International schools Geneva & Vaud

[Schoolynightmare]

Hi. I'm really struggling with this hoping someone can help!

My DD goes to an international school, she's just finished reception with a UK based curriculum.

I've never been 100% about the school if I'm honest, there's a huge amount of parent involvement, lots of fun activities, but I feel some of the stuff they do is not what I'm paying 25k a year for. I do fun stuff with her out of school, I want her to learn at school ( probably being a misery!)

She's been doing the biff, chipper reading books only. There are no other reading schemes. She's finished half way through the red books, they read every book in the scheme. She's not enjoyed the reading, but we get stuck with a book for usually at least a week sometime 2 or more so it's quite dull. There's a library book that comes home once a week of her choosing but they are usually v old, drawn on, and not age appropriate. It's often one she's had before, I think we've had about 5 different ones over and over again.

She's done really well according to them and top of the class. She's my first so I've no clue really but comparing her to others out of school and info on here she seems quite behind to me. I'm also concerned that they seem to be keeping all the kids ( often who are learning in a 2nd or 3 rd language) on the same reading books at the same time. She has french lessons in school but she's not really picked much up which is a bit disappointing.

I've looked at a new school which is IB but I'm nervous about taking her out of the uk system.

I've been in the school to ask about the reading, they promise the world, individualised learning, stretching her blah blah, but then it only lasts a week and then we go back to the same book for weeks on end. Her Ta is also a parent at the school & she's v confident in herself, to the point of rude to you if you question anything. I feel like it's a school entertaining bored housewives rather than teaching kids if I'm brutally honest.

I don't know what to do. I'm under a lot of pressure to cough up fees but I resent paying for a school where she's not learning as much as I believe she should.

I'm stuck on the expat merry go round. I hope to go back to England at some point but this isn't our first posting and probably not the last so she really needs to stay in international school. Argh!

Do I stick with the old school? Am I just a nervous parent or should she be doing more?

[stikmatix]

Schooly - we lived in Geneva for a number of years and I stil have friends there with their kids in various schools. I can give you info but don't want to be posting names of schools publicly.

If you want to send me a private message telling me which school your daughter is at and which ones you've looked at I can give you some insight!

[Schoolynightmare]

Thanks stik have sent you a message!