So, you've managed to find a job, gone through the family visa process, found a home and a car and now you need to get your kids into a school.
Schools in Saudi are basically of 2 kinds, the international and the local schools. Most expats will opt for the international schools because of the language barrier. These schools are all English medium schools using the UK or US schooling curriculums, whereas the local schools are Arabic based. Most international schools will have foreign teachers and are quite intensive, with heavy workloads and lots of emphasis on homework. However, the schools are usually well equipped and most have international accreditation which means that if you return home one day your kids will not be at a loss. Some are obviously better than others and because there are hundreds of schools and no one knows them all, I would advise anyone interested to contact people in the area to find out more.
Schooling in Saudi Arabia can be quite expensive so shop around. The average school fees could be anything from Sr15000 to SR100000 a year. But to be honest I've seen some cheap ones and some expensive ones, and the differences are usually cosmetic, like nicer premises and facilities, so don't be fooled into thinking more expensive is better.
Another factor to consider is logistics as transport is getting more expensive by the day. Most schools offer transportation, but this also comes at a cost so check before you sign anything. Maybe try and find a school close to your home or work as this will help in case of emergencies.
As for the local schools...……. Up until last year, I had a very negative impression of them. Most people I spoke to had horror stories to tell. In retrospect, very few of them had actual firsthand experience so I should not have listened, but what can I say, I'm a sucker. This year my impression has changed, and this is why.
Let me start with the backstory first. My family is a homeschooled family. I have 4 older kids that have all been homeschooled by my genius wife Farieda. They are all girls and are close in age and only the youngest is still in school (her last year though), the others are at university. However, a few years ago my son was born. My god, boys are something else though lol. In any case, he is much younger than his sisters and has no one to play with so we decided to put him in school.
Please understand that the only reason we sent him to school was to play as his education would still continue at home. Therefore, when we went out looking for a school, our only focus was on finding a place where he would be treated well and have friends to play with.
So, the beginning of the year, we went to an international school in our area, but when we came there, we didn't like the atmosphere and left. FYI, we could only do this because we didn't really need the school. On the way home my wife suggested I go to the local school which was in our street and only 2 minutes away from our home. Because of my negative attitude I didn't really want to, but my wife insisted I try. Remember, these schools have male and female only schools so my wife couldn't enter.
So, Abdul Kareem (my son) and I went inside, first of all no one spoke any English and I mean not even a little but that was the only negative thing I experienced. Without speaking any English these guys made us feel at home , and the school inside was fantastic, clean with all the modern bells and whistles. They made us feel welcome and one of the teachers took Abdul Kareem (AK) for a walk and showed him the school while the rest tried to help me. They were so easy going and they immediately registered him online and told me to bring him the next day. Everything was also free, including the transport.
It's been a few months now and AK is settled in the school. He's starting to speak a little Arabic and has made a few friends. He also loves his teacher, Abu Talieb (who doesn't speak a word of English). I'm not saying there hasn't been challenges, especially with the language, but luckily his mom is capable of helping with his Arabic studies too. I honestly wouldn't recommend this for everybody as you need a solid support system to fill in the educational gaps. As expats we have to prepare our kids for life back home as eventually, we will have to return. But if you are in a similar position to mine, maybe this could work for you too.
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