Moving to Qatar with kids

I'm making this up??  ok....what reason would I have to make this up?  I can give you plenty of details and people to ask to see if I am "making this up". How about Kay in the front office who told me they won't give my daughter anything to eat when she had forgotten her lunch. Would you like to see my daughter's spelling list with kindergarten level words on them?  I still have them.Would you like to speak to my neighbor whose daughter hid in empty classrooms so the Islamic teacher couldn't find her? Please, come on over I will introduce you.I can drive you to the campus for you to see the beautiful playground they have. Oops, no I can't because there isn't any!So get off your high horse and stop assuming I am making things up. Explain this to me Mr. Spratt.  Why is Compass the only "private-western" school with openings?  Why is there no waiting list if the school is that damn wonderful???

Minoush, you obviosuly have an ax to grind against the school, but i think you are just being bitter and unpleasant. Not every school works for everyone. I have friends with children at Compass and what you is say is just complete nonsense. Sure, you may have not been happy, but you are just making up these things possibly because your child did not do well or because you did not get your own way with some decision in the school.I am sorry that you feel this way, but as a person, this bitterness will poison your life if you cannot let it go. You need to move on and take a more positive view on life

Minoush, you obviosuly have an ax to grind against the school, but i think you are just being bitter and unpleasant. Not every school works for everyone. I have friends with children at Compass and what you is say is just complete nonsense. Sure, you may have not been happy, but you are just making up these things possibly because your child did not do well or because you did not get your own way with some decision in the school.I am sorry that you feel this way, but as a person, this bitterness will poison your life if you cannot let it go. You need to move on and take a more positive view on life

Thanks all - back to the subject of working mums with kids at school! Can anyone share experiences of what to do and what to avoid when it comes to arriving and settling kids whilst starting a new job please? Do schools offer 'wrap around' care like the UK or are all children looked after by maids between finishing school and mums coming home?

So far from a few friends who are now at ACS they like it a lot.  Extemely small class sizes and good, qualified teachers.  I would recommend ACS if you can't get into ASD.

 Well, horrible suits me just fine. When my daughter's teacher would leave the classroom for 10-15 minutes at a time to go "rest" in the faculty room,when she gave my daughter a chapter book to read while she spent the rest of the time helping the other kids because their English was so poor,when she had spelling words of "go, the, cat, etc.. in third year,When we were promised that my other daughter would not be penalized for using American spelling and then came home with a paper with red marks all over it because she didn't use British spelling,when the Islamic teacher chased kids down the hall yelling at them to pray,when the kids had to play in dirt and sand because there is no playground,because one day my daughter forgot her lunch and my husband couldn't leave work to bring it to her, they let her starve and offered her nothing (they can't keep a box of granola bars and juice boxes on hand for this situation since they have no canteen??) the list just goes on and on....Now compare this and the facilities to ASD, and ASD is cheaper! 

Hi Expat Sueno,

Have you heard any feedback so far about ACS (I know it's only been a few weeks)?  Given the demand for school spots, it seems that we will need to apply to schools prior to our familiarization trip, so any feedback at all would be helpful! 

Thank you!

Compass has higher tuition than the other schools in Qatar, so some families probably did leave to attend ACS. Others wanted the American Curriculum and couldn't get in to ASD, so when ACS opened they moved over. There are loads of reasons that there was movement to ACS from other schools. There will be happy parents/students and unhappy parents/students at any school, and *obviously* there will be movement amongst schools when something new comes to town. I can only imagine what would happen if DESS and ASD were to open additional campuses. Each parent has had their own experiences at their respective schools and each of them has a right to form their own opinion, but to label the school as categorically "horrible" seems to be a bit much. . . 

From personal experience Compass is a horrible school with even worse facilities.  Take a look at two things:  The mass exodus of kids who fled Compass when ACS opened this fall, and that they have availability.  Shouldn't it tell you something that they are the only private school with openings??

Is anyone a working mum with children in nursery and /or primary school? I would be interested to know of your experience in settling kids and settling yourself into work. It seems that there is little known about this as it is infrequent but it must happen for some expats!!

Thank you, that's great to know as I am struggling to find a place anywhere else! ACS have places but this is a US school so not ideal. What about TinyTown nursery for my 2yr old? Does anyone have any knowledge of good nurseries in the Al Gharrafa area?

My son went to Compass for two years and I was very happy with it. I loved the "small school" feeling.

green C, I have a friend who teaches there - but on the Dutch side and I think this is fine but I believe Compass is very expensive

Hi, thanks to all. I have a provisional place in Compass for my 4yr old but not heard great things about it - does anyone know if this is true? Thanks

I would suggest keeping your eldest at a nursery for another year untill you can figure out how to manage your work with the shorter school hours - hiring a nanny can take some time. I would recomend TinyTown as they have the longest hours (and the most reasonable price)

Hi,We are also on the point of moving to Qatar with our 3-years old son. We are both teachers. Fortunetly, our son has a place at the school in which we are going to teach. I know that it is extremely difficult to find a good school for kids here. To my suprise there are many schools with the British Curriculum but they are on the very low level of teaching so be careful. If you need any help, feel free to contact me. Peter

GOOD SCHOOL PLACES ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO GET IN QATAR AND WAITING LISTS ARE LONG . ALTHOUGH DESS IS FOR BRITISH PASSPORT HOLDERS IT HAS A SIBLING PRIORITY SCHEME WHICH WOULD MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR YOU TO GET A RECEPTION PLACE . ALSO PLEEEEEEZE BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU AGREE TO AS A PACKAGE AS RENTS AND SCHOOL FEES ARE QUITE HIGH . ITS A GOOD LIFE HERE BUT MAKE SURE YOUR OFFER IS A GOOD ONE . FEEL FREE TO CONTACT ME IF YOU NEED ANY HELP .GOOD LUCK

2 things to try - petit pas nursery and ACS school. Petit pas seems to open the longest and is fairly centrally located and ACS is a new school, untried and untested but your 4yr old can go there for a while till you get them into another school - ie DESS - you should go to the top of the list as you are British and as it is a Britsh embassy sponsored school brits get priority