Parents of Preschoolers  Discussion Forum

Hi Friends,

I am new to this site and will be shifting to Mumbai in the next 1 month. Unfortunately, we do not have ANY friends or relatives in Mumbai and as such are in a big dilemma as to schooling for our daughter who has recently turned 8. We are on our own and that is why I have joined this forum seeking advice or any kind of feedback any of you parents can give to me. I was told out here, people do reply so please SOS.

We will be living around Goregaon/Malad/Kandivali area as that is all we can afford at the moment and from the information I googled on the net, I found the following schools. Not wanting to solely rely on the rosy information that is posted by these schools and hoping for some first hand experience/feedback to help us decide, and unfortunately not having any friends or family to get this from, here I am.......do any of you have any experience or feedback or news you can share with me regarding the following schools, I would be eternally grateful to you all....

Ryan International School, Goregaon (E)
Ryan International School, Malad (W)
Billabong High, Malad
Cambridge School, Kandivali (E)
Thakur International School, Kandivali

I read a few posts out here but that has confused me even more, because the information doesn' t clearly state anything, very non-committal. I liked Billabong but not sure after reading articles that there is a lot of problem with the school affiliation, teaching method etc.

My child was born and brought up abroad and speaks only in English, understands a little bit of Hindi, can speak very very little but knows most of the popular Hindi songs (how I yet am trying to figure out), but cannot write at all. Also, I am not sure what class she would be eligible for. Any suggestions PLEASE.....PLEASE.....PRETTY PLEASE Jani replied. Hi I would say Cambridge and billabong high school is the best in all. They provide the best facilities to the kids and also have different kind of activities to keep the kids active and happy. NN replied. First see where you will be shifting and then you can choose a school near you. Cambridge School is an amazing school. My niece is in their noida branch. It is very difficult to get an admission there but you should surely try. Ritu replied. Hi BD,
All the schools you have listed here are among the best schools in mumbai and any school you choose for her will be a good choice. Make sure that the school is not too far from your house. Gauri replied. Hi BD,
Schools will give good future for people and from that people can identify the difference between good and bad. Natasha replied. Hi BD,
It would be better you gather all school information of your budget and then you decide which school would be best according to you child and some factors like distance education etc. Suhi replied. Hi BD,
Every schools are adding tag as international at the end of the school name but need to think are they maintaining such standards or not.have to check. Kaira replied. Hi BD,
Do remember one thing that fame of school name must be listened from the parents who were satisfied by their children education only.Not by adds which would be given in papers etc. Krishan replied. Hi B D,
So you are moving to Mumbai as transfer had done to you.Or any other reason.If it got transferred for you then you can seek help from your staff they would give proper guidance about the schools. Gauri replied. Hi BD,
It is clear that you were in need of school and then in which school you had joined your kid can you share about the school also and the message you are going to be post would be very valuable also. Mala replied. Hi Person,
So i think you got some idea about the schools now in the city so can you say what would be the good school according to you in all factors and aspects can you say that and share your opinion about that school also. anandi replied. HEY BD
one of my friends reside in banglore,she also needs the information you requested fo.so can you repost if you get enough information.thank u Sandy replied. Hello BD,
So you want to know about the schools and then you can join your kid in the school that would be helpful for all the people who wants to join also i hope you will get the better school and join your kid also. none replied. Hello BD,
You just find out which is the best school in which you have listed so that you can try out an admission in that particular school.It would help to you only.I wish you will get so easily. tina replied. i have a neighbor whos daughter in billabong and it is quite good school with lot of facilities and extra curriculum. even my sister used to each in that school as a music teacher so i defiently know there are lot of scope for grwoing child. Fedup Mum replied. I have read all the messages submitted so far. Interesting to know the dilemma for parents everywhere is the same [esp the ones who come from abroad].We will be completing 3 years in Mumbai/India. Our desperate hunt for a good IGCSE school for my kids led me to the Ryan Group. Inspite of its swanky infrastructure, it is as empty as a shell, as any school around. Since my kids were used to the IGCSE curriculum, I didn' t want to change that but the international schools truly take advantage of this and charge exorbitantly with nothing to show by the end of the year. Poorly managed, fickle-minded staff, fear management techniques, huge manpower turnover, concentration on activities that have no relevance to studies, hap-shoddy syllabus completion techniques, and so on. I wish the Board for International Schools in India would give this some thought. Parents are being fleeced and have to watch their children' s grades plummet, ' coz we do not have the courage to move them to another school worrying whether that would be worse. With International Schools, its like moving from the frying pan to the fire! I am planning to move my kids again as my daughter is ready for high school now. I need them to stay together in a school. The hunt is on, with a very hazy academic horizon ahead. Sometimes I wonder if I should have just home-schooled them! Thanks. Dimple replied. Please share your reviews on Shri Balaji International School (Sunder Lane, Malad W) OR Ram Niwas Bajaj English High School (S.V. Rd, Malad W).

