SCHOOL INTEGRATION PROGRAMME OR HOW TO TRY THE SCHOOL OF YOUR CHOICE.

How to choose a school abroad for your child

Very often during the consultation on secondary schools abroad people ask me: "What happens if my child doesn't like the school after starting the program?"

Yes, if he does not like, then this is a big problem. The child changed school and country, academic year has been started, fees for whole year has been paid, so much efforts spent on opening student visa and residence permit. Emotionally – this is very difficult decision for parents who do not know what is better, to put pressure on the child to try getting used to it, or give up and take the child home.

All these problems and financial losses can be avoided with a very high assurance that the experience of moving to another country and the school will only be positive. To be confident in a right choice I always offer my students to try the school  first. Let's look at what are the options.

CAMP PROGRAMS BASED ON SCHOOL CAMPUS

The trip to the chosen country to study language can be the first step towards admission to a foreign school. Such programs are best to choose for the summer holidays when many schools open doors as international camps. Some schools have their own summer camps, the majority of schools, especially in the UK and Ireland,  rent their campuses to language camps for kids. Being in international camp on the school campus would allow your child not only to practice language but also to use school facilities. The only minus if the program is organized by another organization that the child can not meet teachers and staff of this school. You must agree that it's not the facilities and not the comfort of the country but the emotional comfort of your child which brings further motivation to study and succed.

In some countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Austria schools offer winter holiday programs when learning language can be combined with skiing. The program often runs at the same time when the school has academic students and your child have a great opportunity to see how school is organized. In this case language students meet academic ones for joint sports and evening entertainment.

It is worth mentioning that you can find and book holiday programs for the fall and spring break on school-based campuses. The effect is about the same as summer or winter programme with the difference that your school holiday is shorter – 1-2 weeks. Usually I do not recommend short language programs for students who want to understand the school and even the country. These programmes are good for children that have been at this school previously and want to return there.

SCHOOL INTEGRATION PROGRAM  WITHIN  THE SCHOOL YEAR

Most private schools in the UK offer or agree upon request to receive a foreign student on a short integration program within school academic year. Same, even though such programs are not advertised by schools in other countries, school integration can be arrange almost at any country.

In my experience integration into the learning process appears to be the most successful. Imagine that your child is placed to the class appropriate to his age group and academic knowledge, he participates not only at the lessons but at all clubs, lives and eats with other students of the school and is fully involved in school life. The school knows it's a potential student who wants to try if he would feel comfortable here and everyone is trying their best. This integration is very soft.

With regard to the duration of the program it is possible to persuade the school to take the child for 2-3 week to catch a break in his school and not to skip to keep up with his program. But staying in boarding school for the trimester will give much more benefits. Your child will start the program at new school, make new friends and will look forward to the new academic year to return here.

When we work with the schools and our students, we come across with difficulties. First, in school you selected may not be free place at school residence. Second, you need to provide the same documents as those for admission to the academic year, report cards, recommendations of teachers, certificate of language proficiency. Third, academic performance and foreign language skills should be sufficient to the level of students of same age in the school. Fourth, it is difficult to arrange integration program for students 15-17 years old as their foreign peers are preparing for final exams and the school does not want them distracted.

Positive factors – if you are visiting short program, the school is not asking for the security deposit which can vary from 2000 euros to the cost of 1 trimester. Typically, such programs do not need to confirm knowledge of a foreign language with official certificate. And if the student wants to return to this school next year, the school faster confirms the place and rarely asks to retake the entrance exams.

School visit on open days or arranging individual visits

If your child has attended summer camp and knows exactly that he wants to study in this country but, for some reason, it is impossible to pass integration program in a specific school, I strongly recommend to go and see the school before you confirm the place for next year. Of course, such trip is not cheap, as usually the whole family goes and needs to book transfers, hotels, might need to bring an interpreter or agent, but it is the least that you can do to be sure that the school is suitable for your child.

All schools, even top-rated, organize open days. This may be the last weekend before the beginning of the school year, or after Christmas, or several times during the school year. These open days may be combined with the tester, when your child is offered to stay in school for a couple of days to visit classes, stay overnight in the school dormitory, has meals in the school restaurant and visit cultural-entertaining program with students of his age group. The tester can be paid (150-300 Euro) or free, on school decission, but as a rule, before you visit you need to submit the documents for admission to the school and pay the registration fee (from 0 to 200 euros). In addition, during the open days, the school are shown to the child and parents, a meeting with students of the same nationality would be arranged and, if you have already applied to this school, in these days the child passes the entrance exam and has an interview with curator, who looks at if the child is suitable for this school and, when entering high school, helps with the choice of subjects for next year.

I believe that private schools abroad is the best thing you can give your child, but it is very important to do everything in advance and pick the right school.

Hope my recommendations are useful and we can help you find the school that can open full potential of your child.