Sri Garden International school

Hi Halyna and welcome to expat-blog!

I hope other members will share their experience and help you out on the research,

Regards,

Francesca

Halyna wrote:

Hello,

We are around two weeks in KL and I'm frantically looking for an international school for my 13-years old daughter.

We got settled in Cheras, Taman Kobena, so the nearest school would be Sri Garden. I have to go to work to Sungai Besi and if necessary will change accommodation as far as school is concerned.

I have visited Cempaka, Fairview, Sayfol and Sri Utama. Cempaka is too expensive for us. Sri Utama has got a reasonable price but looked very Malaysian to me. Have read many negative parents comments on Fairview and Sayfol. Actually, Sayfol fees I think I could have afforded but now don't really know what to do. Some friends told me Maz International is ok although it dozn't look nice.

It seems in the end of the day the best would be to send her back home by September.

So, can anybody comment on Sri Garden, please? It is still too expensive for us but I'm considering it more than the others for the moment. Or may be you can advise me about other schools close to Sungai Besi?

Hi there, unfortunately the 'cheaper schools' are going to be a hike for you if you work in Sungai Besi, ELC Cyberjaya is probably the closest to you on that side of town. ELC, Tenby International and Sri Garden International are all within the same price range and about 1/3 to 1/2 the price of all the other International schools (We pay RM40,000 for my two daughters per year).  My daughters attend Tenby which is in Setia Alam. We travel 30 mins one way every day to get to school but they are coping fine with that.

http://www.elc.edu.my/http://www.tenby.edu.my/v2/tenby/

Sri Garden was my 3rd choice and the only issue I had with it is that they don't have their own swimming pool for lessons, and no grass area for the children to play on. Tenby and ElC both have great outdoor areas and swimming pools etc. The reason we chose Tenby over ELC was because ELC was going to be 10mins longer in the car to Cyberjaya, and their Sungai Buloh campus was full.

I hope this helps a little and good luck with finding a school.

cheers Karen

Thanks a lot for your reply. From what I came to know about ELC school it seems Ok to me, but I haven't thought seriously about it because of the location. From where we stay now, Taman Kobena, Cheras, it's 10 km to the place I work at in SB, and Sri Garden is very close from our accommodation. And ELC Cyberjaya campus is almost 30 km from my working place, as google map says... But the prices are almost same, you are right.

When you say 'Sri garden', are you referring to Garden International School (GIS)? The fee comparison between GIS vs ELC or Tenby is quite big. GIS is twice the cost of ELC or Tenby. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Sri Garden is a different school from GIS. Please, see http://www.srigarden.edu.my/

Ahaaa thanks a ton Halyna. I will definitely check out this school. It is also fairly close to where I stay - Wangsa Maju. So are you now sending your daughter to this school? What has been your experience? Facilities, quality of teachers, co-curricular activities, attitude of management, etc.

No, in the end of the day we landed up at MIGS (Mutiara International Grammar School).
You may have a look as well at their website and its even closer to WM: http://www.migs.edu.my/

Aaahhh ok, but it's not just about being closer. It would be really helpful to me if you could share your experience with the school? Pros and Cons.

Hello everybody,

I have recently relocated to KL from London and have been in the city for a week now. I am am desperate to work and find a place in a school for my two children. I have started visiting international schools in KL but am finding the fees and registration/administrations fees absolutely extortionate.  These schools dont seem particularly brilliant academically, the top end ones are in some cases not even on par with the lower end state schools in London, so I guess I am paying for the fancy building and facilities.  Which worries me a great deal as I dont want to get a mortgage to pay fees and then have to supplement the childrens education with further tuition at home so they can keep up.
I am quite stressed at also not being able to find work, and we can't decide where to live until we find  school.
Any advice will be appreciated.

hi happy, is ur hubby working here and u n ur family have moved with him. jus wondering what visa u on. if ur on a dependant pass, then it will b really really tough to get a job. it also depends on ur line of work and expertise. eg doctors, software developers r in demand here.

completely agree that the schools are exorbitant and most of the money ends up in the pockets of owners who are primarily chinese malaysians. profits come before a childs education. thats the unfortunate state of international schooling here.

you can try this international school...they use cambridge syllibus...Kolej Tuanku Ja'afar www.ktj.edu.my/

No they don't! No such thing

Poor student at Migs. Check out international schools review one of the worst schools in Malaysia (!) it doesn't have qualified teachers generally

Hi carlyle1979,

Am checking out KTJ in Mantin Town, which is in the back of beyond but seems like a lovely school, have to check it out as the options are limited.

