[itzvicky201]

Originally Posted by kmadhok

Hi,
We are looking for admissions for our 3yr old son. We live around Bellandur, Bangalore. Schools we have shortlisted are

Have you tried with Anand Shiksha Kendra (behind Total Mall) and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar school (http://bangaloreeast.ssrvm.org/)?

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by kmadhok

Hi,
We are looking for admissions for our 3yr old son. We live around Bellandur, Bangalore. Schools we have shortlisted are

Just replied to your property post. Thats when saw your school post. So feedback here also.

My daughter goes to Harvest (Mont 2/LKG now). Been happy with the school so far. Good facilities, open communication, self owned transport system with GPS tracking and camera. Approachable staff and principal are some of the key positive points I have to say about it. From Mont 1-3 (Nursery- UKG) there are 24 students per class with 2 teachers. From 1st I think it is 24:1. Please PM me if looking for further specific information on Harvest.

Feedback I have heard on the other schools.

• DPS. Couple of my colleagues shifted kids out of DPS. They felt there was not enough attention as the number of admissions is very high
• Greenwood: Good feedback but very expensive. Same goes for Oakridge. (All these schools are expensive, but Greenwood, Oakridge, Indus International, TISB are all at a different level)
• Travel towards Varthur side from Sarjapur Road is just about ok now. But has been getting worse. So long term may become a tedious commute.
• Another colleague of mine had good things to say about Silver Oak

[itzvicky201]

Originally Posted by itzvicky201

Have you tried with Anand Shiksha Kendra (behind Total Mall) and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar school (http://bangaloreeast.ssrvm.org/)?

I will be moving to Haralur Road by next year and had shortlisted these schools
Anand Shiksha Kendra - http://anandshikshakendra.com/index.htm
Sri Sri Ravishankar - http://bangaloreeast.ssrvm.org/

Is there anyone in our group having some information on these schools?

[vinayrathore]

Hi All,

I live in Koramangala 5th Block and currently my 5 year old son goes to Vibgyor BTM in Sr. KG.

We had to suddenly shift to Bangalore in Jan 2014 and could not do in depth research for the school thinking will change it later. Now Vibgyor BTM, although a good school, lacks proper sports facilities and extra curricular activities. I am of the opinion that we get an internal transfer to Vibgyor High Harlur branch which is a big school with proper infrastructure. While wifey wants to get him to another school.

Questions:

1. What's your opinion on Vibgyor High Harlur or for that matter Vibgyor altogether?
2. What other options do we have around Koramangala? We have kinda shortlisted Bethany High and NPS. Do we have other good schools around? Do not want commute time longer than 30~40 Mins.

Thanks in advance!!

Regards
Vinay

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by vinayrathore

2. What other options do we have around Koramangala? We have kinda shortlisted Bethany High and NPS. Do we have other good schools around? Do not want commute time longer than 30~40 Mins.

I am not sure about NPS, but Bethany doesn't have much in terms of sports facilities or extra-curricular activities either. Bethany though is a very friendly school and they are decent in terms of academics.

I wouldn't think NPS in Koramangala has much too considering this particular campus is quite small.

What you seem to be looking for is an international school which gives attention to what regular schools give scant attention to. In that case, all of the international schools are in the outskirts and parents seem to put their children up for a 1-2 hour commute + longer school hours. You can look at some reputed ones that dot Sarjapur Road.

Otherwise you can send your son to a regular school and consider doing some activities on the side. Last summer, we sent our 14-year old son to the Paris Saint Germain Academy coaching camp since he is in the Bethany football team and wanted to go for it. Before that, I sent him for Trinity Cambridge piano lessons that he dropped out of after a few months. Now I might send him to the Michael Phelps swim school.

[krish_veera]

Hi All,

My son is 3 years and 7 months (Born March 2012) and he is currently doing Pre - Kindergarten in USA (I believe its equivalent to LKG in India).

We are planning to move back to Chennai (Medavakkam Area) next academic year. My wife and son will be visiting India for 3 months (Nov to Feb). During this time, she will scout some schools for Admission.

Couple of questions:
* Since he is doing Pre - K here (Equivalent LKG India), will he be able to join UKG?
* If he gets to join UKG, will he be able to cope up with Indian Syllabus? I met a couple of parents here, who apparently moved back to USA since their kids were overwhelmed by Indian Syllabus (Kids from 3rd, 7th and 8th grade)
* Family is coming back in Feb 1st week. So when exactly we should go back to India for him to start schooling? June 1st week?
* Should I go for CBSE or Matriculation? My wife is leaning towards CBSE. Here POV is that the CBSE Syllabus will enable Students to think on their own and understand complex concepts. There will be lot of practical knowledge and students get to do projects on their own. I haven't done a lot of research yet. Last I heard, State Government is also planning to upgrade Matriculation to include Projects and extra-curricular activities.
* Which schools do you think is good in Medavakkam Area? We are currently residing in Sivaram Avenue, Sivagami Nagar.
* Last and the biggest confusion is, should we move back to India now? My wife is dead set against it. She doesn't want to settle here, though she wants to exhaust my H1B which is valid till Nov' 2018. Her option is to move back and put him in 1st grade after 2 years. How possible this is? Has anyone here done this? My opinion is to start the slate anew from LKG (or UKG if he gets), so that he will be acclimated with the new environment quickly rather than 1st grade.

