School Daze

Ok, now we have 2 Gymnasia (Gymnasiums? Gymnasien?) checked off. The first is our local 'bilingual' Gymnasium. The second is the 'science' themed school in the city (still to follow: the 'classical languages' school and the 'fine arts' school).

Now, to be fair, all of these Gymnasia have to provide the same basic courses, leading to the series of courses and standardized exams that make up the Arbitur after the 12th grade. But in the lower grades (5-9) each has a extra periods a week around which they can build a theme (such as bilingual instruction or 'Science Plus'), and which can be completed in advanced courses in the upper grades (10-12).

But of course, as your local English-speaking expat, I'm drooling over the chance for my boy to attend the bilingual school, where I hope that the classes, starting in 7th grade, which are taught in English, will bring him along as well. He needs that kick-in-the-pants that only a teacher and course work can provide to get him reading and writing in English (and I checked out those textbooks - they don't look dumbed-down).

But the school is clear on the other side of the city, reachable only via a 30 minute 2-bus trip (or a very understanding taxi-driving mother with time for the round trip). And the other school we visited is only a 12 minute bus trip away, is likely to be the choice of many of his friends, has an excellent reputation too, and has (nail-in-the-coffin) a kick-ass Lego robotics after-school program.

So I'm in a bind here. Even the six-sigma school ranking spreadsheet I worked up can't really be tricked into making the bilingual school the absolute winner. That distance issue is really a killer!

What's a desperate ex-pat to do?


p.s.
One new question brought up on these visits - both schools touted their connection with certification orgs... will my kids need to get a Cambridge certificate or TOEFL exam grade to prove to people that they can speak English? hmm.