syllabus, smaller class sizes and more non-academic facilities (sport, arts, etc) for a lot more money...but that can hopefully aid in the final goal. So, my preference would be to go with IGCSE/IB for this reason as well. We have seen many poor kids from Bihar ace the JEEs...goal can be achieved in many ways.
+ In addition, there may be more kids like your kids who plan to R2A for higher studies i.e. your kids may get some company :))

Now, I did not answer your question on actual schools, deliberately. We do not know where you will reside, how far the school will be from home, etc. I would minimize exposure to Indian traffic by staying close to school and avoiding school bus travel. I would also make sure that the place of stay also helps in creating a nice R2I landing...an apartment complex with lots of kids and play facilities acts like a cocoon for kids who R2I, especially elder kids. So, will leave the final decision to you. But, would like to know what it is and what was your rationale, if possible. It may be a learning opportunity for others like me.

Best of luck!

[Simsons]

Thanks and really appreciate such great tips. We plan to stay in India atleast 6-7 years or longer. No idea on R2A, but want to keep it open for kids further studies like undergrad. School location in BLR does not matter, as we will rent where school is , even if DH has to drive more.

I am ok with IB but my husband says who knows if we even R2A, why not give kids an open option so they can have choice to do medical/Engg. in India or USA(can give SATs from India)

Planning on kids to do IGSCE till 10th and afterwards there is an option for CIE (A level) or IB. Mallya offers only CIE and not IB in 11 and 12th. But this option may give them what we are looking for - being able to study in any country.

We were told with IB - OCI kids cannot apply for medical colleges in India? is that true?

Please suggest what is the difference between CIE and IB in 11th and 12th. IGCSE is upto 10th only then u have a choice. We are debating and not finding much help in web search.

Thanks.