cambridge or choueifat

Discussion in 'Schools/Playgroups/Daycares in Abu Dhabi' started by mdmini, Jan 5, 2009.

  1. mdmini

    mdmini Senior IL'ite

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    Dear all

    can anyone tell me which is a better school - cambridge or choueifat? anyone's kids in either of these school, please put in views. my son has to join school for this acedemic year and i have narrowed down to these 2.


    thanks!
     
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  2. jigsaw79

    jigsaw79 New IL'ite

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    I have tutored students from both schools and liked the course, books, teachers at both. Having said that, I found Choueifat very intensive... Lots of studying required by the student. The child needs to really make an effort to keep up with studies. So while some children do really well, others struggle. So make the choice keeping in mind your kid's aptitude.
     
  3. mdmini

    mdmini Senior IL'ite

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    hi jigsaw

    thanks for the update. what am worried about is the school atmosphere. i hear that choeuifat has many arab students and the school gives priority for arab students in sports and other extra circular activities. i am not really worried about my son's academics i'm sure he can cope but i dont' want him to be alienated there. i was wondering if anyone has their kids there or any reference. 'cos cambridge is too far in mussafah but choeifat is just near by my house. i dont' like the attitude of arabs in geneeral, u know even in the work place we face it. i dont want my son to go through the same.
     
  4. Mallie

    Mallie Senior IL'ite

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    Hi Mdmini

    I do undestand about the attitude of some Arab kids. They can be really nasty sometimes. But on the other hand this can be a good chance for your son to have wider atmosphere and in the long run I guess he can cope up. Some years back I had my friend who graduated from a all Arab school, and i asked her about racisim. She said all though it was difficult initially but it made her all the more strong.

    So I guess it will not be a problem.
     
  5. mdmini

    mdmini Senior IL'ite

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    HI mallie

    what you said is true but there can b really nasty kids, i know one of my friends brother who studied in an arabic school in auh. during one of their sports day, some gang of arab boys they held him tight and had one of their gang members come and punch him. and they punched him on his face, he had serious injuries to his nose and had to undergo a couple of surgeries to get back to normal.

    i know he still didnt' get back the actual shape of his nose!!! it scared me a lot!

    but i know i have to take chances in life, 'cos it's my only child, am really concerned and worried...


     
  6. vishy

    vishy Bronze IL'ite

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    Hi

    My son is studying in Cambridge. He quite enjoys his school. There are a lot of Indian kids studying there and they perfom better then the children of other nationalities. They have a good balance of studies and extra curricular activities. Though the standard of education is not very high in Grade 1 and 2, they are catching up from Grade 3.

    I recently received a circular from the school that they have started the registration for Key stage 1 ( Grade 1 to 3).

    What I heard from my friends whose children are studying in Choueifat is, that the standard of education is very good there. But there are not much extra curricular activities in the initial stages. The attitude of the Arab children needn't have to be mentioned.

    Hope this will help you in making a decision.

    bye and all the best.

    vishy
     
  7. mdmini

    mdmini Senior IL'ite

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    hi vishy

    thanks for the update. the arab atmosphere there is my worry. i also have my brother's kid in cambridge and she's quite happy. it's too far, this is my worry. are the admissions open already? thanks a lot for the info, i think i will send the application there as well.

    thanks vishy. i didn't want him to be alienated from the rest!

     
  8. Richa_05

    Richa_05 Senior IL'ite

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    I've joined this discussion quite late. I'm sure you must have got a clear picture of Cambridge and Choueifat, by now. The topic interested me cause my son was in Cambridge initially from Grade 1 until Grade 3. Then last year I moved him to Choueifat. Academics is given a lot of priority in Choueifat unlike Cambridge which is quiet easy going. Faculty is better at Choueifat. Extra curricular activities like gymnastics, basketball, football, Table Tennis etc etc are for kids who are interested in joining these respective clubs. It's not compulsory.

    About Arab kids, it all depends how our kid copes with the system. My son has Arab, Indian, Pakistani, Korean and some European friends. Arab kids in Choueifat come from good families and many are well-mannered. Entirely my opinion from my personal experience. All the best.
     
  9. mdmini

    mdmini Senior IL'ite

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    HI Richa

    i also want to know i heard there is some racism problem there in Choueifat. is that true? i'm worried 'cos my son is a little dark skinned. i dont want problems for him. i know am being very silly here but he's my only one!! bonk and one of my coolleagues, a pakistani was saying that for games they select the arabs first and then they look for asians, is that true?

    how about Giggles school? i was wondering if he doens't get admissions in KG2 for choueifat, then try giggle??

     
  10. Richa_05

    Richa_05 Senior IL'ite

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    No racism that I know of.......actually, you may say that Choueifat is not a parent-friendly school. There are no PTA meetings. We cannot meet the teachers at any point of time and discuss about our kid except if we just happen to meet them by chance in the school premises or when we go to drop off or pick up our kids. They have an AQC (Academic Quality Controller) for each level and it works fine. They do respond well in case we have doubts or need to fix a meeting regarding our child. They are the middle-persons for the teachers and parents. So, that way it's a bit different from other schools hence I would recommend Giggles or Sesame St/Al Yasat for initial years.

    Also, the timings at Choueifat can be too long for kids ages 3-6 or even 7. I intended to enrol my son at KG level at Choueifat but decided otherwise, then when he was in Grade 2, I went once again but changed my mind. I went there repeatedly just to get a feel of the school and it's atmosphere and only then I decided finally, when my son was nine, that he's ready to join Choueifat. No school is good or bad, it's just that we, as parents, need to decide what suits our kid/s. All the very best. I hope the info given by me helps.
     

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