Am not at all impressed by the way the international schools conduct themselves. Coming from a teaching background i am actually horrified at the situation in KL with regards to schooling for expat kids.

How have you managed to resolve this dilemma?

Minah

Thank you so much for the KTJ referral Danish, am visiting the school on Monday. It seems like a lovely school, will find out more on Monday.The only issue is that it is soo far away from work, hubby works in the city and my work means I will be travelling around the city.  Where ever we send our kids will dictate where we live.So fingers crossed we overcome these challenges.

Minah

sir
I would like to apply for the post of physics teacher in your school. I have 14 years of experience in teaching  physics in  college and senior secondary school in India.Now I am working in an international school in Malaysia.
Yours faithfully
Bindu George

Dear Bindu George,

Which 'Sir' you are applying to become a Physics Teacher? Or are you writing this to Sri Garden International School?

Or do you want to try the Jobs section in this blog?

Dear minah,

KTJ have thier own hostel but for kids above 12yrs old.

As someone has already said, for an interesting inside view of what the range of international schools in KL are like, check out international schools review dot com. It features reviews of schools from teachers who have actually worked there, and will give not only prospective STAFF a good heads-up on what these places are like to work at, but PARENTS a good heads-up on what sort of level of education and the kind of resources these establishments will offer your kids. You have to subscribe to be able to read the reviews that teachers have posted about the schools, but it's well worth the money. Many schools call themselves 'international' schools, but do not employ teachers who have trained in western countries or know anything about UK/US/Australian/Canadian currucula. (Just because a UK curriculum is OFFERED, does not mean it is TAUGHT WELL). Some don't even insist that their 'teachers' are qualified teachers!! Sadly, if the fees for a place are cheap, this will tell you that the school is not employing quality staff...that's why they can afford to charge cheap fees, because they're not paying decent wages to their employees. And any high-calibre teacher is simply NOT going to accept employment at a school that pays peanuts! Your best schools in KL include ISKL, Garden International, Desa Park International, Alice Smith, Mont Kiara, Australian International, and maybe a couple of others I've left off ....no doubt other posters here will tell me! From what I have READ only (on isr.com and other forums), some of the schools mentioned on here are to be avoided like the plague!!

Sri garden is a very good school I send my kids there

alcapone, may i ask if u r a local or expat. sri garden seems to have mainly malaysian kids, but the parents love it. expat parents sending their kids here seem to think differently. thats why im asking.

Dear Carlyle,
I am from America i sent my kids to Sri Garden because I have many friends sending their kids there. I have even sat at the back of the classroom to see all that is happening in the class. That was a good experience cause everything was perfect. But be warned your child/children must be a good on or else he will get influence by the bad kids. Some like Randhir and Darrshan they tend to swear a lot.

alcapone27 wrote:

Dear Carlyle,
I am from America i sent my kids to Sri Garden because I have many friends sending their kids there. I have even sat at the back of the classroom to see all that is happening in the class. That was a good experience cause everything was perfect. But be warned your child/children must be a good on eor else he will get influence by the bad kids. Some like Randhir and Darrshan they tend to swear a lot.

thanks alcapone for ur feedback :-)

What do you think of Nobel International School? How's the teachers quality? I heard they are focusing a lot in Character Transformation.. Well, which is good. But is there any bad comments beside the school is too small? The 'hardware' is definitely out. How about the 'software'?  They have changed the new principle this year.

This Nobel international school once claims to be an example of character education, but it is just a shell of fancy talk. I have moved my daughter out of this place because they don't seem to know what they are doing anymore.

Their entire leadership is new and would only address your concerns with a 'I will look into it'. The school leadership just makes sweeping statements that makes our Malaysian politicians seem amateurish. They demonstrate no real content of education. Go ahead, ask them something specific...they will pass you to another person and another to get an answer. Hilarious

The teachers are now dispersing like rats on a sinking ship. Teachers would when the boss knows as little as they do.

alcapone27,

Hi, I read your review about the Sri Garden International School. Now the school has re branded as Taylor's International School. Is your kids still there? How is the school after re branding?