International schools reviews

[lceccar]

Hi,
I am about to become a new expat in Vienna this coming July and now I am facing the normal tasks of finding a house and deciding which school to enroll my 4 and 9 year old kids.

My daughter (9) was offered a place at both AIS and VIS and I truly can not decide which is better. We are currently living in Germany and she already attends an European school. I saw some comments about VIS and AIS but very superficial.
Does anyone knows in terms of curriculum and quality of the the teachers which one forms a stronger base for a child at this age? Can anyone tell me if VIS , because of the bigger number of children fails to give each child some individual attention?
Any good or bad experiences that you could share that could help me decide what kind of school would be a better fit to my children?

I would really appreciate if anyone could give me some inputs.

Cheers!

[Tatt]

I have heard that both are considered excellent. I would chose the one most convenient to where you find a house or apartment - your kids will be travelling there every day.

[anagram]

The director of VIS was recently interviewed for an expat website and he talked about this exact question, you can read his thoughts here:

http://www.foreigncircles.com/?p=9

That is part 2 of the interview, parts 1 and 3 can also be found on the site.

As Murphy says in the interview, one of the big differences is that VIS is very much a multicultural community whereas AIS is dominated by American kids. Speaking personally I have no knowledge of AIS but my son goes to VIS primary and we are very happy with it.

[lceccar]

Thanks a lot! I will check the website.

[morgenhund]

also take a look at Danube International School - DIS

[VerryBerry]

Hi Iceccar,
I actually went to VIS and very happily (graduated in 98'). Should I ever have kids there is no other school I would want them to go to - spoken like a true loyal VISer .
The reason VIS is more international is because it is was primarily set up as a school for diplomats' kids, now it is considered a 'UN' school - when it comes to waiting lists/priority lists for accepting new kids, they first take the UN kids and all diplomats (i.e. ambassadors etc), then kids who have been travelling around with their parents and have already attended other international schools and where it is obvious they come from an international background and then anyone else (i.e. Austrians as well of course) who has enough money to pay for it...
It used to be an English system - 6 Pimary school years, 3 Middle schools years and then 4 Tutorial school years, but in 1998 they changed to just Grades 1 thu 12 (a lil Americanized) in order to make it easier for universities worldwide, sorta a unified understanding nowadays, but i believe the actual approach to teaching has remained British. VIS does not do the American thing where if your kid signs up for a class it will be in a class filled with kids of different ages from different grades (i.e. anyone from high school - or the last 4 years of education - VIS keeps people from one grade within its grade, but obviously variates the levels of a subject depending on what your child has an aptitude for (or doesn't).
Both schools encourage extracurricular activities and both schools require you to do CAS (community and service) hours for the IB (International Baccalaureate) programme you do in the last 2 years of school. I am not sure but I think AIS might offer an American highschool diploma as an alternative (if you don't wanna do the IB) or something.. but I guess it is a lil early for your 4yr old to think about that, huh?
I think i could go on for a lil while, so maybe if you wanna PM me with any specific questions you have I will answer as best I can, as I also know some kids who are at AIS right now.
There you go - insider info!

[VerryBerry]

Also, re DIS - avoid that - they have bad teachers and the kids end up knowing nothing... it has always been like that, everyone who failed VIS or AIS or was expelled ended up at that place as they take anything and anyone - a bit like a dump for the bad eggs of international schools. They have very low standards, which is also why the school is cheaper I guess..
Just remembered: there is also the International Christian School of Vienna - they use the American system, however, they have quite a heavy emphasis on religion (bible classes etc etc), so that is down to you, if you are a religious Christian person and want your child to grow up with those values than that is an option, but be careful - they are the smallest international school, they don't even have a track for PE... but take a look for yourself: http://www.icsv.at/about/

[Snowdog]

AIS has an American slant
VIS has a British slant

They are both excellent schools, with excellent programs. AIS has about 1/2 the students who are non US. They are both good choices. However if you are going back to a US school system, choose AIS.

My son graduated from AIS with an IB, the IB is a step above the standard diploma.

[anagram]

Not sure about VIS having a British slant, it is very multicultural. My son is one of only about 3 British kids out of 80 in his grade. And like AIS they offer the IB not A-levels. The director is British but that's about it as far as I can tell.

[VerryBerry]

I agree with anagram - I also wouldn't say VIS is British, much more very international and culturally diverse. No country's history or geography gets more attention than the other or anything like that...where is i think AIS has a heavy USA emphasis? but don't quote me on that...
I think the school websites will tell you a lot about how the curriculum is structured, because I really do think it is a lil too early for you to be deciding on your kids', who are 4 and 9, school diplomas... but i guess where you live in Vienna and whether you want your children to follow the American school sytem or not will affect your choice greately.

[Snowdog]

Not sure about VIS having a British slant, it is very multicultural. My son is one of only about 3 British kids out of 80 in his grade. And like AIS they offer the IB not A-levels. The director is British but that's about it as far as I can tell.

Let me see from the Sporting Fields, South African, Australian, HK...The list goes on. I hereby rescind my British Slant to a Commonwealth Slant.

That said it is still an excellent school even if the common term for tired is Knackered.

[anagram]

Let me see from the Sporting Fields, South African, Australian, HK...The list goes on. I hereby rescind my British Slant to a Commonwealth Slant.

Sorry Snowdog but I don't agree with that either. In my son's class there are kids from Italy, Russia, Brazil, Kuwait, Indonesia, the Netherlands, USA, Switzerland, Turkey, Germany and Lithuania. Not much of a Commonwealth slant there!