St. Christopher's School

• Does anyone have any general knowledge about this school, or possibly know someone who works (has worked) there? A friend is applying, and I'm wondering what the general reputation is, for teachers and students, alike.

  21 May 2007, 10:20 Pete

Replies

• to worried

  To be honest, you should have started the admission process to St chris (dont know much about BSB) earlier as the places are often full and there IS a waiting list.
  There is a test, but it involves something very simple to ensure your children can speak adequate english for their level. If they can then to be honest, they will almost certainly 'pass'.
  You should try the site www.st-chris.net for admissions details, they have contact info.

  qq 17 Jun 2008, 04:16 - Report

• reply to Dja

  If you havent actually read the above comments, they talk about the baised comments left by students from each school. You are clearly from the briish scchool. St. Christopher's in fact did not mess up on the Science GCSE's. And I don't know how or where you could have got this information from. Unless you have copied it from an earlier comment. Which was jusified as wrong by another comment below. As for BSB having better results from this Science GCSE where are you getting this information from???
  As this specific infromation is not posted on either website. As a student who took the exam myself, many of us came out with extreamly good grades!!
  As for the racial descrimination, where year 8 students at the British school publically call each other Jews- as an insult? this is DISGRACEFUL behaviour.
  Also if you have NEVER gone to St. Christopher's how would you know if the teachers there wer ignorant or not. What comparison do you have if u have never been there??
  AS for our 'big' school community. BSB is getting bigger and is joining with another school think of the commotion that that is going to cause.

  owned 25 Jun 2008, 04:29 - Report

• St Chris and racial descrimination

  I am a Bahrani parent of two children that have been at St Chris for 10 years. I chose the school because I wanted quality British education for my children. I have had several problems regarding racial discrimination throughout the years. I have approached the school management once and they tried to brush it under the carpt so I went to the ministry. The principle of the school is always trying to aviod this issue by getting rid of the teachers in question rather than addressing the issue. Why do these teachers behave in this manar? its certainly not the British way! My understanding is that this issue has been getting bigger as the years pass and some teachers are feeling free to insult our country and way of living whilest they are working and living in our country. This behaviour is not acceptable in the UK why do these teachers feel that it is acceptable in Bahrain? I hold the management responsible for that. I am so dissapointed with the school management for their recent behaviour regarding this issue.

  Parent 27 Jun 2008, 08:43 - Report

• difficult

  It is very difficult to get into st christophers because of the huge line up
  but depends on what year you are applying for.
  dont worry if u get rejected. you always have british school as back up!
  they generally tend to take in the rejects of our school.
  and the school...actually looks like an mental asylum. everything is white.
  i used to go there.
  and they gave me lockers without locks on it...
  and now i go to st christophers...and i used to love brit school when i was there.
  but when i moved, i realised what i was missing out on!!

  kkdr 28 Jun 2008, 05:36 - Report

• have a look

  have an actual look of the two schools when you come to bahrain.
  you will definitely see the difference in quality.
  st chris rules!!!
  by the way, british school is actually a HOUSE or something, turned into a schoo, it wasnt specially built for education purposes.

  fgns 28 Jun 2008, 05:38 - Report

• BSB

  BSB-They can make you feel bad...they could fail your kid in assesment tests...they could pretend to be full all the time....St Chris is good...difficult to get in though, but they would not fail an average child in assesment tests...thats being mean and ridiculous...

  a 30 Jun 2008, 12:42 - Report

• BSB vs St C

  I attended the BSB and St. Chris. I found that the BSB is a much better school. It is smaller so you get more attention from the teachers, there is never any bullying which is an enormous problem in St. C. My brother was bullied here from the day he started until the day he left - 5 years and when we complained to the teachers and Headmaster nothing was done about it. The BSB has a much better atmosphere and no-one feels left out. There are plenty of opportunities at BSB where as in St. Chris is becomes a case of if the teachers doesn't know or like your parents you are f*****! The teachers at St. C are always seen out drinking buy students, they turn up hungover to teach - it is not a very professional school at all. The only good thing that was at St. C was Mr Bill Frost - who decided to move to the BSB anyway. I would def. recommend BSB over ST. C any day and I have been to both schools.
  