Fees structure?
Staff friendliness?
Is their Building premise legal?
Kavita replied. Dear seema and of course other readers,

I am in NJ and even i am planning to move to india (malad-b' ba) next year so have been calling the schools around. the most difficult part is u don' t know which is good school. In my case i have one more issue, as my son is jan 5th born he is missing a year here as per the cut off system here. but as per the cut off date in india he should be in 3rd grade next year ( 2010-11) wherein he is in 1st grade now. So i have put him in private school where generally curriculam is a year ahead. so basically he is having 2nd grade curriculam. I spoke with Jankidevi school andheri west, Vibgyor and pinnacle school in malad west they are ready to give me provisional admission as of now but they willconfirm the grade only after assessment test. I am trying my best so my son doesn' t miss a year. at the same time I don' t want to pressurise him to study harder as it is taken so lightly here and so competative back home.
god know what will happen next year. I am not been able to decide which school i should take the provisional admission as i cannot take in all of these 3 schools because we have to pay the admission fee which around 20,000/- minimm...any suggestion on the school. I am considering Sri Balaji international school too. any review on that.
thanks a ton
cheers and good luck
kavita monika replied. hi!
all are talking abt thakur n vib i think u ppl have no idea abt witty kids its superb school in malad(W)-Ram gali.
pls dont go for ryan they have teachers issue aft every 3-4 months teachers are changing their so kids have prob in adjusting n other issues are also their pls avoid pinto grp school now a days they r not doing well. try Agrawal school at shankar gali its ICSE n fees are economical as compair to others n teaching is good even kapol school at borivali(W) is doing good i heared but pls ask thousand of ppl bfr admitting ur kid to school yaar its their future isnt it? Anyways if u ppl can go to navi mumbai for their future i think it will be better idea its economical n schools are toooo good as compair to this school run by politicians n propritors.as i moved to mum last yr didny get admis for my daughter at were v wanted to put her. now when i campare all achools i feel navi mum will be better after all all this thinks we are doing is for their good future n aft spending huge amt if they dont get good teaching then we r fools .so i have already started approching schools but as my friend said in above messg tht their reply is will let u know in april or may sooooo.... cant say whts store for future?????
Monika replied. hello Dear,
i stay at Borivali(E)after spending 60K as annual fees for Me daughter at Jr Kg Stading at GURUKUL School at dahisar(E)
so we planning to move to Navi mumbai their schools are really good andvalue for money.
for which part of kandivali u are planning to move pls let me know so tht i can help u.if kandivali(E) then go for Childrens acadamy (ICSE Board) and even thakur is good school there r two thakkur one is SSC board and the other is ICSE both are good but the fees as compare to other schools are high. billibong is also expensive one if u go for staus then go for it its admission n other fees goes areound 80-90k for JG Kg i dont think its worth senpending such amt for kids.
if u compare schools like DPS, DAV, Apeejay they are worth sepending coz u get value for it,there edu is really very good.
bye Seema replied. Hi,
I am in NJ and will be moving with my 2 kids to Mumbai soon. I am going with Vibgyor in Malad link road. I have heard good reviews of that school. One of my cousin went from Atlanta to Mumbai last year and has 2 oklder kids. They are both in vibgyor and very happy. For now I have enrolled my 4 year old in Thakur Internation as I will be staying that side for the 1st year. You can email me thru my profile. Just curious where are u moving from ? Are u a frequent vistor on r2i club too ?

Seema