The International Schools Review Forum

Im not saying that Beijing doesnt have elite schools, the question was which city had the most. I agree with ISB, and WAB being the elite. Id put Dulwich and BCIS in the high tier 1. So between those 2 together id give you one, and WAB and ISB would make 3. Which is still less then Tokyo.

One problem with this is that Tier classification is really only valid within a region. Its a means of classifying quality of schools when you can hold the other environmental and cultural variables equal. A tier 1 school in Oman cant really be compared to a tier 1 school in Japan.

[quote="PsyGuy"]Im not saying that Beijing doesnt have elite schools, the question was which city had the most. I agree with ISB, and WAB being the elite. Id put Dulwich and BCIS in the high tier 1. So between those 2 together id give you one, and WAB and ISB would make 3. Which is still less then Tokyo.

One problem with this is that Tier classification is really only valid within a region. Its a means of classifying quality of schools when you can hold the other environmental and cultural variables equal. A tier 1 school in Oman cant really be compared to a tier 1 school in Japan.[/quote]

Possibly, but for Tokyo to rate 5/6 top schools, you have to consider Seisen, Nishimachi and St. Mary's as top schools, comparable to WAB (I'll even take ISB off the table for comparison). What am I missing that I can't make that leap (because I wasn't that impressed by those schools, although it was back in 2006).

You need to visit Japan/Tokyo again, 6 years in Japan is another lifetime ago. Even in China 6 years ago was a long time.

[quote="PsyGuy"]You need to visit Japan/Tokyo again, 6 years in Japan is another lifetime ago. Even in China 6 years ago was a long time.[/quote]

I guess you are partially correct. I did go and read the reviews of those schools and it looks like 2/3 have improved, although I would still question 1st tier status (then again, being in Tokyo is worth some value added points).

On the other hand, even ISB, WAB and ASIJ take some hits in some reviews. I'll attempt to open my my mind (a bit) when I think about the schools in Japan that are not ASIJ.

I can understand your world view, when schools have to be critiqued in the great shadow of ASIJ, its hard to see those schools in an unbiased light. They all seem "pale" in comparison, but thats just an illusion.