  BSB is a smaller but much more professional and focussed school.
  
  St. C is like any second-rate council run school in the UK. Unprofessional and the grades pale in comparisson to BSB's.

  A former BSB and St. C student 08 Jul 2008, 01:32 - Report

• I prefer BSB

  To all those looking at St chris and BSB ill just give you my insight. i studied at st chris from 1999 to 2005 and loved and hated some parts. one part that i noticed as i got older and more mature was that teachers, mostly british seemed to favour british students. i myself am half arab and half british, and there were countless times where i got in trouble and detention for one thing and then the next week a brit student would do the same and wouldnt really get anything. the teachers have more of a bond with the british pupils. although its good for being multicultural and they have more options for A-levels and the campus is better etc i prefer BSB. i have a daughter and know a few members of staff at the brit school and they are much more motivating individuals. they give so much praise to students whereas in st chris they used to get annoyed if u didnt understand something cause they had to repeat it over and over. BSBs hamalas campus is gorgeous ive seen the plans n think not only will it offer quality education but also excellent facilities, oh n btw bsb is very much multicultural, arabs, africans, british, american, bahrainis, japanese, from my exprience i prefer bsb? in every school u have bullying problems! actually i kno quite a few parents that are doubting st chris these days because its losing its multicultural feeling n they feel that it has a lot of social problems, some of the things that ive heard are appauling, especially about younger girls (12 to be exact) along with boys, taking part in things they are much too young for!! but this is from my experience and from things ive heard over the last few years since ive left. everyone has their own thoughts and opinions and its a tough thing to decide on schools. for children up till the age of 11 i highly recommend nadeen behind the british club alot of parents send their kids there and then send them to st chris or bsb for senior school. so that would be worth checking out. good luck parents

  both worlds 14 Jul 2008, 12:19 - Report

• st c

  if anyone can answer this question - if st c could be said to be similar to a school in england, which would it be? e.g. Ilkley Grammar, Dixons City Academy, etc.

  Alexander T 14 Jul 2008, 10:48 - Report

• St. Chris bahrain,

  St chris is great.
  Quality educations, quality resoruces and quality hard working teachers, with well behaved children ( on the whole).
  as a student from london, i found st chris a bit international and americanised as it were with the students yapping away in their annoying accents. but the education is great.
  as with bsb vs. st chris. everyone knows they cannot even be compared.
  
  BSB = st chris rejects.

  :) 22 Jul 2008, 11:41 - Report

• bsb sucks- agreed

  i went to bsb before and i must say it is totally rubbish. its a joke compared to st c. we had a portacabin for the music room and science labs (labs? i mean lab) compared to the 10? science labs at the new building at st chris opened by prince edward.
  st chris is a serious, pretigous school providing top class education. bsb is a house turned into a school.its a joke quite simply.

  long live st c 22 Jul 2008, 11:47 - Report

• i agree with :)

  , i agree with you,
  i was rejected at st chris my first year...thts the only reason i went to BSB!

  long live st c 22 Jul 2008, 11:49 - Report

• Can someone help with the issue of "character" please?

  I have just stumbled upon this forum. There are a lot of emotional comments above, but also some sensible and helpful points. It seems clear that BSB is a smaller and more recently-established school. Both schools should therefore suffer from the obvious pros and cons that one finds when comparing larger and longer-established entities with smaller (and possibly keener) upstarts. My wife and I hope to have the opportunity to go and see both schools before we make up our minds for our child's entry next year.
  
