Help me find a school for my son
By Jana Kotze, mom or Luke & Sienna, digital marketer, entrepeneur-at-heart
As the mom of 4 year old Luke, I find myself having to make one of the most important decisions yet. As a mom, I want to find the right school for my son. This is where he will make friends, learn about life, have fun and interact with kids from all walks of life. Now that I have to start the journey, where do I begin? I have done research about a lot of schools online, but none of them give a clear indication of what it is really like.
Not many of our friends have kids older than 5 and every parent you talk to has a different opinion. I find it funny that even friends without kids have strong opinions about the different schools.
Do you choose a private school or are government schools ok? My concern with government schools are the class sizes.
Can anyone offer some advice? We are based in Northcliff.
Jana, I have the same concerns for my 21 month old daughter. As a 1st time mom it is a really difficult decision to make as you want your child to receive the best education possible while enjoying their school years. Schools also have such an enormous impact on children that the culture at the school is also important for me! I got the biggest shock of my life (and in fact I cried for days) when I went to hand in my baby’s school application form at a private school near our home and was told that not only was the school fully booked for the year my daughter was due to start, but that there was a waiting list of 50 children! I cant believe how early in a child’s life parents are putting their child’s name on a schools list!!!I have decided that I will be putting my daughters name on more than 1 schools list now and will make a decision closer to the time of her entry. I see you live in Northcliff, I have heard a lot of good things about the Northcliff primary school. From Another concerned mom!
Hi Robyn. Thanks for the advice. I have registered him with a few schools, but as you say – they all have waiting lists. He is currently in a stunning school in Linden, but they only go up to 5 years of age.
Will advise if I find something. Thanks Jana
Look at radfordhouse.co.za based in fairlands
Will do! Thanks
Dear Jana,
unfortunately we don’t live in your area, but we have tried both private and public schools, so I’ll give you my 2c worth.
We live near a wonderful private school on the banks of the Jukskei river. When our eldest had to start pre-school this was our natural choice, and we were very happy with the environment for 2 years (Gr000, and Gr00). The staff were really great and the classes about 20 to 1.
When I fell pregnant for the second time, our private school budget went for a loop, as two (or more) kids in private school is a really heavy financial burden.
I considered home schooling our eldest for 1 year to test the waters and do some research on “good” public schools. We didn;t want to move her too many time, and though ti would be unfair to keep her in a private school if we can;t afford the fees for both our kids – we would then have tomove her if she was more settled than pre-school.
I was ready to teach her for 1 year at home, had bought a home-shool curricullum and went on some training.
Unfortunately there were some personal issues at home, that kept me from doing this, and I had to quickly find a school for my daughter in 2008. We did some research, and as our home language is Afrikaans, we decided to put her into a small Afrikaans school where the teacher child ratio was about the same as the private school. It was a lovely small environment, but totally different from the school we were used to.
She adapted well and made new friends, but I could see that she wasn’t as happy as before.
She was there for a year, but I started working full-time and the distance to travel everyday became a really big issue.
We were fortunate to get space for her in Gr1, at her “old” school and although the fees are high, she is as happy as a lark! The ration is 1-26 (which is quite high for a private school), but she is doing well regardless. I have heard that some good public schools are at a 1-35/40 ration and I know she would not have been ok with that (especially when she was younger).
Unfortunately no-one can make the choice for you, and your first choice may not be the only one you have to make, but look into all possibilities – there are many options.
If you can , choose the best school in your area or close enough to travel easily – as your child grows older and does extra murals and has playdates with friends, you will not want to be traveling long distances!
If you have not already enroled him in a private school you unfortunately may find it extreemly difficult to get a place in one at this stage. Most parents enrol in private schools when their children are still babies – it is that bad! Northcliff Primary and Laerskool Fairlands have both got good reputations as far as public schools go.
