# Paphos area state primary schools



## Jessls (Jan 4, 2011)

Does anyone send their children to either Tala, Emba or Peyia local primary schools? Where we choose to live near Paphos will very much depend on which school we choose and these are the areas we are currently considering, though if anyone can recommend any other good state primary schools in the Paphos area we would look at those areas as well . We cannot afford private schools but ideally we would like plenty of other British children so they have someone to talk to! Any help would be much appreciated.
Thankslane:


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

Jessls said:


> Does anyone send their children to either Tala, Emba or Peyia local primary schools? Where we choose to live near Paphos will very much depend on which school we choose and these are the areas we are currently considering, though if anyone can recommend any other good state primary schools in the Paphos area we would look at those areas as well . We cannot afford private schools but ideally we would like plenty of other British children so they have someone to talk to! Any help would be much appreciated.
> Thankslane:


My advice would be to choose an area with less British children not more. If they are completely inundated with Greek language they will settle in better and have a good chance at an education - research has shown that the schools with more British children in them are underperforming and expat children tend to form cliques which hampers integration into the teaching and learning culture here. See the sticky thread on schooling for more advice and opinion about the benefits and drawbacks of bringing younger children to live in Cyprus.


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## zeeb0 (Oct 29, 2010)

Hello,

I usually find miself agreeing with pretty much everything Kimonas says but not this time. Whilst im sure the reasearch backs his statement up, my kids went to a school where they were the only English and after 5 months could only say 10 greek words and were totally ignored by staff and pupils alike. They love learning and were very excited about learning greek but this has made them almost scared of all things greek. 

We recently visited Oroklini primary school and they had the extra resources etc to take on foriegn kids. I get the feeling the education system will ignore the non-greek kids until a point where they can no longer be ignored and then tackle the issue. Also i think the English forming gangs in local schools is more then likely due to them being ignored en-mass and then forming their own coping mechanism... a reaction rather than a concious segregation.

I came with the full intension of integration and didnt even think about private schools. Sadly though Cyprus isnt quite as good as other Eu countries at dealing with English kids. 

Please let us know how it goes!! 

I have asked on this forum for somone to reconmend / vouch for a school that is good with expat kids and i have never had a responce.. I get the feeling they either don't exist or that most people on here don't have kids.. Or that this forum is infected with some kind of generalisation virus where nobody will give specifics.


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## Jessls (Jan 4, 2011)

zeeb0 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I usually find miself agreeing with pretty much everything Kimonas says but not this time. Whilst im sure the reasearch backs his statement up, my kids went to a school where they were the only English and after 5 months could only say 10 greek words and were totally ignored by staff and pupils alike. They love learning and were very excited about learning greek but this has made them almost scared of all things greek.
> 
> ...


Hi zeeb0,
Thanks for your response, as you say it seems really hard to get specific recommendations for Greek schools. I will certainly be looking into Oroklini primary school that you mention. I will certainly keep you posted!
Thanks again
Jessls


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## kimonas (Jul 19, 2008)

zeeb0 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I usually find miself agreeing with pretty much everything Kimonas says but not this time. Whilst im sure the reasearch backs his statement up, my kids went to a school where they were the only English and after 5 months could only say 10 greek words and were totally ignored by staff and pupils alike. They love learning and were very excited about learning greek but this has made them almost scared of all things greek.
> 
> ...


Perhaps it's a Nicosia thing (again). I agree with Zeebo that you've got to feed off the experience of others - I get the impression that the clique issue is a feature of older classes, but certainly the experience of Zeebo's children is a sad one which perhaps reflects (together with a general lack of response regarding recommendations) that the Cypriot education system is severely lacking when it comes to dealing with its 'European' responsibilities. One or two major newspaper headlines have also made it clear that even so called 'responsible' headmasters are not beyond rampant xenophobia. Education of children is a key issue for any family and it is difficult not to come to the conclusion that Cyprus is a poor destination for those families unable to afford private education (and even then their are enormous issues regarding quality of experience and value of the education towards Europe's rapidly changing Higher and further education landscape).

Let's hope that others with young children can share their experiences (good and bad) to help pave the way for more informed choices (and a better education for their children).


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

Growing up in the 90s in Limassol expat kids joining a Greek school was not very common, this became more common in the 00's and I know a few people (English and Russian) who put their kids into Greek school and had no problems. That said they did go to one of the bigger schools (Laniteio) so this probably plays a big part with integration. 

I also know many Cypriot families who put their kids through Greek school but send them to private school the last 2 or 4 years to do O-levels and A-levels.


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## brandysnap09 (Feb 18, 2010)

Hi, you dont say how old your child/ children are. My 5 year old son is at the kindergarten in Tala, and has been there since September and is doing really well. There are only 2 English children in the class which he stuck to for the first few weeks but then started to mingle as the teacher split them up. He is happy there, learning Greek and all round has no problems. I hope that helps. He does not get ignored and his tacher is friendly and helpful.


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## Jessls (Jan 4, 2011)

Having looked around at the options (and done some sums)! We are now also considering sending our children to the St Georges School. If any one has children there or any experience of the school I would really appreciate any feedback, Thank you:confused2:


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## spiceman (Jul 28, 2011)

Jessls said:


> Having looked around at the options (and done some sums)! We are now also considering sending our children to the St Georges School. If any one has children there or any experience of the school I would really appreciate any feedback, Thank you:confused2:


We moved our children from ISOP two years ago and cannot praise St Georges highly enough. Both of our childern have gone from strength to strength since being there.

Hope this helps


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