That's a lot of questions, but I am confused as hell and I don't want to do anything that my son/we will regret in the future, just because we wanted to stay in US for a bit long that we originally planned.

Thanks in Advance.
Veera

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by vinayrathore

I am of the opinion that we get an internal transfer to Vibgyor High Harlur branch which is a big school with proper infrastructure. While wifey wants to get him to another school.

Questions:

1. What's your opinion on Vibgyor High Harlur or for that matter Vibgyor altogether?
2. What other options do we have around Koramangala? We have kinda shortlisted Bethany High and NPS. Do we have other good schools around? Do not want commute time longer than 30~40 Mins.

I don't think Vibgyor Harlur is a big campus. I had considered it for my daughter couple of years back and felt it was very congested. They did not have a dedicated ground in the campus itself. Also felt that the number of students vs infra available was highly skewed (If I am not wrong, they have ~2500 students most of them in the lower classes). In addition Harlur Road is increasingly becoming a big commute nightmare due to the huge number of apartments that have come/are coming up.

The other schools with good sports infrastructure are further down on Sarjapur Road and make take more than the 30-40 min commute time you are looking at.

Originally Posted by krish_veera

Hi All,

My son is 3 years and 7 months (Born March 2012) and he is currently doing Pre - Kindergarten in USA (I believe its equivalent to LKG in India).

I am from Bangalore. But few inputs.

• LKG/UKG: CBSE Norms say that a kid has to be 6 years when he/she starts 1st standard (June 1st). In Bangalore most schools say at least 5 yr 6 months as of June 1st for 1st standard and hence 4 yr 6 months for UKG. By that logic your kid will be 4 years 3 months on June 1st 2016. This will make him eligible for LKG and not UKG.
  
• Note: This is in Bangalore. It may be different in Chennai. But from what I have seen, even in UKG there is a lot of portions involved. So may be makes sense to put in LKG even if you have the option of putting in UKG.
  
• Schools start in May last week/ June 1st week. With some admission formalities like books/uniform/transport updates etc happening in May. So would be good to plan to be back by May middle latest.
  
• Syllabus: I would say CBSE. Here in Bangalore CBSE and ICSE are common. In case at some point if you need to shift to some other City, state matriculation may become a challenge.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by krish_veera

* Last and the biggest confusion is, should we move back to India now? My wife is dead set against it. She doesn't want to settle here, though she wants to exhaust my H1B which is valid till Nov' 2018. Her option is to move back and put him in 1st grade after 2 years. How possible this is? Has anyone here done this? My opinion is to start the slate anew from LKG (or UKG if he gets), so that he will be acclimated with the new environment quickly rather than 1st grade.

Most admissions in India start at LKG with some in UKG. After that, it is extremely difficult to get your child enrolled in a school of your choice unless it is an international school.

Generally speaking. CBSE is good for its extensive coursework and emphasis on projects. ICSE is conceptual. SSC/SSLC is usually less challenging but quite enough for today's world. These days a lot of parents shift over to SSC/SSLC because *they* are unable to handle their children's load with ICSE/CBSE. Anyway by 12th, all children mostly revert to the local HSC/PUC board.

In addition, you could consider IGCSE/IB.

Now regarding your personal life, you and your wife will have to come up with that decision. You could also consider moving to Chennai with your son while your wife stays in the US for 2 years. Both of you can make the occasional trip to get the best of both. In my case, I moved back from the US about 10 years ago forgoing my GC application because I wanted to build a stable environment for my son and didn't want to switch schools. 10 years on, honestly I am not sure what the verdict is as I have no idea how my other life would have been. But generally I think it was a good decision when I look at my niece who moved from Bombay to the US where they changed 3 schools and then moved to Kochi and now she is back in the US, never comfortable in both US or India.

[reverse_gear]

Originally Posted by krish_veera

* If he gets to join UKG, will he be able to cope up with Indian Syllabus? I met a couple of parents here, who apparently moved back to USA since their kids were overwhelmed by Indian Syllabus (Kids from 3rd, 7th and 8th grade)
* Should I go for CBSE or Matriculation? My wife is leaning towards CBSE.
* Last and the biggest confusion is, should we move back to India now? My wife is dead set against it. She doesn't want to settle here, though she wants to exhaust my H1B which is valid till Nov' 2018. Her option is to move back and put him in 1st grade after 2 years. How possible this is? Has anyone here done this? My opinion is to start the slate anew from LKG (or UKG if he gets), so that he will be acclimated with the new environment quickly rather than 1st grade.

