International school

Desa Park City usually has waiting lists, so check that out first.

What specific things would you like to know about these two schools? They are extremely different and in very different parts of the city - so it really depends what you are looking for. If you can give a few more details about what you're looking, I'd be happy to help a bit more

Hi,

They have availability for my son :-)

Hi,

Thank you for your replied. I stay in are damansara , distance wise will be closer to St Joseph. However, distance for me not an issue as the school do provide drop off and pick up service for both school. Why would you think this school its very different ? We relocated from australia, so i am just looking for a good school for my son in term of curriculum and good people and teachers.

Hi again,

Well, both schools are similarly priced (until sixth form, then SJIIS is around 12,000RM per year more in tuition fees) and both primarily employ UK-trained staff. Both secondary schools are small and growing, but St Josephs offers the IB diploma whereas ISP offers A levels. I'm not sure how old your son is, but if he's in high school, these are two extremely different qualifications & one might suit your son far more than the other.
SJII is also a Catholic school, whereas ISP has no religious connection at all. This is one of the ways that the two school cultures are very different.
If possible I would strongly recommend visiting both as you will probably instantly know which one will be the 'best fit' for your son and your family.

Hi,

I have actually visited the 2 schools. Yes the environment its different thats why i am in dilemma. Both have their pros and cons. My son its only 4 and turning 5 in coming Oct, so he will be in reception. The only thing i like about St joseph its they have mandarin lesson everyday for 30 min. However in Desa park city they only conduct mandarin class once a week for 30 min. My son its chinese mixed spanish and language for us its important. However i found that the teachers in St joseph not approachable. In Desapark they are very friendly and approachable. The kids are more happy, active and good environment in desa park. Whereas the kids in st joseph mostly are spoilt brats, thats the impression i have. So i thought it would be better to gather the opinion from some expats here.

May I know IB Diploma is better or A level ? At the end he will return to Australia to finish his university one day

It sounds like you preferred ISP as a school; if the amount of Mandarin is your only worry, perhaps you could arrange for extra Mandarin lessons/tutoring? It's a great school and all of the parents I know with children there are extremely happy with it. The teachers are fantastic and happy with the school's leadership and management, which also bodes well.

In the IB Diploma, students have to take 6 subjects as well as complete a community service component and study basic philosophy ('Theory of Knowledge' and complete an independent, university-style research project. The curriculum is broad and the workload very demanding.

By contrast, most A Level students only take 3 subjects in their final year (maybe 4 or 5 in Year 12) so it is much more specialised. Academically it is probably equally demanding to the IB, but there are far less subjects to juggle so it is perhaps easier from a time-management/workload perspective.

I've taught in both A Level and IB schools and I would say that the IB is harder due to the sheer amount of work. However, it is excellent preparation for university and gives students a wonderfully broad education.

I'm pretty sure Australian universities would accept either A Levels or IB, so it might just a case of choosing which qualification better suits your son, when the time comes...

Hi Cynthia,
Have you decided on what school? Our 8 yr old goes to "Asia Pacific International School" which is at the end of Subang Airport? Its a nice school with UK Curriculum, but more expensive.
Regards
Peter

Hi,

Thank you for your replied. Yes i have enrolled him in St Joseph International located in Tropicana. As for the fees it is not cheap as compare to desa park city approx 48600 p.a

Thank you again

Hello,I am French and I am interested to move to Kuala Lumpur later this year.
I am considering the Asia Pacific International School for my 2 kids (5 years and 10 years).
I would appreciate if you can give me some feedback about that school.
Do you have any other school to recommend me.
Thanks a lot for your help.
Laurent

Hi Laurent,
I work as an independent school consultant - happy to help with some free advice.
What is your (approximate) budget for schooling for your children? There is an enormous range of fees for international schools here (literally ranging from 15,000RM a year to 90,000RM a year for a Year 1 student's fees!!!) If you can give me a clearer idea of your budget, I can give some suggestions of the best schools in your range.
APIS is definitely one of the much cheaper ones  - but it doesn't have a great reputation - it's more of a local school offering an international (Cambridge) syllabus than a 'true' international school with international students and teachers. This may or may not be what you are looking for.
Many French families choose to send their children to the French school; not sure if you've considered this already. http://www.lfkl.edu.my/

Hello Kiwin,
Thanks a lot for your answer and help.
Although my kids are not currently in the French school in Panama, I am definitely considering that option.
But I wanted also other international schools option in the 20,000 RM to 35,000 RM range.
Thanks a lot if you have any other suggestion.
Very best regards

hello Kiwin

I am wondering whether you could help us out. We are supposed to relocate from the US to KL later this year. We have to find a school for our daughter who is turning 5 in Sep. The 4 schools that we had shortlisted are: ISKL, MKIS, British International and Alice Smith School.
At the moment we are open to either the British or the IB/ American curriculum. Any insights on the pros and cons of these schools would be really appreciated.

