Cyprus-Forum.com

[Kerryspirit]

I wonder if anyone can share their experience with me....

I am planning next summer to emigrate to Cyprus from Ireland and start work there. My daughter who is 12 and just has finished primary school in Ireland will be starting school in Larnaca (the place I have an eye on) and we will be visiting Larnaca in March for a holiday and starting to look at things up close and personal

I wonder now any parents here who have experience with public schools in Cyprus (Larnaca) with kids that age who do NOT speak greek?
I do speak greek but mydaughter only speaks German and English.
We consider public schools as I heard on other expat forums that they are good enough and I can not afford a private international school thats for sure

Any recommendation at which school I should look and how it works with foreigners without greek? I heard that they enter a programm for foreigners to learn greek and do not get any grades until they speak greek, but how will that work with education then?

Any experience or recommendations highly appreciated!

Thanks

[Sotos]

Public schools are more or less all the same. They would be fine if your daughter was 6 or 7, but going to public school with no knowledge of Greek is not advised at her age. If she is good with languages then maybe she can start some intensive course of Greek right now and maybe she will learn the language good enough by September... but I doubt.

[Get Real!]

You cannot shove a 12 year old into a foreign language school and expect miracles to happen. It’s not gonna work.

She will fail the year kill her confidence, and will have wasted her time. If you can’t afford an English speaking private school then you should reconsider such a move.

[Sotos]

She will fail the year kill her confidence, and will have wasted her time.

Is that what happened to you? Did your parents return to Cyprus and place you to a public Greek school where you couldn't cope? I can understand your anger... a wrong move by the parents at such age can have very negative consequences to the children that they might never be able to overcome. But you should be angry at your parents... not everything Greek! Similarly Kerryspirit should do what is best for his child instead of taking such a risk and then blaming the system and everybody else when things don't work out.

[Kerryspirit]

Oh that does not sound encouraging at all

So in your opinion the only option is a private English speaking school for a 12 year old? No she has no knowledge in Greek very little anyway but usually is very good and fast learner in languages.
I heard there is a program for foreigners who teach them Greek even after school and don't give them grades then until they learn it, or is that only for primary school kids.

Would a public school not deal with that at all? As in other countries they do that, here in Ireland for example with immigrants they teach them in school without any ENglish plus teach them extra English.

Its my dream to return to my inner greek roots and would love my daughter to learn it too... so not advisable at all?!

[supporttheunderdog]

Oh that does not sound encouraging at all

So in your opinion the only option is a private English speaking school for a 12 year old? No she has no knowledge in Greek very little anyway but usually is very good and fast learner in languages.
I heard there is a program for foreigners who teach them Greek even after school and don't give them grades then until they learn it, or is that only for primary school kids.

Would a public school not deal with that at all? As in other countries they do that, here in Ireland for example with immigrants they teach them in school without any ENglish plus teach them extra English.

Its my dream to return to my inner greek roots and would love my daughter to learn it too... so not advisable at all?!

Why not use the time between now and the summer to try to teach your daughter Greek? I would otherwise suggest start talking to schools and/or the ministry of edication, to see what they can offer, but I suspect that (as others have indicated) your daughter is likely to suffer in the Greek speaking public system, unless she is reasonably fluent in Greek when she start and can keep up in lessons.

For Private English speaking schools in Larnaca there are the American Academy, which I understand has an excellent reputation (nothing to do with the similarly named scholl in LImassol which does not) and Med High - those are the two I know of.