Just to add to your question of private or public school. My experience is that private schools are able to nurture the children based on their individual capabilities, whereas public schools are so overcrowded that they cater for the child that sits at the “average” mark. Therefore, if your child is an over or under achiever, they will not get the individual attention they may require. It is a sad fact that public schools do not have the reputation they had when we were kids and a lot of it has to do with not being allowed to discipline as teachers could in the “old days.” Please explain how a teacher is able to control 35+ children in a class when you are not allowed to meter out the discipline we got back in the 70′s and 80′s as school kids?? When there is such disruption in a class it is so easy for a child to become discouraged. Not every family is fortunate enough to be able to afford private schooling but at the end of the day the one thing we can try our hardest to do is give our children a quality education to ensure that they can go forward and make a success of their lives once they leave school.
Thank you! I appreciate your feedback.
Spend time at the school during break, observe the children, ask yourself would my child fit in here? Make a list of pros and cons on every school as it fits your child. All schools have both of these. Not every school will suit every child. Do not be afraid or reluctant to change schools if you think you have made the wrong choice. The best judge is a mother’s instinct – listen to it, we sometimes disregard this as mothers, but I know from experience with 3 kids that your instincts are normally correct. My own 3 are at a private school – with difficulty as it requires sacrifice to pay the fees. I teach in government schooling and I would not change their school unless I was forced to financially.
Hi Gill. Have planned some visits to the schools. Thank you
Not sure if you are interested in only english schools – another brilliant school to consider is laerskool Jan Celleirs in parkview! offering both english and afrikaans as 1st languages! Good luck with the decisions!
I am also a teacher (pre-schoolers now but all the way into high school previously). I too, taught at government schools and struggled to pay fees for our two children at private schools – but it is worth it. My teacher friends/colleagues have discussed this topic many times because teachers don’t exactly earn good salaries so fees are always an issue. The main things we agreed on were that a class of 28 is your absolute maximum and that’s pushing it; government schools are striving to get all their pupils to have a certain level of education as opposed to focusing on each child reaching their full potential (it is simply impossible with big classes); children with learning difficulties easily fall by the wayside.
We chose schools for our children based on the school’s reputation (word of mouth); their values (eg. we wanted down to earth, good old-fashioned family values); their academic expectations (healthy not pushy); their support for children who might experience learning problems, and lastly – good feel, because no matter how good they look on paper and whatever they tell you, you need to have a good feeling about the school. I know, it is incredibly difficult but hope this helps …?
Hi Di! Thanks for the info – this is the type of info I am looking for. I think we will definitely go the private route. Jana
My son is in Gr1 now, but started Gr R at Louw Geldenhuys in Linden. We are extremely happy, with smaller classes (16-24). They have their open day next Friday 11 September, around 8h00. I am also enrolling my 5year old for gr R.
I also now that Fairlands is a good school, but a lot bigger than LLG. Jan Cilleirs is a good private school option.
As far as English schools go, I have also heard that Northcliff primary is still a good gov school. You can also try North West Christian, but I suspect that they have a waiting list.
Good Luck, and as one of the other moms have mentioned, try to find a school in your area, it is a lot easier with friends and school activities!!
Hi Nita – I used to go to Louw Geldenhuys – but we are looking for a English school – otherwise I would have definitely considered it. Thank you Jana
Jana, if you can afford it- go for a private school!
I have heard good reports about North West Christian School in Northcliff. My daughter is almost 3 and this is so far the only school I am considering sending her one day.
http://www.nwcs.co.za/
Hi
A friend of mine has her child in grade 1 at Northwest Primary in Northcliff. She is very happy with the school and the class sizes are small.
Hi
As a parent this is a hard decision as it’s based on wanting the best for our children no matter what and also it comes to affordability. I choose a private school for my son and have not looked back. As I found a private school that is not just good but great and also the fees are still quite reasonable for a private school. My son has been at Northwest Christian School since grade 0 and he’s now in grade 2. He is so happy at school that at times if I fetch him early he’s not happy with me, thats how much he enjoys his school. The teachers are great and also classes are small. So since you are in the northcliff area maybe you can enquire for your son.
011 476 7746. Good luck.