First of all, the reason for asking this question is because we will be moving with our teenage daughter - we are currently in a school with a very high (about 95%) local student population (the school counts kids with dual nationality as being foreign, even though technically they are not) and while she now has a lot of good friends she struggled to integrate at first, and we'd like to find a school with a much higher international population. I realise that a lot of schools with a high % locals are perfectly fine, and I know she will eventually adjust, but she will be taking her IGCSEs in two years' time and I'm thinking that the less stress for her the better.
I've been looking at the schools on Search and judging the ones there by that, however other adverts (i.e. TES) don't always give this information. Would it be really cheeky to ask before I apply - as it is a fundamental part of deciding whether to apply or not - or would it just switch schools off completely, if indeed they reply at all?
Finding out about nationality splits in schools
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eion_padraig
- Posts: 408
- Joined: Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:18 pm
Re: Finding out about nationality splits in schools
I'd recommend looking to see if the schools post a school profile for university admission or school admission purposes on their website. Our school posts one each year on our website and we break down enrollment by nationality for the large groups. You may still have the issue of them counting dual citizens as others, but then again people sometimes have a passport and little to no cultural connection with that country.
You might also email the admission offices. I wouldn't use an email that they can connect with your application necessarily, but you could ask them about it.
Eion
You might also email the admission offices. I wouldn't use an email that they can connect with your application necessarily, but you could ask them about it.
Eion
Response
Why risk it. Two suggestions:
1) The embassy BS/AS is going to have the closest to an international student population in so far as having a higher concentration of westerners.
2) Create a new email address with a pseudo name and email the school as a perspective parent. Your spouse is getting posted to the region and your interested in the IS. What is the national demographic of the student body?
1) The embassy BS/AS is going to have the closest to an international student population in so far as having a higher concentration of westerners.
2) Create a new email address with a pseudo name and email the school as a perspective parent. Your spouse is getting posted to the region and your interested in the IS. What is the national demographic of the student body?
Re: Finding out about nationality splits in schools
That's a tricky question. I worked at a school that said it was 60% North American passport holders. When you look at the school, there were 2-3 white faces in each class. Some students were very culturally Chinese, but carried US passports and many had lived there. Other Chinese students were culturally much more American. Looking at the passport numbers won't tell you the story. For our kids, it was more about who they made connections with culturally, not by passport. Those who had more shared experiences as our kids were the ones they made friends with more easily--at least at first. Eventually, they had friends from all walks of life. At our current school we have a huge number of host national students, but they have homes in Florida, New York, etc. and spend a lot of time there. Again, the expat students or the students that have traveled and spent a lot of time out fo their country seem to be the ones that make the better connections with our kids.
The overal general tendencies of a population impact the situation, too...a culture that is more insular and more closed to outsiders would be a different experience than a culture that tends to be more open.
Many schools will know the passport breakdown of their population, but the passport the student is registered under is not always reflective of the students themselves.
The overal general tendencies of a population impact the situation, too...a culture that is more insular and more closed to outsiders would be a different experience than a culture that tends to be more open.
Many schools will know the passport breakdown of their population, but the passport the student is registered under is not always reflective of the students themselves.
Reply
@mamava
Its not tricky, I am highly confident the IS and leadership "knows" the question being asked and the actual answer (what portion of students are westerners and what portion are locals), they know the difference between a student thats local but has a western passport, and one thats a foreigner. The issue is if they are going to be honest and tell you, without having to ask "how many of your students are dual passport holders? How many hold only a western passport?" and other such probing questions. There is a difference between being dense and playing dense.
Its not tricky, I am highly confident the IS and leadership "knows" the question being asked and the actual answer (what portion of students are westerners and what portion are locals), they know the difference between a student thats local but has a western passport, and one thats a foreigner. The issue is if they are going to be honest and tell you, without having to ask "how many of your students are dual passport holders? How many hold only a western passport?" and other such probing questions. There is a difference between being dense and playing dense.