Schools in Bangalore

Being very new to Bangalore and schools in Bangalore, it was a little bit of a search to find the right place for a 5yr old starting grade 1.

I cannot speak in general about schools in Bangalore but I can share my experience with schools in South Bangalore and about the admission process and adjustment.

We made a list of few popular schools in South Bangalore. Popular meaning - names of the schools based on what people around here recommended and what my family recommended. Also, most online forums eventually lead up to to a few schools deemed appropriate for returning NRI kids. In my opinion, sticking with these schools seems to make sense, as most NRIs anyway end up taking the same path to finding a school. If not anything, you will at least find similar kids in these schools and possibly help the kids adjust faster to the new enviroment.

The schools we were recommended were
PSBB, Ryan Intl, Presidency, Valley school, BGS, NPS, Kumarans.
We chose Ryan for the ICSE syllabus, new school that needed students :-) so admission was not a big hassle, decent infrastructure and promise for good stuff, well established company that runs a bunch of branches. We also chose this school as it had non-stop bus service from our house.

Things to consider when picking a school.

1. Type of school - Newer schools with better outlook towards education as a whole - No exams, continupus assessment style etc. Importance to overall development and opportunity to take part in national and international activities.
2. Infrastructure - Amenities like swiming pools, courts, sports complex, extra curricular activites etc. Most new/fancys chools have the money to build these very quickly. So gettign into a school that has plans to build them is good too. Its a matter of competition here. so make sur they hv some good facitility or at least plans to build them.
3. Syllabus - CBSE, ICSE are popular and available througout the country. State board is not all that great and not all that suitable for NRI kids in my opinion. Mainly due to the force of learning to read and write the local language.
4. Distance and bus service
5. Extra curricular acitivites and lessons. Schools have music, arts, dance, sports etc on weekends inside the campus with even bus service. So look for schools with these facitlies to avoid driving the kid around for various lessons.
6. Hygiene and maintenance of toilets and campus.

Admission process:
I am not sure how this happens during the rush time - which is usual November for the following school year. Most schools start accepting applicaitons in Nov through start of school. Appicaltion forms range from Rs200 to rs800. These application forms usually requrie the following documents. Good idea to keep copies of the following:

1. Birth certificate
2. Passport size pictures
3. Cash for application fee
4. A notepad and pen - most of the information is told and you will barely find any printed booklet about any school or admission process.
5. Keep a list of questions handy (will write my list below)
6. Copies of transfer records, academic cards - mainly for kids transferring at higher grades - above 1st grade.

After you apply in the schools - they will usually assign a admission number and also tell you to contact them in a few day to check on the status. They will also test the child the same day or on a scheduled day. In some schools, they simply expect you to call often to find out about the testing day.
Remember - the schools call ocassionaly, most of the time, its upto the parents to follow up and find out. But, in my experience, the customer service at the schools was not too bad. Its better to keep an open mind and acknowledge the lack of staff for the number of applications they receive.

After testing the child and if she/he is admitted. You will asked to pay fees. The general structure is

1. Admission fees (runs anywhere between 15K to 80K)
2. Tuition fees for the first term (3 terms per year. fees range fron 10K-30K per term)
3. School books, uniforms, transportation fees

A lot of the schools accept various forms for the fees above. At Ryan internation, banneghatta road, bangalore - they accepted only DD /cash for admission fees, only cheques for school tuition fees and only cash for books and uniform. So check with your school clearly about mode of payment for each part of the fees.

Before school starts
Make sure you acquire all materials like books, uniforms etc. take you child a few times to the campus during the summer holidays and familiarize them with the building and classrooms. Talk to the office people, pricipal, nurse, teachers, bus drivers etc. The more people you meet and talk to, the better it will be later on. There is not much of a procedure for parents to understand the school or process. At least for us, we were pretty lost as we started the admission process only in the month of May. There was no concept of orientation. So we has to ask the questions to the teachers and principal etc. Do take the time to do that, and prepare your child. The more information the better. The schools are very nice about talking to parents and working with them.The more interest you show, the better response you get.

School Begins
Beginning of the school year can be very stressful for every one. Especially for the child on day one. Be prepared as much as possible and let your understand what to expect on day 1. If he/she takes the school bus, make sure you go ahead of time to the bus stop and talk to other parents and exchange numbers. School bus drivers also have cellphones. SO take that number. Make sure your child know which stop to get off at on the way back. Most new kids espeically kids from the west are clueless and can get confused. In India, no one tells the kids what to do. THey alwasy assume that the kids Knows what to do. Which in fact is true for the kids here. So, you have the take the time and make suer your child in educated about bus routes, stops and drivers etc.

I will write more about expereinces in School and classrooms. But overall, the kids love the schools and they adjust very fast. If parents let the kids explore and learn and have a positive outlook towards eveyrthign, they do just fine. Just remind them that they are an explorer in an new country and culture. Take it one day at a time.