What's the news on Desa Park International School?

Hi carlyle1979!

Welcome to Expat.com!

Armand

It's new a serious attempt at an international school. No record of exam results yet and growing slowly. Nice facilities - ok teachers so I hear (you can't get the best as a new school unfortunately they will go for ISKL etc)  and not that cheap though. But education is way to expensive. A lower second tier school worth looking at. Obviously a risk though as no real record to judge it by. Basically untested but a real international school.

Thanks Nemedot. I visited the school 2 weeks back and the facilities are quite nice (obviously almost brand new). The teachers are 95% British expats. But their fees are quite high for a new "untested" school and they plan on increasing their fees by a further 10% for 2013-14. This puts their fees pretty much at par with Garden International School. Any view on Tenby or ELC?

I am afraid all schools are upping fees by 10-15% pa as so many parents with the money.

Comparing Tenby and ELC with Desa/GIS is like comparing a rusty old bike with a Merc. You are better off paying the fees for a real international school or use a tutoring centre and pay for your children to go for extra curricular activities.

Hi there:  We just found out we are likely moving in July to KL (!) but are still working out details .... firstly, trying to find a good school for the kids (ages 7 and 8).  They are so incredibly expensive!  Garden School was highly recommended, but at this point there is a waiting list.  I looked around and found the International School at Park City, but this was the only place on line that I saw any mention of it ... I know its relatively new ...  Any chatter about it?  Also, is Desa Park City a good place to live?  Feeling overwhelmed and need to get a lot of "ducks in a row" in a short period of time .... any other suggestions for #1 priorities:  School & Where to Live.
Thanks!!

carlyle1979 wrote:

Thanks Nemedot. I visited the school 2 weeks back and the facilities are quite nice (obviously almost brand new). The teachers are 95% British expats. But their fees are quite high for a new "untested" school and they plan on increasing their fees by a further 10% for 2013-14. This puts their fees pretty much at par with Garden International School. Any view on Tenby or ELC?

About spot on. Fees very high for what is a Primary school mostly - Secondary is very small per the numbers of students - also see that they have lots of primmary teachers and very few Secondary. So for primary I am sure they are fine. For secondary? A risk that should be reflected in discounted fees but isn't. There is no results record, no established teachers in secondary etc and that does mean they are bound to have  a hard time recruiting good secondary teachers who can deliver KS4 especially as they will go to Gardens etc first. Primary there is a massive oversupply of good teachers from UK so no problem getting good ones - although I note Desa has non native speaking staff teaching TEFL etc on their webiste - a bit weird for a school aiming to be first tier as parents can be sensitive about that.

Maybe the school leadership is weak as poor staffing choices?  Only time will tell. A risk for a parent. Gardens and the like are lower risk as established records. So if their fees become comparable to Garden it may not grow and become a failure - it does happen - a failing school with high fees is a nightmare for parents as poor leaderhisp will increase fees to cover costs. Small schools are inefficient resource wise and don't attract high quality examination class teachers.

The first/second tier market is overcrowded and a lot less expats on big proper expat packages (companies paying school fees - they tend to pay more). That effect I saw in expat mag recently as well for rents - if you pay your own you want to pay less. Investors are better going for local middle class customers - property and schools being the same (mostly for profit in Malaysia including Gardens). So if Desa put up fees too much local middle class/"local salary expats! are excluded. So where are the numbers to make it a success?

In the end parents want grades so students can go to Uni as well as a well rounded education (both are possible). If you go to a private school and get B/Cs unis take a dim view as they assume the school will have better teachers/smaller classes/less behaviour issues etc than say in a comp in UK. No record should mean lower fees to reflect that risk until numbers better.

I know this is an old thread but any up to date reviews?

Nemodot, any idea how the school is doing?

ClanC wrote:

I know this is an old thread but any up to date reviews?

Nemodot, any idea how the school is doing?

It is a proper international school. Well funded and with mostly expat teachers. It pays well so should have good teachers  - that depends on how good their hiring practices are especially the Principal. In home country an interview will include an observed teaching practice but internationally that isn't usually possible. Also generally teachers move around a lot so those good at interviews but not so good in the classroom can build impressive careers. So there is a weakness there in terms of getting staff for all international schools. A higher paying school may not get the best teachers all the time and a bad head can often mean good teachers go off their best. Good management overall is essential. The Principal is most critical in my opinion.

Results are important though. A good school generates results exam wise as well as other intangibles. Evaluating schools is hard though. An outstanding school can plummet so quickly due to leadership changes yet can live off past reputation for years. A new school won't have a record of results so an act of faith to send students to it. especially when fees similar to more established schools.

I think we will have to make a trip and see the schools for ourselves and 'interrogate' them! 😝 I find the websites completely useless as they all say much the same things. I am going to see if we can have a taster day so that the kids get a feel of what the school is like .... Not sure if they will allow it but some independent schools here encourage it.

It's really frustrating as the fees are a killer and I feel under pressure to get it right .... There is no room for moving schools due to enrolment fees ....I really, really disagree with enrolment fees .... 20,000 is ridiculous amount of money!

ClanC wrote:

I think we will have to make a trip and see the schools for ourselves and 'interrogate' them! 😝 I find the websites completely useless as they all say much the same things. I am going to see if we can have a taster day so that the kids get a feel of what the school is like .... Not sure if they will allow it but some independent schools here encourage it.

It's really frustrating as the fees are a killer and I feel under pressure to get it right .... There is no room for moving schools due to enrolment fees ....I really, really disagree with enrolment fees .... 20,000 is ridiculous amount of money!

Yes taster days are important. Open days and website are useless. The reason why websites all loom the same is because they copy each other (!)

Actually if you do the Math

1,000 kids requires approx 75 staff. Say 18k average salary so 16.2 million per year. Typically staff costs are 70% of running costs so that is 23.1 million per year. Divide by a 1,000 that is 23,100 RM per year fees.

The rest is pure profit...............

It is true that the fees have been increased to a certain extent, but not the quality of education offered. Have anyone tried an international learning center before?

Nemodot wrote:

[The rest is pure profit...............

Capitalism leaves the choice of what to buy to the customer.
If you don't like the fees, go to a cheap school.

Fred wrote:

Nemodot wrote:

[The rest is pure profit...............

Capitalism leaves the choice of what to buy to the customer.
If you don't like the fees, go to a cheap school.

Or go to a country that doesn't have schools making super normal profits.

Like UK private schools that are far better value.

ClanC wrote:

I think we will have to make a trip and see the schools for ourselves and 'interrogate' them! 😝 I find the websites completely useless as they all say much the same things. I am going to see if we can have a taster day so that the kids get a feel of what the school is like .... Not sure if they will allow it but some independent schools here encourage it.

It's really frustrating as the fees are a killer and I feel under pressure to get it right .... There is no room for moving schools due to enrolment fees ....I really, really disagree with enrolment fees .... 20,000 is ridiculous amount of money!

The enrollment fee is equal to the school termly tuition fee, this is already a Guinness World Record.