  Could anyone kindly help us with the issue of "character" please. In England, there is a distinct lack of parenting and control at home over children, which contributes greatly to bad behaviour. Adults have also become impatient over the years, and angry, as individuals (this includes teachers). Violence on British streets by adults and children alike is disgraceful. I'm now wondering what kind of background the children that go to St. Chris and BSB (and the teachers at those schools) come from. My wife and I naturally wish to admit our child in a school where the teachers and children both come from good backgrounds, and not bad (as is more commonly found nowadays in Britain). If anyone on this forum can provide some character comparisons in this context, those will be gratefully received. I'm sorry for using such generic and relative terms such as "good" and "bad", but I hope that people will interpret the former to include values such as tolerance, fairness, hard work and endeavour, patience and good humour (something that Britain at least used to be famed for). Thank you!

  Immigrant Brit Parent 23 Jul 2008, 02:54 - Report

• St. C's

  The appalling standard of spelling and Englich grammar of both ex and current pupils of St. C's, as evidenced in these posts is enough to make me want to run a mile from this school. What type of person are they turning out when, they can't string together a decent sentence to hold a reasoned debate about their school without resorting to swearing and spiteful and hateful comments? As for the rude and unhelpful admin staff......

  SmartMum 20 Aug 2008, 12:10 - Report

• Reply Immigrant Brit Parent

  I think you will find most of the values you mentioned strongly supported at BSB.

  Another Immigrant Brit Parent 20 Aug 2008, 12:20 - Report

• smart mum reply

  That was a bit harsh
  i am a student at bsb
  and some of the students are obviously angry
  and eveyone talks on items such as msn and other computer applications such as so im not suprised with spelling mistakes
  and to take a hole population such as the school and talk about it like that when only a numerous amount of people came on this forem is a bit biased.
  that is like saying all germans are bad because hitler was bad. which is just not true!

  smart mum isnt really that smart 25 Aug 2008, 02:43 - Report

• Excellent school!

  We are from Canada, and had both kids in St. Christophers. It is a wonderful school. They do however have very high standards and there are tests before being admitted. we lived in Bahrain for many years, and I knew many people from all the schools. Obviously any school will have its issues, but St. Chris is definately the best Choice for Bahrain, it exceeded our expectations, and our kids were way ahead acedemically when we returned to canada. You need to apply as soon as you can though, and may be put on a waiting list. My second choice for younger students (under the age of 8) would be Nadeen school.

  moutain girl 30 Aug 2008, 06:17 - Report

• fee payer at St Chris

  I have 2 boys at St Chris and am NOT happy with the way the school behaves nor delivers to its students. I do not believe it puts it students 1st! I have experienced events regarding, what i believe, no parent nor student should. Never mind a fee paying parent and in my view an overpriced fee, considering! The school thrives for 1 reason only, there is little choice. When the day comes that other UK focused schools emerge, i believe St Chris will have to curtail more to the parents and students alike, instead of sitting back on its laurels because it is over subscribed in some years. If your children are study focused kids they will be ok providing there are no other incidents like last year, but if like mine an able and gift BUT lazy student, forget thinking they will achieve to their full potential as most teachers at St. Chris dont care that much. I believe my son ultimately failed himself but i also feel St Chris failed him and us as they allowed it to happen.
  
  I base my opinions on the fact that 1 of my children attended an independant school in UK and they are no where near a close match. In the UK the independant schools pride themselves on getting each student to perform at HIS/HER best. I believe you cannot ask more from a school. I feel so strongly that my 2nd son will sit his GCSE's in the UK and i am not alone in this, many parents have and will do likewise.

  disappointed 04 Sep 2008, 04:50 - Report

• bsb

  im nw moving from st chris to bsb cuz it is indeed a much better school. with great difficulty i got in. bsb's gcse options rnt nice since their options are in blocks and a student has to pick a sub from 4 blox. and..it haappens tht 2 fav subs of urs end up in yhe same block and ur forced doing something u dnt want.
  also..they keep promising new things hich never turn out. they dnt listen to the students. i had gone to inquire about MUN nd DOE..so they could ibtroduce it and they never did nything about it. I really love this school since ive been there for so long and am indeed sad to let it go, but i need more options if i want to get into a top university.and also st.chris has the IB option..

