Global schools woo Indian students

Chennai: International schools in the city seem to be catching up with people’s expectations in recent years. Initially set up for children of expats, many schools have now adopted the same style of education and opened schools for Indians too. However, the ‘original’ international schools while continuing to cater to expats, also want to encourage Indian students to join their rolls. The German International school is one such. The first bilingual school in the city, it offers both German and English as its medium of education.

While some may shy away from joining a bilingual school, the authorities of the school said if a student preferred only English language as the medium of instruction, it was also available at the school. The school provided the IGCSE, Edexel Board curriculum as well as the German curriculum, and the students were allowed to opt for either. The school also holds joint classes for its grade one students to its grade four including children with special needs, in an effort to encourage the children to help each other by sharing their knowledge.

The school aims to provide both social and academic development, teachers at the school said. Presently, about 30 per cent of the student population is from Chennai. According to Thomas Pallushek, advisor at Supreme International Education, an initiative of Germany, that supports schools in Asia, the school also offers its students who are interested in pursuing a degree in Germany, a fully funded scholarship. One another interesting note, according to authorities from the British International School established in 2005 is that they receive several calls from students of other schools enquiring about higher education in the UK.

Principal Rama Ramaswamy explained that many of their own students decided much earlier before they even finish high school what universities they want to go to and what subjects they want to major in. “We offer Law, Psychology and lately we even offer Sports Medicine.” Further, in a move to help students studying in schools with Indian syllabi, the British school now offers individual subject coaching classes while they can continue to attend their regular schools. The American International School, reopening in August, also caters to a few Indian students like the other schools.