# Moving to Larnaca with Children



## rachal1084 (Jul 26, 2013)

Hi all

My Family and I are moving to the Larnaca area the beginning of next year, we have 2 boys one will be 4 and the other 1, I was mainly wondering about Schools prefably I would like them to attend a state School with them being so young I was hoping they would integrate well, although I am really scared that my 4 year old will be terrified of a school only speaking An alien language to him, it might be really overwhelming and that petrifies me to think of my baby being scared, I heard that the School in Oroklini take them earlier solely to teach them the language, is this true? How old do they start, what is the process to enrole him in the term starting after the summer holidays? Where do we buy the uniforms? Is this a good school? Are there many English students attending the state schools or do most go private? What are the school hours and term times? How does the school system work is it primary then high school?

If anyone has any answers to any of my questions I would be so grateful to hear your replies, or anyone with links where I can find this information out, I am quite aware I will get negative comments due to my nievety but I always feel finding out from the people that actually live in the area know best

Anyway thank you in advance for any information you are able to supply  

Regards


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## Talagirl (Feb 24, 2013)

Here are the contact details for Oroklini Public Elementary School. As a retiree I'm not very knowledgeable about the educational system in Cyprus and this is the only information I could find so far. 

Address:	Pedias Street, Oroklini, Larnaca
Telephone: (00357)	24645480
Fax: (00357) 24815325
Email: [email protected]


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## hiatusxenia (May 6, 2013)

Will you be living in Oroklini or in Larnaca itself? I would strongly urge you to live close to whichever school you choose. If you want your children to fully integrate then they will need to be able to run out of the house and play with their school friends in the afternoons and for this reason it might be better to live in a village. I have never heard of any school teaching the children Greek although things might have changed since I lived in Cyprus and my sons went to the demodiko, although I very much doubt it. Please do not think for a moment that Cyprus has the facilities or the will to have extra teachers available in the schools to get foreign children up to speed with the language as they do in England. However, if you are really intent on this then I would strongly advise that you put your children into a Greek nursery first. They will not be scared, but the 4 year old will find it quite difficult at first. However, if you live very close to his schoolmates they will play together and he will learn. But, thinking of the future - please consider very, very carefully if you intend to stay in Cyprus (e.g. do you have secure jobs lined up - please see the other threads regarding the rather hazardous job situation) and have you considered the huge amount of homework that your children will be expected to do? Will you be able to learn enough Greek to help them so that they are not at a disadvantage or will you be able to afford the cost of regular extra tuition if necessary? And what of their futures? Will you also be able to keep up with English reading and writing in case you ever return to the UK? I speak as someone whose father was Greek and my husband from Cyprus and even I found it quite hard. If you are coming out to join Greek relatives then it will all be a lot easier, although still difficult for you if you are English.


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