Local International Schools in Klang Valley

Comments

1. suac says:

   April 16, 2012 at 8:59 pm

   Just a thought…first tenby at eco park, desa park int’l at desa city and now kingsley at kingsley hills….is this a trend? Is this a developer’s marketing strategy to sell more homes in their development? Are these schools being built by people with a passion for educating our future leaders or by those who want to sell more houses at inflated prices? Just wandering….
   And thanks so much for the blog…truly helpful!
2. Susie says:

   April 17, 2012 at 11:06 am

   Hi Suac,

   Spot on about the observation… that is exactly why the developers are building these “international schools” into their project blueprints…It seems where there is a school, an international school at that, the development will boom. Eco Park is a run away success story because potential parents are told that if there are Eco Park residence, their kid will be in the 2nd wait list. The first list is for expats, second is for eco park residence, third is for those with siblings in the school and the fourth is for the rest of the general public from else where. This list has clearly prompted lots of people to move to eco park as a sure fire way of getting their kid into Tenby…

   My thoughts to your second question is that the schools are not being built by those who are passionate about education but instead by people who have woken up to the goldmine that is the “international school” business. Just have a look at the board of governors of Desa Park City to prove my point, its on their website. One look at it and I asked myself what have lawyers and developers got to do with educating children? My answer :-nothing, hence one of the reasons why I didn’t consider them as a possible school for my children … If I am not mistaken there are only 2 educationalist on the board, the rest are all not involved in the education line.
3. Shel says:

   April 25, 2012 at 6:34 pm

   Hi Susie,
   Thanks for the informative blog on international schools. It is really helpful. I presume ‘local’ international school is referring to private school which uses local syllabus?
   I’m looking for school for my 3.5 year-old too and have been checking around among friends and colleagues. I have a colleague whose kids are studying in Sri Nobel, Kelana Jaya. According to her, effectively from 2012, Sri Nobel is an international school, they are no longer using local syllabus.
   I hope there are more parents posting about their experiences of private school. Private school is indeed not a bad choice if we want the best of both worlds.
4. Shel says:

   April 25, 2012 at 6:39 pm

   Oh sorry, I addressed to a wrong person, it’s hi to Shen-Li. :p
5. Fz Teh says:

   April 25, 2012 at 9:35 pm

   Dear Parents,

   Since everyone is talking with the options on International Schools, Local International Schools, then can any parents share anything on another option:” HOMESCHOOLING” in Malaysia’s context? How is the course conducted, what system they use…..? Can anyone enlighten me who is on her crossroad now or even sharing their ideas if homeschooling is even an option to consider at all?
6. Shen-Li says:

   April 26, 2012 at 10:52 am

   Shel – you have the right person. It’s Susie who has been so kindly sharing all the information she has learned about the local international schools. She’s amazing! Thanks again Susie!

   FZ – I think I will start another post on homeschooling syllabus. I think this is the wrong area for this discussion as most parents here want information on local international schools. Thanks!
7. Fz Teh says:

   April 26, 2012 at 11:21 am

   Yes, you are right, I am just thinking the same. Thanks.
8. Shen-Li says:

   April 29, 2012 at 11:25 pm

   Hi Shirley,

   Thanks for reading. I must thank all the parents contributing their findings because I wouldn’t know all this either so I really appreciate the volunteering of information! So thank you everyone for sharing what you know!
9. Jenny says:

   May 16, 2012 at 5:37 pm

   Hi,

   My child was in Fairview Subang at the moments, she join the school since the school started and we saw some pro and corn from the school as well. Not much homework, teacher keep changing every term for the first years. Mostly the teacher are from Philippines and India as what my child told me. But the teacher are quite friendly and they do offer remedial class to students who that need help.
   However, my child been offer a place in TIS after a long waiting for 3 years. Any comments should we shifted her to TIS or remain in Fairview?

   Regards
   Jenny
10. Mrs.A (Ex-TIS) says:

    May 17, 2012 at 12:34 am

    Jenny,
    All I can add is for you to read through thoroughly all the comments on this topic (Local International schools), which are from concerned parents who wanted to share their knowledge and experiences so that you do NOT have to go through what they did.
    i.e.- any international School with low fees and long waiting list does not equate to being a good/competent School; nor does a new international School with very little info to share can be considered transparent enough to listen their customers (parents) concerns; nor does a new intern. School with no PTA created (an Established Intern. school does have a PTA so that new parents can get info from existing parents) must have something to hide and not share any info with their customers (parents); nor does any international School with many local/regional teachers (who generally are cheaper to hire, instead of expat ones from Britain/Aus/NZ) will result in low & minimum quality of output, which in turn make existing parents spend more precious funds on tuition for their kids. <<<<>>>>>>>
    IMHO – Neither. You should NOT accept nor be satisfied with the current choices. Find another school, There is still time. Trust that this information can better help you to decide for your kid. They will thank you later for making the right one.
11. Concern mother says:

    June 5, 2012 at 11:22 pm

    Hi Shen-li, came across your blog and I am very thankful that there are people out there who wants to share their experience. These are extremely valuable. I too was going around looking for one.. After reading your blog and all the comments I have TOTALLY agree that international school is of course a very good choice but there’s a trap set by local international school. Local international school are very profit oriented and the board of directors are non academics!!! Heard that Sri kdu will open it’s primary international school but please don’t be fooled by the current exceptional achievement of the national curiculum Sri kdu. The international side has a very prejudice principal. Went for a tour and throughout that event, he was saying that malaysian parents are kiasu, push their kids, exaggerate their achievement, other international school are not good bla bla. My husband and I try to pull him back on track to the more relevant topic but he went on with this. We were bored o we left. I notice that there’s I or 2 expat kids but the rest are Malaysian, the primary international classroom are just extra rooms that are facing the cafeteria and bookshop which they are renovating to be classroom, the international and the national primary will be together sharing facilities when the International student pays up a hefty amount more of school fees??, looks very profit driven. How will the kids focus on their studies if they keep seeing the cafe n the bookshop? I really don’t think the kids will get a totally International education there. Maybe they’ll grow with time, but I do not think it should be anyone’s first choice
12. Jessie says:

    June 6, 2012 at 5:36 pm

    How about the Sekolah Sri Suria Cheras? I plan to send my son there for heir National curiculum.
    Can advice me?
13. Jessie says:

    June 6, 2012 at 5:37 pm

    How about the Sekolah Sri Suria Cheras? I plan to send my son there for their National curiculum.
    Can advice me?
14. MayMay88 says:

    June 12, 2012 at 10:10 am

    Hi Shen Li & Parents,

    It’s been great reading about the local international schools and all the postings thus far. I really apprreciate parents who care about their children’s education in further detail. My child is currently in Sri KL. He has been at the school since 2009 and has gone through the transition from KBSR to the Cambridge Programme till today. I would like to highlight a few issues to parents who have their children in local international schools, or are looking into putting their children into these schools.

    The Cambridge website has clearly stated their guidelines and curriculum for the primary and secondary programmes.
    How closely are the schools abiding to these guidelines as there does not seem to be body of governance to see to the quality of the delivery of the programme. As we know, these schools are local schools. Therefore, the teachers are local teachers who have probably received some training somewhere down the line (as claimed by schools). But, who governs the method of delivery and also the level of English during lessons? Cambridge Programme (CP) encourages children to use their critical thinking skills to ask lots of questions in the classrooms. This is unseen and unheard if the school is not conformed because it has been a local school all the while. In order for the fullness of the CP to be carried out, we must adopt the method holistically.

    Also, another major issue is the age guideline. In the CIE website and most international schools, children begin Year 1 at the age of 5-6 years of age. The children in Sri Kl begin Year 1 at the age of 6-7 years old. Therefore, they are 7 year olds using books that are meant for 6 year olds. This carries on until they complete Year 6 at 12 years old (others at 11 yrs old) and IGCSE at 17 years old (others at 16 yrs old).

    Sri KL also does not have any PTA or any open dialogue sessions with parents. As mentioned by Mrs. A, on the schools that do have open dialogue sessions with parents, I’m in total agreement.

    Parents, please check carefully before enrolling your children.
15. Lien HH says:

    June 13, 2012 at 2:58 am

    Hi MayMay88,
    Thanks for your feedback, I had been following this blog for sometimes and other forums discussing local international schools, and I was having an impression that Sri KL is among the ‘best’ local internationl school and I am so determined to send my daughter who is currently 2.5 years old there. After reading your comment, I think i need to further explore this school and keep my options open for others (Maybe Sri Garden?). I was reading Sri KL’s website and get to know that KBSR will be replaced by the CIPP for all primary levels by 2014. And yes I just realised that these might be just “on paper” after reading your comment, I really should check out if they really carry the CP holistically, also the fact that Sri Kl does not fave PTA session pretty shock me…. However, I did get to know from other parents that Sri Kl’s track record was pretty good, hence my impression that they are carrying the internation program well…

    But then again, I am not that type of ‘kiasu’ parent that wants my child to score good in academic, the main reason I wanted to send my child to a local international school is to let her
    1) learn the subjects in English but yet Mandarin is compulsory;
    2) to enjoy the extra co-corricular activities;
    3) learn to be a global citizen by knowing and mixing with friends of other races.