Hello . . . BSKL is very good. My daughter goes to secondary school there.

The school you choose will influence where you live and how  comfortable the commute is to work. You would probably live in very different places based on your shortlist. Its therefore important to think holistically

Hi Laurent,

So sorry for my delay in replying to you!

There are a handful of schools in the 20,000 RM to 35,000 RM range, but most of these are more like local private schools offering an international curriculum (which may or may not appeal to you).

One solid option in that price range is Taylor's International School. It's run by a company that also owns Nexus International (in both KL & Singapore) and Garden International School - very good schools indeed with strong global reputations. TIS has a good reputation and a diverse student body. http://www.tis.edu.my/

If I can help in any other way please feel free to PM me

Hi!

All four of the schools you have mentioned here have very good reputations. I'm sure your daughter would be happy in all four! They also rank as the most expensive schools in the city....hopefully your company will be covering fees?! 

Gravitas' comment about the need to consider location is important; I put together a map showing the school locations which you may find helpful. https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewe … RliiZ1Lrds

At your daughter's age I would be aiming, if possible, to keep the commute as tiny as possible - traffic in KL is pretty atrocious and so many kids here spend hours each day in buses/cars getting to and from school.

For quality of life/ease of lifestyle, I would also consider living in Desa ParkCity and looking into ISP (International School ParkCity). It is a lovely school with a real community feel and most students live in Desa Park which is green, safe and fab for kids.

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions or if I can help with more specific guidance.

Cheers

Thanks Amboq!

Thank you gravitas

That is very true and hence we are in a dilemma. We would like to live close to the school. While I have some idea of the area for ISKL, MKIS and now ISP as per Kiwin's suggestion- what would be the areas to live in if we were to consider British international or Alice Smith?

Alice Smith is in a really awkward location between Bukit Bintang/KLCC and Sentral which are not particularly child friendly. Sentral is also called Little India and home to most resources needed, but not very child friendly either and very urban and polluted (as is many parts of KL)

A condo near to BISKL is 1 Bukit Utama condo and 9 Bukit Utama but the Tropicana area is also a possibility. There are other options around One Utama which has a MRT station into the Bukit Bintang area next to KLCC. It is a busy area traffic-wise and not good to commute to KLCC.

Where is the workplace?

The issue is to also have a good access to the workplace and sometimes although distances are small the time taken to cover them is horrendously long in rush hours (which last for several hours)

ISKL is close to a popular area called Beverly Heights and Ukay which have reasonable access to KLCC and BH has a nice clubhouse and shuttle service to KLCC still, I think  In those areas it will be possible to rent a house in a gated community rather than a condo.

A car is probably going to be essential for both parents wherever you live apart from Desa Park City. If you live in Sentral and choose a school located nearby it might just be possible to survive with only one car as if work is in KLCC there is connection by train.

Google maps is quite good to search on condos or housing nearby to schools etc.

If you can live close to a rail link to the workplace it can be convenient for commuting.

Super thanks Gravitas! This is super useful. Work place is jalan Raja Laut

Thank you so much Kiwin. Will certainly look at ISP.

Closest option for school is therefore MKIS and thereafter Desa Park City, but commute would be by road into one the the heaviest trafficked areas in the city.

Hi All

I am looking for a quality and inexpensive international school in KL for my daughters aged 11 and 3 , wife's a home maker . I have my office in sentral but fortunately have  flexi working hours and will  work from home  most of the time so the idea is to sort the schools first and live nearby so that the kids can avoid traffic .

I have received good feedback about  the ELC school at Sungai Buloh and it fits in my budget however i am not sure how good is Sungai Buloh to live in as an Indian expat ?  I am also looking a Talyor international school  which is a slightly more expensive than ELC but is it really worth it ??

I had also shortlisted Sayfol but haven't heard good things about it .  Can any help me with some feed back about these schools or let me know if there are other good options to consider ?

thanks

Hi, i am also looking for information on Sayfol International school for my daughter. Can anyone pl share feedback about this school for expat.

