Need information on international schools in New Delhi

maybe moving

Hello,

My husband and I are considering moving to New Delhi (from the US) next year for 3 years. As part of the investigation, I am trying to research schools and pre-schools. My daughter will be 4 and my son will be 2 when we arrive. Does a 4 year old go to pre-school or kindergarten in India?

I was hoping to get some input from people who have children (or know of people w/children) in international schools in Delhi (South Delhi ideally as that is likely where we will live and commute to Gurgaon for work).

I have heard of The American Embassy School and GD Goenka and Magic Years (pre-school). Any input will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

puchoo

You also have

Amity International in Saket

Ryan International at Vasant Kunj and a few other places.

DPS international school at Saket.

Scottish High is a relatively new one but a bit far at Gurgaon.

I would even add Vasant Valley into the list even though its not international in that sense.

With regard to pre-schools the 2 i tend to hear more often about are Play House in New Friends Colony and The Study in Golf Links. Botha re South Delhi locations.

Brownboy's children are at the British School....so hopefully he will be along soon and fill u up on that.

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puchoo.wordpress.com

SMARTGUY

Hi... Welcome to Indiamike,

You may come across many international schools in India.but we need to differentiate between a truly international school and a school that's international only by name.

Since you have an American passport(an essential requirement)you must opt for American Embassy School one of the best schools with excellent facilities and well groomed Teachers.Only thing which you may have to consider is total cost(Fee) involved annualy.

Then there is a British School www.british-school.org and Pathways www.pathways.ac.in which is in Gurgaon.

Good luck and Happy I'miking ahead

brownboy66

Hi and welcome to IM. Check out these links

here, here,and here. There have been a few families that have recently moved or considered moving to Delhi, and needed to find out about schooling.

That latest up date is that both the American and British schools have "pre school" classes. As you'll see in one of the threads posted above - the American school has a preschool starting at 3yrs, and the british school will have the same starting in the new school year - as well as a reception class for 4 yr olds. The American Embassy school is easily the best resourced school in Delhi and the location is very central to almost everything. Smartguy has also made a valid point that there a many schools with "international" in the title - but who knows what that actually means.

Coincidentally my wife met with the director of the American school yesterday. The latest report on placement is that there are spaces available for next year in the senior school - but everything is on a waiting list for the junior school - so best to get in touch as soon as you can if that is what you are after.

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maybe moving

Wow, thanks to everyone for the information! I've been on this site once before and also received great help (I've come to checking it very frequently!). It's a great resource for people like us needing to move without knowing too many people locally. I am of Indian origin (my husband is not) and have some family in India, but no one with young kids and only 1 person in the Delhi area.

Thanks again for the advice! Any more is appreciated too -

brownboy66

I guess the main piece of advice is contact the schools and get your children on waiting lists quickly. Every school in Delhi is bursting at the seams - a cost is not a factor (i.e - regardless of how much is charged - there are still more students then places). So the MO is to make contact and start talking to the schools ASAP - even if your move isn't confirmed and you don't even have a leaving date. To give you an example - we made up our mind as to where we wanted our three to go 14 months in advance and contacted the school a year out. As it was our daughter still had to wait 8 months after our arrival to get a place - that's 20 months from the time we notified the school)! Not trying to fill you with dread - but the motto is move quickly.

Other than that - don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions. Nothing like a bit of real time local knowledge when doing the research, plus you can be confident knowing that you're not the only one on the site who is going (has gone through) this process.

good luck.

KateW

Hi
A friend, who has just arrived in Delhi, is searching for her son of a similar age so, if it would be helpful, I can keep you informed of their findings.
My children are much older and we applied as soon as we knew we might be coming here. We got places quite easily but I think that was just luck that they had places in those years at that time.

sanjaymehra

Treetop in Golf Links is highly recommended pre-school. But dont forget, sessions in India begin in April and not September like in the USA.
But why worry so much.They are so small and you are here only for 3 years. Just enjoy the experience and send them to whatever school suits your convenience and pocket.

maybe moving

Kate,

Thanks I would appreciate if you let me know if your friends decision!

Sanjaymehra,

Thank you too! Everything about moving has me "worrying" :-) but I agree that I'm in a good position since the kids are so young while we are there.

I appreciate any advice/tips!

yosithezet

Just this week the possibility of relocating to New Delhi this fall has arisen. I am an American-Israel and my kids also carry both passports. Already found the AES school and see that the waiting lists for the two grades I need 2nd and 5th are currently closed.

brownboy66 what did your daughter do while waiting for a spot in school? Was she just staying at home all day? Didn't she fall behind a year in school?

PS I'm trying to read as much as I can to ensure that I take all possible expenses and scenarios into account. So much to absorb!

brownboy66

I taught her on correspondence. Coming from NZ I was able to enrol her in an NZ correspondence school which provides lessons, curriculum, instructions for parents, course material, stationary, online lessons, chat forum for their class, examinations and testing ,etc - in short, everything she used to have when we were home but done from a distance. Both she and I were in daily contact with her teacher and every week there was lesson plan downloaded onto a secure website for both she and I (I consequently have a new found respect for teachers as I have no idea how they managed a class let alone one student).

Also - it was a lot of fun. I'll probably never have the chance to spend as much time with my daughter again - plus we found out a few interesting things (did a traffic survey of the road outside our house to discover on average over 2000 cars, 1000 motorcycles, and 600 buses go past in one hour)!

So when she finally got a place - she was right up to date (and slightly ahead in a couple of areas).

Re the waiting lists - you'll need to check on a weekly basis. This is turn over time for a lot of families in the area (about now a lot of the nth hemisphere embassies are rotating people in and out so the waiting lists can change pretty quickly). Good luck with the placement (having gone through the waiting process I really mean that).

sanjaymehra

[quote=yosithezet;494233]Just this week the possibility of relocating to New Delhi this fall has arisen. I am an American-Israel and my kids also carry both passports. Already found the AES school and see that the waiting lists for the two grades I need 2nd and 5th are currently closed.

Check for more schools, especially international schools in Gurgaon area. I can suggest an excellent international school called Pathways. It is about 22km from Gurgaon area, but you should be able to get a placement in it. It follows the international Baccalaureate system. Vasant Valley is another good school.