    Based on the 3 reasons above, local kebangsaan schools are definitely out; chinese primary schools also out as I keep having the mindset that chinese school is very academic oriented and not much co-corricular acrtivities; As for the real International Schools, they are out as they are too expensive.

    Can any other parents with kids in Sri KL and Sri Garden make some comments pls?
16. MayMay88 says:

    June 13, 2012 at 10:03 am

    Hi Lien,
    Most welcome. Sri KL had very good track record when they were conducting the KBSR for primary school. My child’s batch is the first to take on CP in Sri KL. Also, this school is the first transition school (from KBSR to CP) since the MOE made their announcement to conduct Science and Maths in Bahasa Malaysia for the local syllabus. This is the third year into the CP and the many of the teachers are still very resistant to the Programme. I believe this is happening in most local international schools. It is very frustrating because it affects the delivery of the Programme. The methodology is totally different in CP. It requires a great amount of careful planning and meticulous details in the delivery of the Programme.

    When as young child begins formal schooling, besides academic (intellect and language) development, the school needs to be sensitive to their emotional, social, physical needs as well. Sadly, what is happening in school is a far cry from what you read on the website. I know that there isn’t a perfect school. We do not need our children to be pampered or treated like royalties. The children in Sri KL need to be given the respect and genuine care as they should. Based on your reasons of wanting to send your little one to a local international school, I’m pretty sure most of the schools above would be able to meet them. What is promised on the website is to be taken with a pinch of salt. I have once read an extraction from the Sri KL website to another existing parent. She jumped up and said “Tell me which school is this, I want to send my child there!”. She immediately sat down when I told that what I read was front the Sri KL website. Many parents are just not aware of what is going on because this school does not encourage parent participation at all. I am currently checking out other schools as well. Sadly, have not found one that I can confidently move to as yet. If there are recommendations from other parents who have had good experiences, I do appreciate the input.
17. bitten twice says:

    June 16, 2012 at 11:49 am

    Hi MayMay..can I get in touch with you? I am in total agreement on your observation about the fact that these local international schools are governing themselves (how risky that is) and not being governed/monitored by a qualified official body. Perhaps you can obtain my email id from Shen-Li?
18. Mo says:

    June 20, 2012 at 10:55 pm

    Hi, my kids (year 3 and year 5) are studying in Nobel International school. We originally merely wanted to send them to a private school, and chose Sri Nobel because of close proximity to our home and the school has a strong focus on students character building and discipline, which we liked. But last year, the school decided to launch their international “division”. After some considerations, I believe most parents switched their kids to the International school.

    Therefore, our kids are really the “guinea pigs” for this school.

    It has been half a year now and I noticed:
    1) LESS homework – they hardly bring any homework home at all and it is difficult for me to gauge what they are learning, and if they are progressing well
    2) shorter schooling hour – last time, their school ends at 3.30pm (Mon-Thur) but now, it ends at 2.10pm (but with increment in fees?) However, the school has decided to extend the school hour to 3.30pm (Mon – Thur) just for the month of June in order for the students to “catch up” on their English. At least the school is aware of the big gap in this area and is trying to rectify this issue.
    3) poor quality of English teacher – Recently, my son brought back some school homework (to answer some questions related to a poem). He was struggling with it a little so I researched on this poem in the internet (since I myself have never read it before) and explained the poem to him, by getting him to imagine the situations described, appreciate the language style and the metaphor used etc. He commented that I taught it clearly and better than his teacher! And I was a Chinese school educated gal!!!

    On a more positive note:
    4) my kids are finding the lessons more fun (the school uses smart boards and youtube videos etc to deliver some of the lessons)
    5) I see a slight improvement in my boys’ command and interest in English
    6) the school offers a wider variety of extra curriculum activities (most with additional charges). My son attended the Speech and Drama class, which he enjoyed thoroughly. However, this is dampened by the fact that the school has limited space to carry out these activities. For example, the hall is way too small for the instructors to conduct taekwondo classes, as I don’t think the classes are very effective.

    Since this is only the 1st year of operation, I can understand that there are still some teething problems to be ironed out. Some reno. work is to be carried out end of this year so hopefully next year, it will be more comfortable for the students and teachers. But since the school is not moving to another premise, whatever reno. work they do can’t possibly resolve the issue properly.

    Overall, I give them a rating of 6.5 out of 10. My biggest complaints are:
    1) the lack of facilities at the school – this school is so small, without a proper field and limited space for sporting activities
    2) the lack of qualified teachers, especially English teachers. They should have invested in bringing in A FEW foreign (UK), experienced teachers, to help guide them through this transition. They did bring in an “advisor”. He/ She was here for awhile (according to my child), but I am not sure what his / her role and contributions were).
    3) lack of visibility on my children’s progress – Under the international syllabus system, the school no longer hold “mid year exams”. The children sit for “diagnostic tests” (I think once every 10 weeks or so) but we never get to see the test results so we have no idea how they are doing.

