# Are international schools common in your city?



## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

Especially here in HK where you have youths of different nationalities and could not speak or read Cantonese. Some have parents who settled here and some have expat parents. For this case, HK have international schools that offer western primary and secondary education whether its British or American or European to some extent. English is the primary medium of instruction in these schools. There are affordable ones and there are the high-end ones such as *The Hong Kong International School* that provide high-quality US education from K to 12. This school for example is composed of students of different nationalities mostly expat parents and tuition is very high.

This is not just in HK but also around Asia as well. Singapore for example has Singapore American School, Taipei has Taipei American School and Jakarta has Jakarta International School.

I'm wondering if cities/countries in other continents have a similar institution especially in those where English isn't the primary language.


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## nouveau.ukiyo (Sep 20, 2007)

I live in Tokyo and there are a ton of international schools, too many to mention. In English, there many like those you mentioned: American schools, British schools, apparently there are some Canadian schools (http://www.columbia-ca.co.jp/) and Christian schools which are pretty much like the former except, well, Christian (at least in name). There area also some European schools, like French schools (http://www.stmaur.ac.jp/school/french.html) and German schools (http://www.dsty.ac.jp/); also Chinese schools (http://www.yocs.jp/; founded 1897!) and Korean schools (http://www.pekdu.ac.jp/kr/)...there is even a growing number of Indian schools (http://www.iisjapan.com/). There are even schools for Japanese expats who have returned to Japan and need to brush up or learn some Japanese (http://www.keimei.ac.jp/). There are also special education international schools for those with special needs (http://www.harvey.jp/e/index.htm). All in all, many of these international schools are very expensive, exclusive and offer a (supposedly) great education in whatever language they teach.

A trendy thing going on here is International preschools and Kindergartens. They seem to be popping up everywhere. They are mostly catered toward the Japanese.

There are also a few international colleges here. I went to Temple University Japan for 1 year. Temple University is an American school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania which has an enrollment of 20,000. TUJ is a much smaller branch campus in Tokyo of about 1500-2000; about 60% of students are Japanese fluent in English, the rest are Americans and other international students. I met many interesting people from everywhere in the world and a surprising number of biracial (mostly half Asian) students like myself. 

Also, there are a few Japanese Universities with international links (e.g. an international university, or a school founded by foreigners) that offer international curriculum from early age to practically bachelors degree. 

I knew a person who went to the Taipei American school. It seems like a great school; she was really smart and very American despite never having lived in the US until college. The tuition to that school per year is more than my college tuition was lol.

Links to some lists of Tokyo international schools:

http://www.realestate-tokyo.com/info/school/index.aspx?s=1

http://www.tokyowithkids.com/fyi/international_schools.html
(scroll down to see schools listed by type and location)


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## MikaGe (Apr 7, 2006)

It's been a trend here in Jakarta. What intrigues me is the fact that most of them are belong to established local institution instead the foreign ones. Seems it's a branding-marketing thingy and of course the result is not all of them provide good education. As long as the lessons are taught in English and the principal is an expat, it's an international school. Pheww...
When I was at school, the only international schools available belong to each diplomatic corps. Nobody think to teach their children to learn 2-3 languages at the same time. Seems it's hard to be a kid nowadays.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

There seems to be a misconception that international schools are geared towards expats in Hong Kong. Nowadays, many local students fed up with the local system of exams are enrolling into international schools. Then there is another pool of under-achieving students who try to escape being thrown out by a more competitive local system by seeking refuge in an international school and paying a lot of money to keep themselves afloat.


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## WeimieLvr (May 26, 2008)

MikaGe said:


> It's been a trend here in Jakarta. What intrigues me is the fact that most of them are belong to established local institution instead the foreign ones. Seems it's a branding-marketing thingy and of course the result is not all of them provide good education. As long as the lessons are taught in English and the principal is an expat, it's an international school. Pheww...
> When I was at school, the only international schools available belong to each diplomatic corps. Nobody think to teach their children to learn 2-3 languages at the same time. Seems it's hard to be a kid nowadays.


I've noticed the marketing angle as well in Atlanta and other U.S. cities...some public schools add "International" to the school name and it instantly gains some prestige - and as a teacher in a public system, I'm not aware of any specific curriculum that schools must offer in order to be called and international school. 

In most larger cities almost any school could call itself international based on the diverse cultures represented in the school, but a true international school would be one that offers a global curriculum and language immersion programs in several different languages. For instance, Atlanta International School is accredited by the Council of International Schools and the International Baccalaureate Organization...60% of the students have two international parents/62 countries represented...students begin learning French, Spanish, or German in 1st Grade and in 5th Grader students participate in an international exchange program....high school (9-12) students must be involved in a program such as Atlanta Food Bank or Habitat for Humanity...11th Grade students have an arts trip to NYC where they see Broadway shows and attend programs at Julliard, Metropolitan Opera, MOMA, etc.

There are 4 or 5 additional schools in Atlanta that I would consider true international schools for students K-12...some cater to international students while others have international programs catering to American as well as foreign students.


