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Gazman73
Joined: 25/07/2010 Posts: 2
Message Posted: 25/07/2010 13:26 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 1 of 18 in Discussion |
| Can anyone give me some information and advice regarding the turkish primary school in Alsancak. My daughters mother is looking to send her there at the beginning of the new school term. I have had other people tell me that basically it is tough to get into, that my daughter will probably start a year below the year she would be in at a UK school and they advised getting her a turkish language tutor before the start of school, is this because the school teachers DO NOT speak english and teach completely in Turkish?? Do any of you have your children at the school? What do you school require in order to register there, ie school reports, attendance record of previous school etc, do they require the child to do an entrance exam? Do the parents and child need to have official residence on the island or what is required? Thank you in advance for your help |
authentichoccie
Joined: 09/01/2008 Posts: 481
Message Posted: 25/07/2010 13:54 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 2 of 18 in Discussion |
| My kids went there, it is true they do only teach in Turkish some of the teachers speak a bit of English and they did try and help my children at first as they had limited Turkish (they are all fluent now though!). I don't think its that hard to get into although you do have to live in Alsancak. There is no entry exam I think you just need the last report from the school they were at before. Also you are right in saying she will start a year below what she would be in the UK. Best thing to do is go and have a chat with Fatma Hanim the headteacher, but you'll have to wait until September. The staff are usually at the school the week before term starts. |
Gazman73
Joined: 25/07/2010 Posts: 2
Message Posted: 26/07/2010 10:31 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 3 of 18 in Discussion |
| Thats great, thank you for that. She isnt very happy at all about starting a year below or the fact that there is very little english spoken. thanks for your help. Does anyone on here have children starting year 4 or 5 in september? |
HildySmith
Joined: 02/07/2009 Posts: 1708
Message Posted: 21/08/2010 21:06 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 4 of 18 in Discussion |
| Alsancak school has a very good reputation, there are lots of English people living in Alsancak who send their children there. Children do start in a group lower than the one the might normally be is so that the teachers can assess their capability and the child is more likely to cope. Once this assessment is done then the childs schooling will meet HER needs as it is specific to the child - just as it would be in England. Many of the schools have English speaking teachers and provide daily Turkish lessons - they use the same alphabet here with a couple of variations so it is easy to learn - as the previous poster stated 'all her children are now fluent' in Turkish -If you have concerns about the local School in Alsancak you may prefer to send your daughter to Sunny Lane School also in Alsancak. It is an English fee paying private school. All lessons are in English and it has a very good reputation also that way you could secure your daughters education to meet your requirement |
Hippo
Joined: 02/02/2007 Posts: 2070
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 07:02 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 5 of 18 in Discussion |
| She must be mad!! i am sorry the Turkish education system is not a shinning example of . state of the art. If so why do the TC's who can afford it send thier kids to English schools? It is just not fair to subject children to that environment to satisfy a whim of their parents to live in the sum. 'Stand back Hippo' |
Tenakoutou
Joined: 27/07/2009 Posts: 4110
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 09:01 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 6 of 18 in Discussion |
| Hippo/Msg 5: 'It is just not fair to subject children to that environment to satisfy a whim of their parents to live in the sun.' Your posting tells EXACTLY how it is - good on you for giving people THE MESSAGE! May I add, that depriving one's [British] children of their cultural heritage is utterly selfish, too. Living in TRNC is hardly affording one's children any sort of meaningful cosmopolitan upbringing, either! |
stellasstar1
Joined: 02/07/2008 Posts: 1519
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 11:24 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 7 of 18 in Discussion |
| My Cypriot friends son went to Alsancak school until he was 7 and was getting straight A's in all subjects. 2 years ago she moved him to Sunny Lane and was horrified to discover he was a year behind in his abilities. She went to see his teacher at Alsancak shool and was told the reason he got straight A's was that they gave all the young childrent them, otherwise the parents complained !!! |
authentichoccie
Joined: 09/01/2008 Posts: 481
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 11:34 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 8 of 18 in Discussion |
| I agree that children here do miss out on some things offered by an english education, but as parents it is our job to educate our children with regards to their cultural heritage. But one of the main reasons for leaving the UK is the fact that here you do not have to constantly worry about your childrens safety, where are they? Who are they with? etc. Their quality of life is much better here. I know North Cyprus is not drug free but do you see used needles here on the streets? No. Are you worried about paedophiles on every street corner? No! My children are bi-lingual and enjoy so much more freedom here than they would in the UK. If you intend to stay in North Cyprus then there is nothing wrong with a local education, it is a perfect way to integrate your children into the local commnity. |
yorgozlu
Joined: 16/06/2009 Posts: 4437
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 12:19 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 9 of 18 in Discussion |
| You cannot educate your childreen just by sending them to school. |
MrsMadeyes
Joined: 17/08/2010 Posts: 6
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 16:24 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 10 of 18 in Discussion |