  Anon 06 Sep 2008, 07:31 - Report

• i recommend

  And apart from what i said, bsb is a really good school. the education is perfect there as i received great grades throughout the year. The staff are warm and excellent at teaching. Never was a time when i felt lost at the bsb. i is a small campus which is expanding. Everyone is friendly there. Bullying is not an issue there. It's fantastic otherwise, and also..im sure its much easier to get into.
  
  i recommend bsb...

  Anon 06 Sep 2008, 07:50 - Report

• Excellent career progression!

  Most of the teachers who are any good stay a few years then move back to Britain where the salaries are better and conditions much more satisfactory.
  There are numerous teachers who have been here so long that they would be unable to move back to the UK since their teaching style in stuck in a 1970s timewarp!
  The guy in charge, Mr Ed Goodwin is not a nice man.
  If you really have to live in this country and value your child's education then this place is really the only choice. However, if you want to progress your career here, fine, just don't stay too long, avoid arguing over the poor accomodation, don't rock the boat, don't try and introduce modern teaching methods and don't, repeat, don't breach your two year contract or you won't get a penny.

  I represent around 80% of your former teachers Goodwin 06 Sep 2008, 10:51 - Report

• Sundeep

  you are right, i study in Pakistan school which is near st. Chris,so i know all whats going in that school,girls wearing very short skirts!!! that is why there are too many rape issues going on there.

  K.H.A 10 Sep 2008, 09:19 - Report

• RETARD!

  HAHA pakistan school!! rape issues, are you joking? i don't know who you've heard that from but they were obviously an idiot.. you have no idea what you're on about, so i suggest you go back to your hut of a school and focus on that!

  bbb 11 Sep 2008, 10:31 - Report

• to bbb

  just so u know , i was in that school and i was raped ,so don't tell me from were Ive heard that o.k!!
  and my school percentage is 98.5....RETARD!!!!
  AND,HEY:
  i suggest you go back to your hut of a school and focus on that!!!!!

  K.H.A 13 Sep 2008, 02:49 - Report

• I go to St Chris

  I go to st chris and am in year 10 at the moment
  Its a good school

  Ali 14 Sep 2008, 05:37 - Report

• St Chris v BSB, Nadeen

  Our verdict, BSB has a much better attitude to the children. St Chris - in our experience - doesn't care about how the children are coping, they care about parents 'supporting' their regime and signing diaries. If any parent questions why the school hasn't signed, replied to comments etc, the parents are seen as difficult and unsupportive. It seems appearance is everything, very similar to any other UK Comp, BUT we, the parents actually PAY for this awful level of education.
  My children are now all in BSB and are so much happier. My son is very academic, but hated St Chris with a passion, very unusual for him as he's always loved school and any kind of learning.
  BSB are building a new campus out of town, it will be ready certainly by next Sept - they had problems with the builders, just like many other firms in Bahrain. The school took over the new buildings of another school which now house recpt to year 4, all the other years are still in the old campus in town.
  Nadeen is a good school, very Steiner/Montessori in their teaching, great for the less academic - I have friends who have their children there and they really love it, another friend moved her son as he reached 8 years old and 'grew' out of the school.

  Britmum 20 Oct 2008, 09:22 - Report

• Great school to be in- St Chris

  My daughter has been to several schools both overseas and in the Gulf...and St Chris is by far the best. When a new student joins the school, the teachers put another "old" classmate in charge of him/her for a month or so. This is a very good idea, so there's no bullying and the new student has no problems in adjusting to the environment.

  satisfied 20 Oct 2008, 12:54 - Report

• BSB staff is haughty

  My child appeared for an admission test in BSB. I was told that the result would be conveyed to me in 8 days. They took over a month to say that my child had cleared the test and I must mention that during this one month period, I made several calls to the school, the line would be passed from one person to another and at the end of some 15-20 minutes each time it would finally be just " we'll let you know". The admin staff/ the admission staff are very rude and couldn't care less for anxious enquiries.

  anti-BSB 20 Oct 2008, 01:06 - Report

• stc

  If you want the raod to corruptness,racism and bullying, join ST CRHIS today!