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## Chibcha2k (Oct 19, 2002)

Well, Bogotá is a city of about 7,000,000. Most schools are not "international", albeit we have:

Colegio Nueva Granada (American) http://www.cng.edu/
Colegio Andino-Deutsche Schule (German) http://www.colegioandino.edu.co/
Colegio Anglo Colombiano (British) http://www.anglocolombiano.edu.co/
The English School (British) http://www.englishschool.edu.co/
Lycée Francais (French) http://www.lfbogota.com/
Colegio Helvetia (Swiss) http://www.helvetia.edu.co/
Colegio Leonardo da Vinci (Italian) http://www.davinci.edu.co/
Colegio Colombo Hebreo (Israeli) http://www.colegiocolombohebreo.edu.co/

These are the most renown international schools in Bogotá


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## CityPolice (Sep 27, 2008)

I know the most obvious one in NYC The United Nations International School 


http://www.unis.org/


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## MILIUX (Sep 13, 2002)

I don't know whether it's common in Sydney. But i did my scholarship in the International school for Humanities and Social Sciences in Amsterdam. The majority consists of Masters students and only a very few Dutch students. I don't know why, but it's favoured towards foreign students.

There is a maximum student:instructor ratio and it was 25:1. I guess it's a good ratio.


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## Inconfidente (Oct 5, 2006)

There are two international schools in Belo Horizonte as far as I know:

*Fundação Torino (Turin Foundation):* www.fundacaotorino.com.br/
*Escola Americana (American School):* www.eabh.com.br/


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## Audiomuse (Dec 20, 2005)

There's a campus of the Mexican university UNAM here.


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## gabrielbabb (Aug 11, 2006)

^^ really ??? didn't know that !!!

in Mexico city there are schools from japan, france, switzerland, England, obviously USA, Germany for example:

The American School Foundation
Greengates UK School
Peterson College
Franco-Mexican Lycee
Mexican-Japanese Lycee
Alexander Von Humboldt German College

and many more...


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## 6-6-6 (Jan 14, 2008)

Audiomuse said:


> There's a campus of the Mexican university UNAM here.


^^indeed, there is another campus in quebec city and one in chicago.


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## Canadian Chocho (May 18, 2006)

There's an UNAM campus in Quebec City!!??


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## 6-6-6 (Jan 14, 2008)

WeimieLvr said:


> I've noticed the marketing angle as well in Atlanta and other U.S. cities...some public schools add "International" to the school name and it instantly gains some prestige - and as a teacher in a public system, I'm not aware of any specific curriculum that schools must offer in order to be called and international school.
> 
> In most larger cities almost any school could call itself international based on the diverse cultures represented in the school, but a true international school would be one that offers a global curriculum and language immersion programs in several different languages. For instance, Atlanta International School is accredited by the Council of International Schools and the International Baccalaureate Organization...60% of the students have two international parents/62 countries represented...students begin learning French, Spanish, or German in 1st Grade and in 5th Grader students participate in an international exchange program....high school (9-12) students must be involved in a program such as Atlanta Food Bank or Habitat for Humanity...11th Grade students have an arts trip to NYC where they see Broadway shows and attend programs at Julliard, Metropolitan Opera, MOMA, etc.
> 
> There are 4 or 5 additional schools in Atlanta that I would consider true international schools for students K-12...some cater to international students while others have international programs catering to American as well as foreign students.


i get your point, i studied highschool in montreal and french is mandatory but my school was only for foreing students, like me, only the teachers were 100%canadian and i think schools like that in montreal only exist i think 5 all over the city as far as i know and canadian people(%) go to school for canadians only but they wear uniform thats why you can tell whos who and i think most of northamerican cities have many schools for foreing students.


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## 6-6-6 (Jan 14, 2008)

Canadian Chocho said:


> There's an UNAM campus in Quebec City!!??


^^yep, but the campus is very small.


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## Federicoft (Sep 26, 2005)

In Rome there are a few _state_ schools from different countries, usually managed by that country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Education. France, Germany, Britain, Spain and Japan all have one, possibily other countries too.

They mostly serve the local expat community.
then there are some private (mostly American) international schools too, but they are not common at all. Almost 90% of students attend national state schools.


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## luv2bebrown (Nov 4, 2004)

the vast majority of schools in dubai are private international schools offering various national curricula.


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## tonight (Sep 18, 2008)

only la salle academy and MSU-IIT were international school in our city


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## Kevin J (Oct 4, 2003)

International schools are not very common in the US, either for high school and below or for universities. The only one I'm aware of in Chicago in the British School of Chicago, which teaches the British curriculum to students of high school age and below.


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## Xusein (Sep 27, 2005)

No.


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## Club_Dru (Jul 11, 2007)

My bachelor-university is in the Netherlands at the German border. Maby we aint a international school, but it's very divers. 50% are Dutch, 40% are German students (living in Germany)and 10% are various from all over the world. It's common at universities at the borders, that there are so many Germans at Dutch universities. Most of my classmember are German and sum of our teachers are Germans also. Dutch peoples can speak atleast three languages, so it's easy to communicate with the Germans. Master-universities are only in English in the Netherlands.


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## Guest (Dec 11, 2008)

In Singapore, there is a vast expatriate community and thus lots of international schools.


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## Whiteeclipse (Mar 31, 2005)

My friend lives near a international school in Moscow, mostly African students, I think the Russian government pays for their education.


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