Where in the world has the best primary education?

[AdAstra]

Hiya
This is just rumination really, but I desperately want to live in another country with DS (3), for a number of reasons. Just wondering what experiences others have had of primary education compared to the UK? I'm thinking if Europe, but further afield would also be interesting to hear about. I grew up in South Africa and the UK and I definitely rate S-African primary education.

AA

I think primary ed here in NZ is great although my experience is limited to ds's school and those in the immediate 'nice' areas. They start usually on their 5th birthday but don't have to start until they are 6. Emphasis on the basics, reading writing etc very practical teaching and interactive. High emphasis on morals, caring for each other, values etc.... BUT you can't have it all IMO senior or high school education is very lacking. We'll be sending the boys private where they can sit the cambridge exams.

Holland seems quite good- for example Montessori education is offered as a type of primary school (eg you could choose from Christian, general or Montessori school in your local area).

They do start school at 4 though.

The Dutch government has a scheme that means that as well as all the private international schools, they subsidize about 14 primary and 9 (?) secondary schools.

We are sending DD to a local international school that is state subsidized. It's not free, but SO MUCH cheaper than international education. Her normal classes are taught in English, she has 2 Dutch As Additional Language classes a week and gym and music are taught in Dutch too.

it can also very from school to school here as well.

this is all really useful, thank you. I agree that the 'african' school experience is not one i'll find in Europe - there is, i think, a lack of cynicism/sophistication in Africa which is lovely but you don't find it in Europe (I was wondering about NZ/Oz?). I mean things like children being children for longer - playing games, with toys and dolls,being more outdoors-y, not getting into adult stuff like popular culture and boyfriends/girlfriends so early. i moved here at 11 from south africa and i was shocked - overnight i went from playing with barbies to being teased for not shaving my legs/knowing how to "slow dance"/french kiss etc. it was a bit traumatic! i would like to find a space for that kind of innocence for DS but i dont know if i'm just romanticising my childhood - maybe you cant find it anywhere anymore!
I like the idea of the dutch montessori system - i went to a montessori preschool and loved it. Ive heard mixed things about Steiner schools too - some really good ideas/emphasis on creativity but some quite odd dogma too, it seems - cutting corners off paper, not using black pens, etc...I couldn't afford a Steiner primary here anyway. if we stay it would have to be the local state school! unless he got a scholarship i guess.

If you are seriously considering NZ (can't speak for Oz) I personally am very happy with both primary and pre-school education. I think children are allowed to be children here for longer. Hardly any emphasis or pressure to have 'the right' things beit gadgets or clothes. Ds1 does heaps of after school activities all very cheap if not free. Ds2 who's 4 will start touch rugby next year. It is a fantastic place to be young and bring up children.

The flip side however is keeping teenagers occupied, especially if they're not sporty. Gang culture is rife here, patched gangs, drugs, knife attacks (not on par with London but several teenagers have died this year), we have one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the western world (if not the highest), high school education imo is poor. I'm not sure how all this will compare worldwide when boys are older but it's a worry for the future when the oldest is only 8.

Well I have nothing but excellent things to say about the education my boys are receiving here in Colorado. They focus on the traditional three "R's". And everyday the children, read, write and undertake a math lesson. Extra literacy is provided four days a week for those who need it. Parent helpers mean that each child gets individual help every day. They write their own journals and even my 5 year old produces reams of written work. My two attend a Public (state) School of Excellence which focuses on the Arts but I have to say that for DS1 whose math level is extremely high is individually pushed by his teacher. They may start later, but I find the broader education system here far better than the very early specialization choices I had to make aged 12.

We done UK, US and now Canadian (but only four days!). I was quite happy with the UK school, except that there wasn't much help for ds's dyslexia (but better on improving his socializing skills). The school in New York was excellent, but the amount of homework was enormous (sometimes up to 2 hours for my eight year old) and I think NYC is as a whole quite a stressful place to be. Here in Canada things are much much more relaxed, and so far the kids seem very happy. Canadian education scores very highly internationally, and you can choose French immersion, Catholic and Montessori if you want (all publicly funded). It's quite an old fashioned place too, so I think more innocent. Although as with all these things a lot varies from school to school.

sibnie I educated in Wellington where secondary education was superb and well ip to wheremy 15 yr old ds1 is at his grammar school here in the UK
Like anywhere it depends on where you go.
The private school system in NZ is vastly different from the UK system or at least it was 25 years ago.
Notvthe same class issues at least not in day schools.
Was not aware the gang culture has risen so much? Sorry expat hijack btw

It used to be older gangs black power mongrel mob hells angels and nomads
We never had any issues with them and we had them as bloody neighbours once!

I was educated ( to high standard I promise, just not in typing )

My DD (4) is in the second year of French école maternelle in a bilingual French-English school in Paris and so far I am very happy with it.

She has two teachers - a main French class teacher and an English teacher, who is a properly qualified primary teacher. Both her teachers are bilingual themselves and have masses of experience of international education. The school is on a park and the children spend lots of time outside. The discipline is much stricter than in most English schools, but reasonably relaxed for Paris. All the English/American/Australian etc parents I know are very happy with the school - the complaints come from French parents generally.

French education tends to be particularly highly regarded by British expats who didn't rate UK schools, as it is SO different. People like me who were happy with their children's education in the UK cast more of a critical eye on it and see plenty of weaknesses - very little sport, craft, drama etc during the school day, and a strong emphasis on conforming, often combined with terrible old-fashioned discipline techniques

That said, the curriculum is rigorous and old fashioned in a good way, and for bright children who fit the mould, it is good.

Fortunately for us the school does do all the "other stuff" - drama, debating, football etc. Though you have to pay extra for it.

The regular complaint from French parents at my DD's school is that it is trop cool

Also Italian schools generally lack the sport/drama/craft aspect that you def get in an English school. I def would love a mix of the two systems (as i said earlier on in the thread)

Hello, has anyone experienced the Sir James Henderson school in Milan, Italy or St. George's British School in Rome? Thank you.

Finland. It's where teachers from all over the world want to visit.

The OECD PISA rankings are here for those interested

www.oecd.org/dataoecd/54/12/46643496.pdf

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is an international study which began in the year 2000. It aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students in participating countries/economies. Since the year 2000 over 70 countries and economies have participated in PISA.

Interesting question!

What did you find undesirable about Bavaria, nighbynight?

The PISA study is a good tool for comparing countries but with one draw-back. School systems where children are used to doing work similar to the questions on the PISA test have a natural advantage. It is argued that if you had tested people like me who did GCE O levels at age 15 many years ago, the UK's results would be higher than they are now. Hard to say whether standards have really dropped or whether it really is the type of questions being so different to GCSEs that has led to the UK scoring worse than hoped for.

It really depends how you define "best".

Do you want children to learn through play?
Do you want children to learn to sit still?
Do you want children to do lots of sport?
Do you want children to do lots of art?
Do you want children to learn by rote?
Do you want children to think for themselves?
Do you want children to be bilingual?
Do you want to pay for their education?
Do you want them to mix with incredibly wealthy children?
Do you think class sizes matter?

But the main point is actually, not all schools in any country are the same. Look at any of the education boards here and you will find such a diverse set of experiences.