Any feedback on ACG International School?

[GaiaGirl]

Hi Everyone! I'm a newbie relocating in the next few months to Jakarta from Singapore. We are looking at several international schools, and I've been perusing the the relevant threads and have found some useful information. Thanks for that! However, I haven't found much discussion on ACG. Does anyone have any feedback/opinions they'd wish to share?

[kingwilly]

It's a school. They are Christian, they use the IB Primary years programme and then Cambridge IGCSE curriulum. What do you want to know?

[Puspawarna]

I'm not so sure about the "Christian" part ... my friend's kids went there for a couple of years, and she never mentioned that. ACG doesn't mention it on their home page (http://www.acgedu.com/ind) either, whereas most of the Christian schools say so right up front. But I don't know, I've only been on campus once.

[kingwilly]

Oops, maybe it's Catholic. Anyway, I was being a little faceticous since the question was so brief.

[GaiaGirl]

Sorry KW about the general question. To be more specific, I'm just wondering if anyone has kids going to the school and could give me their opinion. It's a small IB school (for Primary) and seems very much like the one my son attends in Singapore. But I don't know ACG's reputation, whether the teaching staff is good, facilities/activities, etc. I'm just looking for any feedback I can get that will help me assess the school's suitability.

[kingwilly]

I think it is a reasonably good school. I havent heard a lot, but what I've heard seems to be ok.

and BTW - I was completely wrong about the religious thing, I was confusing it with STB-ACS (which is) - my apologies.

[Paman Gober]

I have friends that teach there, and they say that the quality of education is good. They send their own children there, which, it seems to me, is a fairly strong endorsement in ACG's favor.

[Puspawarna]

I have friends that teach there, and they say that the quality of education is good. They send their own children there, which, it seems to me, is a fairly strong endorsement in ACG's favor.

With all due respect to ACG, which I have no reason to believe is not a perfectly good school, sending your own children to the school where you teach proves only that the school isn't absolutely terrible. The advantages for a teacher of having their kids at the same school are enormous, particularly in Jakarta. First, reduced tuition, and second, you largely eliminate the logistical horror of getting your kids to school every day, if they are going the same place you are. You can choose a home near the school and enjoy a much less stressful life, commuting-wise, than many families. Not to mention that if your children are still young enough that seeing them occasionally during the school day is a good thing, you get that advantage as well. Plus, chances are you will know your child's teacher, so that will help build strong connections that can work in your child's favor.

So, particularly for smaller kids, there are many advantages to having the children at the school where you teach. I know I would be tempted to overlook other slight deficiencies in order to reap the benefits of having kids at my school (if I were a teacher, which I'm not! But I have known quite a few.)

[kingwilly]

With all due respect to ACG, which I have no reason to believe is not a perfectly good school, sending your own children to the school where you teach proves only that the school isn't absolutely terrible. The advantages for a teacher of having their kids at the same school are enormous, particularly in Jakarta. First, reduced tuition, and second, you largely eliminate the logistical horror of getting your kids to school every day, if they are going the same place you are. You can choose a home near the school and enjoy a much less stressful life, commuting-wise, than many families. Not to mention that if your children are still young enough that seeing them occasionally during the school day is a good thing, you get that advantage as well. Plus, chances are you will know your child's teacher, so that will help build strong connections that can work in your child's favor.

So, particularly for smaller kids, there are many advantages to having the children at the school where you teach. I know I would be tempted to overlook other slight deficiencies in order to reap the benefits of having kids at my school (if I were a teacher, which I'm not! But I have known quite a few.)

another big advantage is having the holidays coincide, as many schools have wildly different holiday and term schedules.

[noname]

I was completely wrong about the religious thing, I was confusing it with STB-ACS (which is)

STB-ACS should be a methodist school. It's part of the ACS family of schools. I went to ACJC (Anglo Chinese Junior College) which is part of the ACS family in Singapore.

ACS (Independent) had 28 students (out of 57 globally) with the perfect score of 45 for the last IB exams.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1108892/1/.html

(http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1108892/1/.html)

[kingwilly]

STB-ACS should be a methodist school. It's part of the ACS family of schools. I went to ACJC (Anglo Chinese Junior College) which is part of the ACS family in Singapore.

ACS (Independent) had 28 students (out of 57 globally) with the perfect score of 45 for the last IB exams.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1108892/1/.html

(http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1108892/1/.html)

Which is not the school in question here. The OP asking about ACG.

[GaiaGirl]

Thanks KW and Paman Gober for your input. I will include ACG on my list of schools to visit, and take it from there. Cheers,G

[GaiaGirl]

As an update, I visited ACG during our trip, and it was okay, but we liked AIS much better - a very welcoming, nurturing environment there.

[RatHat]

AIS has quite a waiting list. ACG has places, so will be a lot easier to get your kids into.