  cc 20 Oct 2008, 09:29 - Report

• the best on the island

  St chris is a great school
  they've made some mistakes with mistreating staff but given the choice, I wouldn't have gone anywhere else for my education.
  If you want the best British curriculum in Bahrain (or IB if you want it) then St Chris is the place to go.

  ns 21 Oct 2008, 03:47 - Report

• confused

  hello everyone !!
  
  we are canadian citizens living in toronto and we are moving to bahrain in a few months i have two children son 6 yrs and daughter 3 years..
  
  i am so very confused as what to do should i even try to get them addmitted in st christopher as it seems very hard to do so .
  what are your views on Nadeen??
  what is the price difference between the two??
  
  thankyou ..

  canadian mum. 07 Nov 2008, 11:51 - Report

• Nadeen

  I highly recommend Nadeen, my daughter is currently in grade 6, after moving her from Chouifat (which I would not recommend). This school might not have all the flash trimmings of the other schools, however it is small caring, friendly and happy school that allows your child to grow and learn in a safe environment. They also have a social conscious towards the world and it's people - this is truly a rare gem of a school that often gets over looked.

  Clare 17 Nov 2008, 09:49 - Report

• Corruption at St Christopher's School

  Need I say anymore!
  There is no sense of professionalism, loyalty to staff, or moral conduct at this school.
  Years of loyal service is rewarded by non renewal of contract with no reasons given.
  Any teacher thinking of working at this "great" school. Give it a miss.
  The pay and students are great but the management are corrupt, racist and anti-Islamic bullies who cannot tolerate professional success amongst their staff.

  guardian angel 27 Nov 2008, 05:38 - Report

• Action required?

  As parents we must do something. It seems St. Chris is hell bent on removing all the good teachers from this place and replacing them with substandard imports who are willing to sell their souls for a good salary and don't care tuppence for our kids!
  Mr Goodwin cannot have the best interest of the school at heart.

  concerned parent 27 Nov 2008, 05:49 - Report

• Have they got rid of Bonar yet?

  He is the most racist teacher I've ever had the misfortune to meet.

  ex st chris 27 Nov 2008, 05:52 - Report

• Reply to ex st chris

  I don't think so. Maybe you should ask goodwin why they only get rid of the good teachers.
  But I heard one new maths teacher came and went within weeks - obviously bonar made him feel real welcome!
  By the way I haven't capitalised the first letter of their names because they don't deserve it, not because of bad command of English!

  interested 27 Nov 2008, 05:55 - Report

• BONAR

  Is it pronounced "bone-ah" or "bonner". Is he actually human? R him and BadLoser aka Goodwin from the same planet?

  ex st chris 27 Nov 2008, 05:59 - Report

• Bad loser

  Didn't the esteemed Mr Goodwin get done for drink driving recently? I think it was in the Dubai press as Goodwin controls all expat Bahrain newspapers so they could not report it!

  media employee 27 Nov 2008, 06:02 - Report

• Re: Nadeen

  I worked at Nadeen international school last year and loved it. I'd definitely recommend the school!

  Ellie 27 Nov 2008, 09:12 - Report

• Schools

  I have worked at St. Chris and Nadeen schools. St. Chris has every facility you could wish for, but Nadeen has the lovely warm atmosphere that money can't buy. The teachers are so keen on their job, the kids are keen on school and look out for one another - there is this amazing family feel and the children are much more prepared for the wider world than the children at St. Chris in general. Yes, its slightly "dotty" in places - but I had such a good time working there and would have been proud if any of those kids had been my kid.

  anon. 27 Nov 2008, 09:42 - Report

• Nadeen

  My daughter is starting at Nadeen in January and I know a number of parents whose kids have attended the school. It has an excellent reputation for pre-nursery, nursery and years 1-3 and is particularly convenient for parents who live in Manama as opposed to the Budaiya/Saar area. I have been in Bahrain for some 10 years now and my perception is that BSB is more geared towards children that are intending to take common entrance exams for UK public schools at 12/13. St Christopher's clearly has better facilities and enjoys a sound reputation for its academic results although in context, these fall far short of those achieved by many private schools back in the UK. But the vast majority of their pupils that I have met seem to be happy, polite and engaging although how much of this is down to the school or the parenting is debatable. As an aside, I am shocked by the woeful level of English demonstrated by most of the younger contributors to this forum.