    I am keeping my eyes open for alternatives, if they do not do something to address the teacher quality issue. I was thinking of Sri KL, but still not so sure yet. Anyone else have more insights / comments on Sri KL?
19. May says:

    June 24, 2012 at 1:36 am

    My kid was in Yr 2 at Nobel Int’l school for only a short time because, yes, Mo, the quality of teachers were really bad. That’s THE reason I pulled my kid out. The same batch of teachers from KBSR syllabus were suddenly thrust into teaching cambridge syllabus, with only some short training seminar from British council. Do they seriously think parents can buy that idea of just the occasional seminars & voila, the teachers will be on par for the UK system? Imagine if the teachers couldn’t cope with the level of (only) 7 yros,, what more older kids of higher level? Cambridge English is a very huge contrast, I have to emphasized again, a VERY HUGE leap from the level of KBSR English. The way of teaching & its delivery plus the requirement of students to do presentations, participate in group work, drama/role play, creative writing & what nots… truly requires a teacher who’s very proficient in English. But alas, my kid’s English teacher could not even string a proper sentence without grammatical mistakes & poor pronunciation. Older parents told me she was already weak in teaching KBSR English before, what more now?

    Whilst the other teacher (math), could have taught simple addition & subtraction language math wrongly on just the 2nd week of January. What shocked me was her explanation given for the sums taught (her version) that makes no sense at all..baffling! I would think no way any adult would not understand the concept of those very basic sums. I end up daily having to coach my kid at home to undo any errors just in case & monitor even more closely after the above episode. As a homemaker, I have no qualms giving extra coaching at home due to the poor quality, but what about those working parents? So if I have to end up teaching myself, I finally decided to pull my kid out & have been doing homeschooling since then, until at least secondary, I can have options to enroll my kid in IGCSE centers that are fast gaining popularity..that prepares the student to sit the paper as an independent candidate in British council. I wish I can afford the real Int’l schools, not the local Int’l type, but..sadly I couldn’t. And, after having surveyed other local Int’l schools both from my own observation & parent’s feedback, i came to the conclusion that most, if not all, were very profit orientated & would prefer not to hire more qualified & experienced teachers, for they were deemed too expensive. Sigh…
20. Fz Teh says:

    June 24, 2012 at 1:07 pm

    Hi May,

    >”……  I can have options to enroll my kid in IGCSE centers that are fast gaining popularity..that prepares the student to sit the….”<

    May I know which centers that are compatible/good in your mind?
21. May says:

    June 24, 2012 at 5:08 pm

    Hi FZ Teh

    Offhand, I know of a few, namely ACE Edventure in Subang (who also operates Sri Emas Int’nl school at kelana jaya), Arrows Resource Center in Ara D’sara, Grace Resource center in P.J. & Frontier learning center in Puchong. I am most keen with Sri Emas or Ace, due to parents’ positive feedbacks, but unfortunately they only take secondary level kids. Frontier has good feedbacks too.
22. Fz Teh says:

    June 24, 2012 at 5:40 pm

    Hi May,

    I’m so grateful of reading your timely comment here….I know Ace, but what I’ve also read and followed quite closely of Gifted Homeschool Program in US on Ace is Ace ” isn’t quite favorable” in US due to their overall writeup and restrictive views on topics of world History i.e. not so secular were the parents comments, so
    kindly correct me for anything wrongly mentioned, if any. My most concern is how to start and where to start? I wish to pm you personally to know better. Hope you don’t mind. Thank you.
23. May says:

    June 27, 2012 at 1:50 pm

    Hi FZ Teh
    Sorry for the late reply. Sure we can pm each other, what’s your email? It’s good we can share more bcos we seemed to be like-minded in our interest for homeschooling. Thanks.
24. bitten twice says:

    July 3, 2012 at 11:58 pm

    We’ve started a Facebook group called Malaysia International Schools Parents Support Group (MISPSG). Hopefully more parents can come together, compare notes and most of all, what can we do about this situation such as the one which MayMay88 pointed out as lack of governing. Who should be the stakeholder for the performance of such ‘international’ schools in Malaysia other than the business owner themselves? MOE? CIE? We’ve spoken to both parties but we are not liking the answer we get.
25. Pearl says:

    July 4, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    Does anyone know about Real international school in shah Alam. I intent to put my daughter in international school for y7 ,this sept. Will appreciate any feedback.
26. Tea says:

