Russian education system?

[Pastasau]

Hi there, DH may have an opportunity to relocate to Moscow in the next 18th months (International oil company). Can anyone explain the education system? Are the standards high? Behaviour & discipline? Art, drama, sport. DH would like them to become immersed in the language & culture, he feels Russian will be extremely useful in years to come. Dc will be 4 & 6 when if we decide to move. Any advice on the education system would be appreciated.
For what it's worth we have Russian friends & neighbours, they place a huge emphasis on their dc's education (& music) is that the norm in Russia?

Anyone? ☺️

I can't help on the Russian specific front. Do you or your DH speak Russian? One consideration may be how you actually communicate with the school. I live in HK and have friends with DC in the local (Cantonese) system. The children are fine (although mostly immersed in cantonese from age 2 at kindergarten) but they basically struggle to understand what's going on because all communication to parents is in Cantonese. Also, the schools vary a lot in terms of how much non-native support they provide. If Russian schools aren't used to non-native speakers they may just kind of sit there until they start understanding. If they're not immersed out of school too, that could take a while. In Hk they say the first year, the child just absorbs, second year they understand, third year they speak!

sorry- when I said "they struggle to understand" I mean the parents struggle.

I do know that the Russian System doesn't go to A level. My son was at school in Germany with a number of Russian students who were completing an additional year of school to be able to qualify for uni.

Be prepared to live in a HIGHLY regulated society. We have family friends living there who report a lot of corruption, sexism and racism (in their experience)

I lived in Moscow for three years. Didn't have kids back then though. As far as I know they're big on discipline, Russian kids are pretty mature, and schools have a good level. I'm actually considering moving back there in a few years, if work will let me, so the kids can learn the language.

Have to warn you that most people speak little english (the young generation does speak better than their parents). I recommand learning at least the alphabet. I loved it there but I speak russian so obviously I'm biased.

Btw if you move there I recommand reading "the Russians" by Hedrick Smith, it is dated but provides invaluable insight in Russian society and culture that is still relevant today. Plus it's a fun read.

OP, in Russia, children start school at the age of 6-7 depending on the child's readiness. So yours will have a chance to attend a nursery school beforehand in order to learn some Russian. They will pick up quickly.

Schools in Russia are generally very academic and the children receive a lot of homework starting from Year 1.

Drama, art, sport are usually catered for outside the school hours, apart from quite minimal curriculum provision. Russians are big on extracurriculars and it implies serious commitment from a young age if the child is able (not 30 min once a week like here).

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions 🙂

Thanks so much for the replies. DH is unsure about what a relocation package wouls consist of & if schools would feature. The international schools are extremely expensive. He is determined for the dc to become fluent in Russian....
Insert 1 that's an excellent point, I'd hate for them to be sat in class clueless to what's going on. Also hopeful that the Russian kids would accept them into the peer groups.
Mandála that's very interesting ré the homework DC1 only every got 5 spellings in y1😁 so the education system sounds quite rigorous? That sounds good re the extracurriculars. Our Russian friends are the same with their dc, music (violin & piano) & ballet are very important, their dc practice daily & have classes most evening. The education system or maybe the parental/school expectations sound very different to the UK.
I don't know how we'll cope with the cold....

We move a lot for my DH's work, so we have tried 4 educational system and what I see is that only the UK/Australian one is very lax and relax on homework in primary years.
We have mostly sent kids to international schools except Australia. Even in international school, especially the bilingual ones, kids are hugely exposed to the local language. This is different than the American school or British school. The local language becomes the playground language

And would YOU be able to help with homework, listen to whatever they need to learn by heart, understand teacher's notes , ....

Yes, the education process is quite rigorous and parents are expected to be involved with helping, the child alone won't manage it.

I would absolutely grab an opportunity to go live in another country. Especially since your children are so young, they will easily get back into the UK system once you return. Are you going to be in Moscow? Do it, without any doubt. It's going to be a great experience for the whole family.

Cold is actually easier to tolerate in Russia than here in the UK, as I found out first hand. And the apartments are extremely warm and well heated. My in-laws wear short sleeves at home while it's -15 outside. I pile on sweaters here at +7.

I would look for an bilingual school, or an international school with a strong native language element ( no idea if either of these exist in Russia, btw).
Honestly, Google translating pictures of your childs homework to understand wtf they are supposed to be doing is no fun.
I would also get school fees included in the package.
Opening kids eyes to a completly different way of life is a massive education in itself. Embrace the opportunity, but think about how schooling would look on return to the UK too, and how you would maintain the language. Mine have all but forgotten their 4 years of Arabic - although DH also teaches them another language, so we didnt attempt to maintain the Arabic.

Thanks again. We are literally at the stage where we are getting our heads around the idea so we've not looked into any of the fine detail yet. DH is all for the move, thinks it would be amazing for the dc.
It will be Moscow we would be moving to. For me I won't be working as my job can't be done remotely but I can apply for a career break & DH would be able to comfortably support us.
For me education is the huge deciding factor. I'm glad to hear that Russians seem to really value education & schoolwork but due to me not knowing a word of Russian it may be for the best to send them to international school...

I would back up that sending your dc to be educated in school where you don't speak the language is hard.
Hardest for you as a parent because you don't understand school letters, don't understand homework instructions, have to sit through school assemblies you don't understand, either don't understand school reports and parents' evenings or have to find an dual linguistic to help you.

It is doable if you can learn the language, the school workers will support you in English, other parents make an effort to talk English to you. You have a tutor to help your dc with homework.

We did it with one move, the next move we went with an international school.

Thanks again. We are literally at the stage where we are getting our heads around the idea so we've not looked into any of the fine detail yet. DH is all for the move, thinks it would be amazing for the dc.

Take it from someone who has done it several times, a new country with no international contacts can be very alienating for the mother. It might be great for the kids, but if you are unhappy , lonely and sad, the move won't work. It needs to be amazing for you too.

In an international school, it will be a lot easier for you to make friends. More mothers like you won't be working compare to a local school.
One more thing about the anglo system vs rest of the world, if Russia, is anything like France, Italy, Spain , the teachers will be a lot harsher and no stickers, or positive teaching practises. Forget about the "great effort" sticker on crappy work or the praising praising praising for the sake of praising, because otherwise little Johnny goes homes and complains.

And just to add, we spent 5 years in Barcelona, DD was 5 when we moved, 10 when we left, totally fluent, and now has totally forgotten the language. So your DH's expectations of them maintaining fluency in Russian beyond the stay might need to be adjusted. Unless you actively maintain a language, it goes pfffff in children , teens less so, but are you ready to stay in Russia for 10 years?

I tried a Russian course 10 years ago, it is like Latin, you have declinations, it is very hard and I already speak 7 languages, but hell, was Russian hard. Of course once in the country, it will be easier to do a course.

International schools is the minimum basic of any relocation package. Then the house, flights home, private health, car, driver , security .... are the extras, but school, that's the starting point.

Have you ever been to Russia? Can you go on an exploratory short visit (with covid????) before you decide.

And I second the cold not being in issue, in cold countries, houses, school and buildings are very hot. Kids will leave snowy shoes outside the classroom and be in socks and t-shirt in class, I would have short sleeve top in the office. And the clothes and shoes you find in shops are made for the climate.

We will be moving to Russia this summer. Our kids are 10 and 4, 10 year old will continue studying online at his school, though my husband like yours wants our lids learn Russian. We will move to Moscow as well. So, maybe we even meet there to support each other ;)

ZOMBIE THREAD but are you still there?