Advice On Schools

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Natbar

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Hello!

We are currently in the process of moving to Buenos Aires and have two boys aged 10 and 8 years (English mother tongue) We are looking for advice on schools in the area but not sure which is the best. Also would it make sense to live in the suburbs as we see there are quite a few schools there like Lincoln (although pricey) Northlands , St Georges? Or is there a good school in the city centre? It is quite difficult to get a feel of a place without actually being there. My husband is already in BA and will shortly be visiting some schools but it would be nice to have opinions from other expats that already live in BA. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 
It has been covered before and the one school that came out on top seemed to be Belgrano Day School. Not as pricey as Lincoln. Lincoln follows the USA school year though. The others don't. Try to find a house fairly close to whatever school you chose. The transport times can be brutal in Buenos Aires and if the kids do a full day at school 9-5, and you have to add one hours of transport either way they will soon find it very tiresome.
 
There are very good bilingual schools in town and in the suburbs. Where will your husband be working? Will you have a car? Is it a short-term or indefinite move?
 
Tilda said:
It has been covered before and the one school that came out on top seemed to be Belgrano Day School. Not as pricey as Lincoln. Lincoln follows the USA school year though. The others don't. Try to find a house fairly close to whatever school you chose. The transport times can be brutal in Buenos Aires and if the kids do a full day at school 9-5, and you have to add one hours of transport either way they will soon find it very tiresome.
Click to expand...
BAICA also follows the US year and curriculum. If you search you will find some rather long recent threads.
 
Tilda said:
It has been covered before and the one school that came out on top seemed to be Belgrano Day School. Not as pricey as Lincoln. Lincoln follows the USA school year though. The others don't. Try to find a house fairly close to whatever school you chose. The transport times can be brutal in Buenos Aires and if the kids do a full day at school 9-5, and you have to add one hours of transport either way they will soon find it very tiresome.
Click to expand...

I'd beg to differ on BDS being the one on top. Most wealthy locals prefer San Andres or Northlands. Even then, I think that top US public schools beat them both (e.g., parent involvement, stronger standards, and inclusion) ...

Agree on transport times and housing nearby. Life is too short to be squandered on traffic, even for youngsters.
 
Thanks to you all for info! We are hoping to stay at least three years in BA! We are currently in Beirut, Lebanon and know for sure what traffic and chaos is all about! I for sure, would prefer to be as close to the school as possible as I agree that life is too short to be wasted stuck in traffic! We are currently looking into Northlands and St Georges , but will look into Belgrano and BAICA too! Feeling excited already! I am sure this is not the last you will hear from me as I have too many questions still to ask!!
 
A number of us have written about Belgrano Day School (also recently), and although I don't know if it's the top school recommended on this site, it certainly had a lot to recommend it.
1. The location is great, in the neighborhood of Belgrano R, which in my opinion is one of the best neighborhoods to live in with children without leaving the city proper. There is good public transportation, a ton of bilingual schools, parks, restaurants, and it's relatively safe. The hardest part for us was finding a place to live because people do not move away. We never found an available parking garage for our car, but no one ever messed with our car on the street.
2. The staff of BDS were very comfortable with welcoming a foreign student, and they immediately set up private tutoring to bring our child's Spanish up to speed. There is a lot of support for kids there, and the staff seem to remain at the school, so there's not a ton of turnover. There were three or four foreign children in every class, so your child won't be the only one. However, the kids speak Spanish at breaks, so your child will learn Spanish, and fast!
3. The school extends all the way through high school, so you don't have to worry about changing schools.
4. The security is very strong. Once you move to BA, you will know how important that is.
5. There is a good-sized play yard, and the kids do go out to the "country" a couple of times a week for more extensive outdoor activities.
6. It's certainly not the cheapest, but it's more reasonable than Lincoln and some others.
7. You get to live in the city of Buenos Aires, and not in the suburbs. For some, it is not a benefit, but for us, it was a huge factor. What's the point of living in BA if the city is inaccessible to you?
 
I can also recommend St.Hilda's College in Hurlingham which is one of the top academic performing schools in Argentina. A traditional British school with over a 100 years of history following a UK and Argentine curriculum. Loads of sport and drama with an outstanding school orchestra. We've just presented the Lion King (Pride Lands) which involved over 180 children from all age groups. Beautiful grounds, lots of friendly staff and also plenty of support for overseas students.

Have a look at out website

http://sthildas.esc.edu.ar/english/

Feel free to get in contact and we can show you around as I'm the Deputy Head here.
 
We attend Lincoln and are very happy. We live close to northlands and we liked it there but it doesn't follow the U.S. calander and it doesn't have a strong spanish program. Your kids will learn by inclusion not in the classroom. We have neighbors that attend.
 
I have friends who went to St. George's and really liked it. It will give them a good group of friends but also a group of friends from the very elite. So I don't know if that is a plus or minus for you :) They went to the quilmes location and they had transport through the chool from the city (Recoleta). School will also be their one and only social group as that here is where your friends revolve around. So the environment may play a role too I guess is what I mean if you want them in the elite or upper middle class aka a friend who went to St. George's is head of one of the major tv networks here and was high up in Telemundo in the us also. Though another friend from Belgrano day schools dad is an economist but they are upper middle class more laid back and don't feel as if they need to where hermes or prada everyday or drive the best cars. But no matter where you are argentines even those in grade school who speak english prefer to speak Spanish and will often not speak English in general very much even with other foreign students is what I have learned so no matter if the school is in english or partly know Spanish for social reason well is very important to make friends and that
 
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