    July 11, 2012 at 6:27 pm

    Sri KL, Sri Emas International, Nobel International – which one is the best? Why would you choose that? So many schools and yet none up to par! So hard to choose unless u have the budget to send them to a real international school.
27. Tea says:

    July 11, 2012 at 6:30 pm

    BTW, thanks for your blogs on schools. It has been very enlightening!
28. peggy says:

    July 12, 2012 at 5:23 pm

    I have both my children, one in SriKL doing his year 10 (transition from KBSR aftr his PMR) and one in Sri Emas, Year 7. I cant compare both these 2 sch with the real international sch as I do not have first hand experience with real international sch. However, I would like to think that the local international sch basically just filled the gap between the govt sch and international sch as it offers affordable tuition fees. Academic wise, Srikl has proven track record as the school is very much academic-oriented. The Principal is ex-principal of a govt sch, thus it runs very much like a govt sch. The CEO in one of his speech once mentioned he would like to think that SRIKL is a Malaysia English sch., therefore they are not in the competition with the international sch. Most of the older teachers are ex-govt sch teachers, thus their style of delivery is very much like the govt sch teachers. Not sure how they can adapt much to the presentation/coursework/project IGCSE style. My son told me he didnt see any difference in style of delivery by their sch teachers in KBSR or IGCSE syllabus. As for Sri Emas, the emphasis is in the course work/presentation and project based and not exam-oriented, thus it’s difficult to gauge how your kid performs and how much he learns. The students/teachers relationship are on a more friendly note. Cant add much on this sch as I only have 4 months experience with this sch. So far, most parents I met are happy with the sch. One positive note though, both these schools’ teachers are more committed and diligent in their delivery compare to the govt sch’s. All in all, I can only say, do not have too high an expectation on these local international schs. Just treat them as a Malaysia English sch that offers alternative to the KBSR syllabus for those parents who want to put their children to learn a better English. I once told my children “what I got for free (education) more than 30 years ago before the govt change everything to BM, now I have to pay a bomb to educate my children!” Time for change!!
29. Tea says:

    July 12, 2012 at 6:34 pm

    Hi Peggy,

    Your post has been most enlightening. What i don’t get is that they are all doing the same syllabus (IGCSE) but the methods of teaching are different from school to school. Is the coursework/project based which is very much like Uni is the actual type of teaching (Sri Emas) or the typical Malaysian text book style is (SriKL) ? All claim to have excellent students’ results at the end but I get conflicting views from blogs from parents with kids there! So i guess it also depend very much on the child no matter which method is being adopted! Thanks for sharing your views!
30. Chan says:

    July 13, 2012 at 4:27 pm

    Dear Shen-Li & readers,
    There are always pros & cons on international or local school system. Perhaps we can look from our child’s point of view or our child’s current learning attitudes and personality. My son is obedient at school and doesn’t speak up for himself. Sending him to a strict and competitive school might not help and could ‘destroy’ his learning interest. Do we want our kids ‘running to their classes’ or ‘eyes looking down when it’s time for school?’
    Thanks,
31. Zanzie says:

    July 15, 2012 at 7:09 pm

    I was looking for information & feedback from parents who have kids in international school. Im glad to hv this informative blog. I have a daughter in first year (form 1) national stream, sri kl. Ive been thinking of switching her to international stream. Can someone share on how i should go about doing this?
    On the contrary after reading all postings n if its not much difference in methods of teaching, Im not quite sure anymore. I get very confused when it comes to education aspects. Mainly becos of d different standard between what the school claim and the actual standatd itself.
    Can someone share some light ?
32. Ann tam says:

    July 18, 2012 at 8:04 pm

    Sri kl,Sri sedaya,Sri inai(beacon house),sri Nobel(heart lots of complaint),or …..? which one is the best school for my kids (11 yrs old n 13 yrs old) pls advice me. Thank you very much.
33. Vivian says:

    July 20, 2012 at 10:54 pm

    Thanks for your information !

    I would like to share my opinion here. I have a child who is currently studying in Tanarata International School which is located at Serdang-Kajang. I’m thinking which other school should I send my child because the TIS is a very bad school. Almost 99 percent of the teachers are INDIAN ! They’re very racist and they put lots of attention on those Indian students, Non-Indian students are actually not being concern by them. Besides, I noticed that they keep on changing Non-Indian teachers to Indian teachers every term even Malay subject is taught by an Indian teacher. The Principal, Mrs.Barnali Guha often stressed that “Our International School is a multicultural environment and we accept all races of teachers and students to join our school.” However, the statement which came from her isn’t true ! Because of what I’ve seen is a racial polarization in the school environment, Indian teachers are divided into a few groups of “categories”, only Indian students are also mostly accepted into the school. Besides, my child told me even some of the teachers are using faul languages and speading rumours about other teachers’ stories in the classroom too, especially those SENIOR teachers (who was working for a long time in the school). Although some of the teachers are qualified to teach British IGCSE syllabus, but in my point of view, they aren’t qualified to become a good international teachers ! Well, my suggestion is NEVER let your child go suffer in the Tanarata International School which downgraded your child’ s education.
34. Vasantha says:

    July 26, 2012 at 2:29 pm

    Hi,
    Was wondering if anyone has any feedback on cempaka international school (damansara heights branch).
    Thanks so much.
35. Hesione says:

    July 29, 2012 at 2:45 pm

    Hello everyone,
    I would like to thank Shen-Li for sharing this in this wonderful blog. I shall bookmark it, for sure.
    I would just like to share with everyone here, please note that the schools listed above are all of the MALAYSIAN curriculum, but they use the BRITISH system. To illustrate, for example, history as a subject will be taught with content relevant to and for Malaysia. They would not be teaching history from a British perspective. That will be done in a British curriculum school.

    There is no school here that will use a foreign curriculum, except for those which are meant to cater to that specific nationality (although we have many Malaysians in such schools). For example, The Alice Smith School would be using the British curriculum delivered through a British system; the Australian School would use the Australian curriculum, taught using the Australian system; the Japanese school would be using the Japanese curriculum, delivered using their own Japanese system. Please note that curriculum, system and syllabus are different things.

    For the schools listed above, the word ‘International’ in their name denotes the language of instruction, i.e. ‘English’. The curriculum is Malaysian, the syllabus is Malaysian. Please check properly so that you do not end up paying exorbitant fees. Many of these schools prey on parents’ concerns and take advantage of that. If you want your children to be educated in the British curriculum, for instance, then you ought to send your child to The Alice Smith School. If you want your child to be educated in the American curriculum, then ISKL or MKIS.

    I have, through my academic research, found out that the schools listed above, primarily set up to accept pupils who cannot cope in the national schools. Of course, they would not tell you this. Fortunately for the pupils, their parents can afford to send them to privately run schools to let them stay in the system. There are also, however, pupils who are genuinely high achieving and so, you will get classes with students of varying abilities.

    Case in point, if your daughter is doing very well in Assunta, would you take her out just so you can put her into one of these schools listed?

    My intention is not to offend anyone, it is just to share what I know, just so parents do not get ripped off by some of these schools who may be unscrupulous, who do not actually have your children’s well-being in mind. Some are genuinely concerned about making sure that your children are happy and motivated.

    Others are just money-making machines.
36. Lien HH says:

    July 30, 2012 at 2:45 am

    Thank you Hesione for the point outs, these are really useful highlights. I am wondering, since the local international schools adopt Malaysian syllabus and curriculum, how are the students going to do decently in IGCSE exam and SPM? I mean, SPM is in Malay medium for most subjects, if the local international students study these subjects in English, how are they going to do well? (Believe me, I myself had my primary education at Chinese school; secondary school at Kebangsaan; Tertiary at Singapore Polytechnic. I had a very hard time to adjust myself from Malay to English medium education at Singapore, e.g. “radius” in kebangsaan school is “jejari”, and we learned our add maths with “Buku Sifir” while over there in Spore they use the Scientific calculator, I was so embarrassed to bring my Buku Sifir to school, haha…)
    As for IGCSE exam is in English medium, but testing base on British syllabus and curriculum, if our local international school students study Malaysian syllabus like History subject as pointed by Hesione, how are they going to do well in GCE?
    This is like “half bucket full of water”, the students are neither full nor empty…
    Any parents with kids studied in local international school whom already taken both IGSCE and SPM exam, please enlighten me if your kids have no problem to do both.
37. Angie says:

    August 1, 2012 at 5:18 pm

    Hi May,
    I am looking for good IGSCE Centres and chance upon Sri Emas. Any positive feedback on this school?
38. May says:

    August 4, 2012 at 3:34 pm

    Hi Angie

    A friend said Ace Edventure in USJ Subang has positive feedbacks from parents. With their long wait list, she has to enrol her kid 2 years prior for their IGCSE, which he will do upon his completion of UPSR in a Chinese school. The same management runs Sri Emas, so I believe the quality should be just as good
39. SK says:

    August 9, 2012 at 10:16 am

    Hi May, could we communicate more through email? My email address is keitooi@yahoo.com.
40. melissa says:

    August 23, 2012 at 11:05 pm

    hi there all
    do you have any comments on Apit School (formerly known as Sapura Smart School) and R.E.A.L Sekolah Cahaya in Shah Alam?
41. Camille P says:

    August 27, 2012 at 4:32 pm

    Hi! This blog is really a gem in the making! Thanks to Shen-Li; and Susie for the most comprehensive descriptions of what is happening out in TIS!
    The local international school scene seem to be most affordable if you want a British Curriculum, You do not want to consider the real international school – the fees is 2-3times more annually unless you have strong financial support. And the higher the fees in the local int’l, the more expats teachers you will get. Say Cempaka International School – the top of the range for local international school. They have expats teachers for English, History, Geography and French. Good school with advanced web based learning system however I felt that they concentrate more on Performing Arts and extra-curricular activities especially the 1st quarter of the year. If your child is like mine, an introvert, you will find that sometimes its just waste of time for the child to go for events and become cheerleader by the side line!
    For those who want to enrol, pls make sure that you have done your ground work well and get the best out for your child because like my case, went in Y6 and never realising that actually the child should be in Y8 by international standard (go acccording to age). The school will not be willing to adjust for you accordingly after you put both your feet in! After all, they will gain more in terms of fees annually. Like all private schools, don’t hope for PTA because if they have that, they have double headache in dealing with all the paying parents’ wants and fancy. I would say it is very frustating to talk to them about things that you are not happy about. They attitude is, if you don’t like it, you can ship out!!
    Lately I think they are preparing to change to IB curriculum. Not sure why. So pls make sure you are thoroughly prepared when you see them with all your concerns, even though it is minute, but important to you. You do not want to enrol into a school and then find out not to your liking but to your child liking! Then changing school can be traumatic for your child. Like what is happening to me – I want him to be on par with international level for his age, another school can offer the opportunity but not sure whether the school is OK or not. So what do you think of REAL International school, Shah Alam campus? Anyone especially Melissa, Pearl or Irene Ng who have been asking about it; have you got any news?
42. John Lim says:

    August 29, 2012 at 5:44 pm

    Hi! It is interesting to read here about the experience shared for different international school in the town. I sent my daughter to Fairview International School at Subang Jaya campus for the IB program. The school frequently changes teachers, and has teachers not familiar with the subject to teach the student. They so-called allowing the student to explore themselves to bring out the greatest potential in them is to have the students to prepare the new topics of the subject themselves at home, and then present to other students in the class the next day. The teacher will not make any comment or give any conclusion after the student make the presentation. The teacher roles are simply assigning the teaching work to the student. They do not teach or coach the student. The students in Year 10 are required to do a major project, which carries heavy weight for their final result. Each student is assigned with a teacher to be their project supervisor to coach them on completion of the project. It was interesting to find out that most of the teachers have not done the project themselves and never have any previous experience in coaching the students to do such project. This is not the worse! The school has decided for the students to sit for IGCSE examination. But they do not cover the syllabus for the IGCSE to prepare the student for the examination. We have to get the home tutors to prepare our daughters for the examination. We have been looking for other international school to transfer our daughter out from the current one. I have tried Sri KDU and Sri Kuala Lumpur. But all the places have been fully taken up with long wating list. I appreciate if any one of you have any good recommendation for a good international school.
43. Shen-Li says:

    August 31, 2012 at 12:55 am

    Hi Camille,

    Thank you but I cannot take credit for it. It is thanks to all the parents out there who have been so generous with their feedback on what they know about these schools.
44. Sharon says:

    August 31, 2012 at 9:28 pm

    Hi All,
    I am thinking of enrolling my child into the international schools. I would like to ask the following questions from the learned parents here:
    A) what int. schools do you recommend in the cheras area?
    B) any parents out there have kids in Cempaka,cheras . I have heard that parents have complained that the school is concentrating too much on non academic activites? Is that true? I am ok with that as not all students are academically strong. my child is more academically inclined and therefore am more concerned with academic results. But at the same time I don’t mind if my child is exposed to arts. any parents have any comments(good or bad)?
    C) What about Real Suria International School in cheras ,Hulu Langat ? any parents out there have any kids
    there and any comments (good or bad) to add?
45. Katrina says:

    September 2, 2012 at 12:43 am

    Hi All,

    My 5 years old son is very timid whenever he goes to an unfamiliar environment? I thought of enrolling him into a private or local international will help in building confidence level vs govt school. Any advise or schools to recommend that will assist my child which has this area of concern? I live in Damansara and i am considering Sri Inai or Sri KDU? Any comments or suggestion on this schools or any other better recommendation? Thanks.
46. Joanne says:

    September 3, 2012 at 9:30 pm

    My daughter goes to Sri Cempaka, Damansara. I don’t think the school is concentrating more on performing arts at all! In fact it’s all tests and exams until October when they have their final exams. The school is very much academically driven. My daughter has lots of homework every day, spellingand dictation twice a weektopical tests every 2 months plus mid-year and final exams so I know how she is progressing. She also has swimming, gym, vocal, piano and speech/drama classes too which I like as it builds character, confidence and creativity but none of these subjects are tested, apart from vocal and piano from standard 2 only, still very easy and is more about performing in front of peers and getting over nerves!