@gravitas - request you feedback pls
@kwinKL - request your opinion abot this school

Hi Gravitas

I am looking for a quality and inexpensive international school in KL for my daughters aged 11 and 3 , wife's a home maker . I have my office in sentral but fortunately have  flexi working hours and will  work from home  most of the time so the idea is to sort the schools first and live nearby so that the kids can avoid traffic .

I have received good feedback about  the ELC school at Sungai Buloh and it fits in my budget however i am not sure how good is Sungai Buloh to live in as an Indian expat ?  I am also looking a Talyor international school  which is a slightly more expensive than ELC but is it really worth it ??

I had also shortlisted Sayfol but haven't heard good things about it .  Can any help me with some feed back about these schools or let me know if there are other good options to consider ?

thanks

Beware of wait lists at some international schools, especially the cheap ones.

In some ways Sungai Buloh is a little too far out from KL but it is a relaxed location with a major hospital. It is relatively close to Batu Caves which is a famous Hindu shine cave location. There is a housing area with its own golf course and country club at Valencia which is popular with some expats.

I don't think incoming Indians should worry about trying to fit into existing locations, but if they do, then of course Brickfields/Sentral is a main one and nearby Seputeh is very popular too. The reason is the Malaysian Indian diaspora is widespread and nobody really notices the difference - being a minority segment of the population in any event. There is a large Sikh population around KL. It does stretch north out of the city as well.

Expats are sprinkled around KL and the Klang Valley and being only 0.6% of the population it would be hit and miss finding everything in one spot. If you can find suitable housing and seats at ESL school, then SB is an option but possibly too colloquial for what you seem to want.

The biggest expat area is of course Mont Kiara, which is also home to a majority of middle-class Chinese Malaysians.

There is a new rail link in SB to give some connectivity.

Thanks for response .

Can you please provide your feedback specific  to the schools .  I have shortlisted the following schools which fit into my budget

ELC international school
Sayfol international school
Taylors international school
SRI INAI INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL
new lands international school

Thank you

I think it is important to delve a little deeper than just the term "international school" to see whether it is more a school with language and other classes that are really just an alternative for Malaysian kids. Also whether the British term schedule i.e. Aug/Sep - June is followed. Cheap fees usual mean the teaching staff will probably be mostly local and a check on whether by-rote learning is the house style might be made. Taylors is popular with expats because of many things, including the bredth of their after-school programme (which adds to the cost).

KiwinKL wrote:

Hi Laurent,
I work as an independent school consultant - happy to help with some free advice.
What is your (approximate) budget for schooling for your children? There is an enormous range of fees for international schools here (literally ranging from 15,000RM a year to 90,000RM a year for a Year 1 student's fees!!!) If you can give me a clearer idea of your budget, I can give some suggestions of the best schools in your range.
APIS is definitely one of the much cheaper ones  - but it doesn't have a great reputation - it's more of a local school offering an international (Cambridge) syllabus than a 'true' international school with international students and teachers. This may or may not be what you are looking for.
Many French families choose to send their children to the French school; not sure if you've considered this already. http://www.lfkl.edu.my/

Yes, I need your help. I want to find a good school and affordable school for my son. Any suggestion?

What are your requirements? Location, curriculum, budget etc? And how old is your son? Feel free to DM me and I'll be happy to help if I can. Cheers

tqvm dearKiwinKL.

Hi KiwinKL and Gravitas we are considering moving from the UK to KL in April 19. My work location will be in the Twin Towers and have two kids 4 (turning 5 in Sep) and 5 (turning 6 in May) years . With a budget of 30-36k a year what decent international school do you recommend? or I should stretch the budget. My company only pays for year 1 onward. Thanks

Hi Aso77,
Does 30-36k a year cover both kids, or is that per child? If you don't mind sending me a DM/PM, I can send through some info that might help you begin the shortlisting process.  Congrats on your upcoming move by the way! KL is a great place for families.
Cheers

Gravitas wrote:

There is a housing area with its own golf course and country club at Valencia which is popular with some expats.

We know some expats at Valencia and they are very happy with their international school. Valencia is sitting in a very beautiful area at the bottom of the hills. It has very nice golf course and a big pool. You can find unfurnished 3 story house for RM 4,000 there.

Valencia is away from the center, but it is good because the air quality is much better there since it is away from the shore where recycled plastic is being burnt and toxic fumes cover Kuala Lumpur with a thick blanket when the wind blows from the south.

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