Trust me, your son will get acclimatised whether he joins in LKG or 1st. There is nothing in the KG syllabus that your son will not be able to cope with. It is more a question for the parents - do you want to spend another 2 years in the US? Will you be able to get admission in the school of your choice? etc. Beyond 2nd or 3rd standard, it starts becoming harder to adjust.

I would definitely suggest only CBSE or ICSE. Maybe state board will improve over time, but you will generally find that most of the better students are going to central board (especially in Chennai). It becomes harder to change over from state board to central board later.

[krish_veera]

Thanks a lot Rajeevraj, nowwhat? and reverse_gear, for all your input. Will keep you guys posted on what we decide.

[Pallavi]

Originally Posted by kmadhok

(4) Chrysalis - Added to the list from reading this thread. Which is the branch closest to Bellandur?

My daughter studies in Chrysalis Kadugodi branch.

We are happy with the way teaching is not just restricted to the books but also videos, power point presentations, making it more interesting to the kids.

I especially like the curriculum of the nursery and KG kids. Most of their teaching is done by activities, field trips, exploring and learning on their own.

Do check out their Facebook page. It has a lot of updates on their activities.

I guess this might be closest to you: https://www.chrysalishigh.com/marathahalli-contact.html


If you require any specific information, do send a PM.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by krish_veera

My son is 3 years and 7 months (Born March 2012) and he is currently doing Pre - Kindergarten in USA (I believe its equivalent to LKG in India).

At his current age, he'd be in Pre Kindergarten (Pre KG) in India as well. So for 2016-17 academic year he'd go in Lower Kindergarten (LKG) in India.

Originally Posted by krish_veera

* Last and the biggest confusion is, should we move back to India now? My wife is dead set against it. She doesn't want to settle here, though she wants to exhaust my H1B which is valid till Nov' 2018. Her option is to move back and put him in 1st grade after 2 years. How possible this is? Has anyone here done this? My opinion is to start the slate anew from LKG (or UKG if he gets), so that he will be acclimated with the new environment quickly rather than 1st grade.

In general I'd suggest earlier the better, if you are decided on returning to India.

Originally Posted by reverse_gear

Beyond 2nd or 3rd standard, it starts becoming harder to adjust.

Since Veera brought it up and you mention the above. I have my own Indian school admission question How difficult is it for a kid studying 1st grade in non-English speaking country to get an admission and adjust? What difficulties would you face joining 2nd or 3rd grade? My guess is 2nd language, but are there other challenges?

My daughter does have English exposure and has done a year in regular school and a year in pre-school in India before she came in mid 2013.

[reverse_gear]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Since Veera brought it up and you mention the above. I have my own Indian school admission question How difficult is it for a kid studying 1st grade in non-English speaking country to get an admission and adjust? What difficulties would you face joining 2nd or 3rd grade? My guess is 2nd language, but are there other challenges?



My daughter does have English exposure and has done a year in regular school and a year in pre-school in India before she came in mid 2013.

Not sure about the admission part as it depends on location, type of school, etc. But let me try to give some inputs on adjustment.

Most schools will expect second grade students to have proficiency in reading AND writing English. There are a few that will introduce writing only from third grade onwards, but these are few and far between. Second language may be easier as they will only start writing the letters in 2nd grade, so she will have time to catch up. 3rd grade will be harder.

You should definitely pay attention to the school and syllabus that you admit her into. Generally ICSE is the hardest, but it varies from school to school.

If you can train your daughter for a couple of months before she starts school, I think she should be ok.

[Rocky_Balboa]

Folks,

My daughter is turning three next year (March) and I am looking to find her a good kindergarten around K.R.Puram or Ramamurthy Nagar. Can TBhpians living in these areas help please.

Thanks.
Kandan.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by narayans80

Since Veera brought it up and you mention the above. I have my own Indian school admission question How difficult is it for a kid studying 1st grade in non-English speaking country to get an admission and adjust? What difficulties would you face joining 2nd or 3rd grade? My guess is 2nd language, but are there other challenges?

The sooner the transition, the better if you are planning to come back. The Indian education system is severely restrictive and is time bound. That is why you don't see young PhDs like in Big Bang Theory. With each passing year, it becomes more and more difficult to get your child into a good school.

My experience is limited to ICSE, but primary school is generally easy, It is from middle school on that problems manifest and there is an Everest to climb. If coming from the US (which I guess you are not), small things like not knowing cursive writing in Grade 1 can be a pain to get over.

You are right. The worst of the lot is the second language. I don't know about other languages, but the Hindi they teach these days is not the Hindi I learnt in school. This one is more classical and I struggled understanding any chapter in my son's class 7 text book.