  Jezinho 30 Nov 2008, 07:17 - Report

• reply to teachers and parents

  St Christopher's School is an awful place to be in. its currapt!

  student 08 Dec 2008, 09:01 - Report

• choueifat school

  did anyone have opnion of the international shcool od choueifat?

  mary 10 Dec 2008, 07:13 - Report

• well, well, well...

  Should we guess who the person is who has managed to write and reply to messages within minutes on the 27th November? Accept the consequences and get a life!

  PO 13 Dec 2008, 11:55 - Report

• Racist

  I am surprised. Mr Bonar is the most professional teacher I have come across. He is 100% for the students. I guess you are lucky that he doesn't know who you are, ex St Chris! You could be up on slander charges.

  PO 13 Dec 2008, 04:45 - Report

• Truth

  Hi, thank you for trying to set it straight. It's a real shame that people don't know the truth. I was not sacked because of telling a rude joke. A staff member in the maths dept whose contract was not renewed in Jan 2008, decided to take revenge on the school and accused the school of being racist etc. This member went to all costs to bring the name of the school down and that of the maths dept. She produced some emails on March 15th 2008 that I had sent in Nov 2006 and accused me of being racist and anti Islam. Those of you who know me, know that I do not have a racist bone in my body and had lived happily, working in the Middle East for 14 years. This person affected the lives of so many and at what cost? People know the truth.

  Miss Mangin 13 Dec 2008, 05:01 - Report

• you can't be serious

  Mr Bonar is the person who I could go to for any help and support. I am from Pakistan and I find it very demeaning to question someone's professional worth. I have never accounted racism nor prejudice from him so how does one justify the comments????

  AFP 17 Dec 2008, 08:47 - Report

• Reply to Miss Mangin

  Don't try to justify yourself. I was one of your students and you made my life hell. I hated the subject because of you. And yes you were racist and regularly swear in and out of class. And yes I was a Bahraini student that heard you say that Bahrain is a shit hole! and just for your information my mother complained about you and so did many other mums regarding racism but the school did not take it further as we had no evidence..
  I am happy that someone was brave enough to get you out the school. Incase you are wondering who I am, I would tell you but don't want to risk you taking revenge on me since I still go to the school.
  Mr. Bonar is Nasty like you but at least he is not so obvious. There are so many students that felt your racism even English students. You were an unstable person that should have never been near children, The truth is you did send emails as you said you did and the truth is it was more than once from what I heard and the truth is they were all racist in nature or the school would have supported you and the truth is all the people you send them to supported you and said nothing which makes them as bad as you so, if you were so innocent why did the school sack you? What does it matter what date you send them in? Maybe this teacher did not say anything like me so not to make their life hell and gathered that since they were leaving they should bring it to parents attention. What about the hurt you caused to students and maybe staff. I am sure that god will punish you and your friends for all the hurt you caused.
  Please don't plead innocent you are what you are an old frustrated teacher that takes her unfortunate lonely life out on people. You should be hospitalized or at least not be allowed to work with children again.

  Your ex student 18 Dec 2008, 07:02 - Report

• Reply to AFP

  No one said that Bonar was racist against Pakistani he just does not like Arabs.
  I am glad you're not at the receiving end!

  Mangin's student 18 Dec 2008, 07:14 - Report

• Reply to Truth

  "Lived happily, working in the Middle East for 14 years." You can't be serious
  You were the most depressed person I have ever met. You were always in tears raving and ranting about how unhappy you are working, living and being in the Middle East. You only had to look at milk to turn it sour!
  If that is the truth you see then you must seek help.

  MS 21 Dec 2008, 12:36 - Report