    My husband and I have been quite happy with Sri Cempaka, Damansara, national stream but by end of 2013 we will need to change to international stream or move our daughter to Cheras, national stream. The school still needs to iron a few problems with the international stream, hence we are undecided and have been
    looking at all options. This blog has been very informative! Thanks!
47. Christopher says:

    September 5, 2012 at 1:29 pm

    Dear all,
    I have a message for Ms Vivian who had some disappointment with TIS. Very sorry to hear that she doesn’t like ‘ Indian’, teachers! Hmm…Racist? Who is being racist now? Opps sorry! Btw, I am a Chinese father who had 3 kids studying in TIS from the first day TIS was Born! Yes, I do agree that most teachers are mostly Indians and we always have a good laugh that we are putting our kids to an Indian school with all other non Indian and Indians parents. All parents in TIS were very well integrated with all races in the school. As well as my kids…they have no problem with racist problem and they don’t get bullied by ‘Indian’, teachers and all teachers love them especially my eldest daughter who had been in school from the first day. I don’t know what race of teachers you are requesting…if you prefer Mat Salleh teachers, there are always a lot of schools with Mat Salleh teachers and also teachers from Filipino and also from India or maybe china teachers…so you have to decide cos you are sending to an International school and is not a government schools. But there are parents who came to us and complaint who have experience with Filipino teachers who speaks very slang Tagalog, mat Salleh teachers who always ‘tidak apa’ attitude and china teachers who teaches mandarin classes in international schools speak very Beijing stlye language. So what do you expect from the teachers? TIS teachers do speak foul language sometimes but I guess is not so harsh as like ‘f@*k…but best of all she is still favorite teacher for most all students. And she did so well that TIS all year 11 students manage to obtain all ‘A’s in most subjects in the IGCSE for year 2011-2012- the percentage is 67.5% passes if not mistaken. I think they have perform very well for a school with just a 5 years of operating.
    I think every school have their pros and cons and it all depends how well you communicate with the school and what do you expect from the schools. Even in Australia and Auckland, a country with best schools still come out with a forum of dissatisfaction with teachers and schools.
    Personally, I have no complaint with the school and I don’t mind having Indians teachers since my others kids in kindergarten also having all Indian teachers in school teaching them almost perfect English language.
    I do hope Ms Vivian will find out the truth before she put any negative thoughts to distract parents from her selfish personal thoughts of the school.
48. Sharon says:

    September 7, 2012 at 1:21 pm

    Hi Joanne,
    Thank you very much for the information on Sri Cempaka, Damansara. I am not aware of the switch to full International school in Damansara. It is a trying time when trying to decide to switch school albeit the same school but different location. I hear that the school offers bus services to Cheras from Damansara. You mentioned that there are some issues not ironed out in the international school of Damansara. May I know what they are please? I could call you to have a chat if u prefer not to type it in the website. I am currently in the Cheras area and thinking of enrolling my child into Cempaka Cheras, international school. So if there are issues at Damansara then I presume the issues will also be in Cheras as it is the same school. Please advise by sending me an email (ongsailing@gmail.com) if u prefer not to type but chat. Thanking you in advance.
49. Sharon says:

    September 7, 2012 at 1:26 pm

    Joanne, sorry i meant you could send me your contact number to my email and I can call you then to chat.Thank you. Sharon
50. Joanne says:

    September 7, 2012 at 5:57 pm

    There is a bus that picks up kids at 7:15 at the Damansara campus and returns at about 4pm depending on traffic! If we decide to stick with national syllabus we will need to go with this option!
    The international syllabus looks good. You can phone the school or pick up the book list from the school book shop to check. Both English and Mandarin have speaking tests where traditionally with the national syllabus it is only written. More Mandarin classes in the week. Same topical test 4 times a year, mid-year exam and final exam. Only thing they don’t have weekly spelling for any of the languages just tested during the tests/exams.
    Problem with the internationally syllabus is with the teachers. They don’t have enough expat teachers. So……local teachers who have so called been trained for the international syllabus are teaching some of the subjects. Some are good, some could be better i heard. Like some mothers who have kids in the international syllabus say……international syllabus but taught in the local way! Good or bad? Maybe Cheras is better? Management said they have new expat teachers starting next year and that they are looking at ways to improve the standard.

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