| Do you know these people then and the reasons they're living in TRNC or do you have no idea that actually they're only planning on putting their daughter into school there for a couple of months as the step father has just finished serving his country, 22 years in the Royal Air Force, the last 7 in the south of Cyprus and is waiting on a job to come up in Saudi working for British Aerospace. Once there the daughter will go to a very good English school on the BAE compound. Well done though on sticking your oppiniated nose into someone's business about whom you know nothing! |
HildySmith
Joined: 02/07/2009 Posts: 1708
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 17:28 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 11 of 18 in Discussion |
| If she has been on an RAF base and educated withn the RAF system in South Cyprus - why would it be better to take her to an English School to get a bit of British Culture. My Grandson is 7 years old and I was in the UK last week and his mother said that he had coming running home because one of his friends had a knife. - is this the culture you are referring to???? |
HildySmith
Joined: 02/07/2009 Posts: 1708
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 17:30 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 12 of 18 in Discussion |
| Gazman - look at the heading of this posting and look at the link - the British Academy of Northern Cyprus, I believe is the new name for Sunny Lane School. Check out the links there and you can then pay for the education you want for your daughter. |
HildySmith
Joined: 02/07/2009 Posts: 1708
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 18:01 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 13 of 18 in Discussion |
| Gazman - Many schools in England also teach in other languages. ie Welsh speaking schools and Gaelic speaking schools. My grandchildren went to a Gaelic school in the West of Scotland as they lived on an island. I went to some of their school shows and watched them performing in Gaelic. One is now at Edinburgh University studying psychology and other is going to Glasgow university and the 3rd one is doing an apprenticeship for outward bound activities and teaching canoeing, skiing, skating etc etc. So bilingual does not mean second rate. |
Crumpy
Joined: 05/06/2010 Posts: 419
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 18:08 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 14 of 18 in Discussion |
| Hi there Authentichoccie, If your chidren are lower primary, then I don't see any harm in them attending the said school. Indeed, if your partner is Turkish then it might well be the first stepping stone to them attending one of the prestigious universities in Ankara or İstanbul. You say, they are now fluent in Turkish … and that will prove very useful in the future, as Turkish gains in importance as a language on the world stage. However, as a Maths teacher, who has taught in the UK and various kolejler in Turkey, I feel I should inform you that, should your children stay in the Turkish system, then from the age of ten onwards, your children's Maths lessons will be very different to what their friends will be experiencing in the British system … or in the American one for that matter : |
Crumpy
Joined: 05/06/2010 Posts: 419
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 18:09 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 15 of 18 in Discussion |
| (First continuation) Firstly the syllabi vary enormously - in Turkey, there is far more emphasis put on abstract topics - Simplifying Radicals is one topic that springs to mind, something always taught in Lycee 1 here ... but only briefly touched on in both 'A' level and IB. On the other hand, IGCSE, IB and 'A' level put more stress on, for example, the pupils being able to visualise and interpret graphs. Secondly, the Turkish university entrance exams are multiple choice. However, IGCSE, 'A' level and IB all use the classical style, whereby pupils get marks for partial credit and from follow-through points. Students here in Turkey are often encouraged to solve the problem by substituting the various answers into the question … obviously a technique that cannot be used on the classical version. |
Crumpy
Joined: 05/06/2010 Posts: 419
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 18:09 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 16 of 18 in Discussion |
| (Second continuation) Thirdly, in the Turkish university entrance exams the students are expected to answer questions within 40 seconds. The students are thus encouraged to memorise techniques which are sometimes little more than tricks to get to the answer. Often these ''tricks" show no understanding of the concept. An example of such a technique is the one used to find the inverse of the f(x) = (ax+b)/(cx+d) function. Such techniques are frowned upon by IB and 'A' level examiners. Finally, the students are not allowed to use calculators in the Turkish university entrance exam. However, for IB and the new Cambridge board IGCSE syllabus, the pupils are required not only to use scientific calculators, but graphical ones. By the way, learning about graphs (including Calculus) with a graphical calculator makes it so much more visual … something that most Turkish students are currently missing out on. |
Crumpy
Joined: 05/06/2010 Posts: 419
Message Posted: 22/08/2010 18:10 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 17 of 18 in Discussion |
| (Third continuation) Of course, there are many other subjects on the timetable besides Maths, but I have learned from colleagues that it is a similar story there too. I guess you are saying that it will be a long time before your children are at the age when they will sit such exams, but it is never too early to start thinking about such matters. And yes, if you are serious about your children entering a good British university, then from the age of 12 onwards, it is probably best for them NOT to attend Turkish schools. |
authentichoccie
Joined: 09/01/2008 Posts: 481
Message Posted: 23/08/2010 10:04 | Join or Login to Reply | Message 18 of 18 in Discussion |
| Blimey Crumpy! That was a bit too much to take in first thing in the morning!! I agree however that the Turkish way of doing Maths is so so different. But my children have been taught that way for 6 years now so probably don't know any other way of doing it! As I said if you are planning to live here permanantly then a local education is the best option. |
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