Moving to Jeddah (JKS) - what are your top ten tips?

Hi ieuan1,

Welcome to expat-blog!

Please feel free to go through topics on the Jeddah forum you may find out some interesting information, and some answers to you questions.

Thank you,

David.

dear friend
welcome to EB and Jeddah

you may bring whatever you like
cost of living in sharbatlly village is quite high.
my uncle used to live till 1996
the rent then was sr60000 for three rooms.

but their services are quite good.
you may check the following link

facebook.com/groups/2227098769/

rest i once again welcome you to Jeddah

There's been a lot of discussion on EB regarding Sharbatly Village.

Best of luck!

Thanks everyone. Was wondering if you pay for use of the gym etc? Is there any football being played at Sharbatly?

No you don’t pay for using the facility there; they have nice pool and playing fields for different sports.

I have few friends working in JKS and living in Sharbatly. Each teacher is having his own one bedroom apartment (attached small villa) with small front yard. The only complain I hear from them is on dealing with out of control spoiled kids.

Whatever you are wearing in this pic…. Just leave it home

Thanks everyone for your help so far.

ahmadaq wrote:

No you don’t pay for using the facility there; they have nice pool and playing fields for different sports.

I have few friends working in JKS and living in Sharbatly. Each teacher is having his own one bedroom apartment (attached small villa) with small front yard. The only complain I hear from them is on dealing with out of control spoiled kids.

Whatever you are wearing in this pic…. Just leave it home

Absolutely. Unless of course the air-conditioning requires it!

Dear ieuan1,

I am a teacher who has just left JKS. It is one of the most horrible professional experiences i have been through. I sincerly advise you to stay well clear of this school. Infact stay clear of Saudi if you can help it. Try looking elsewhere, you still have time.

Hi Ieuen

My name is Shaun and I am also starting at JKS in August and I am flying out on the 20th August.  I'm also trying to gather some info and guidance before I get there.

Hi there
I will also be moving to Jeddah in August as a PYP Homeroom teacher at JKS. I will be traveling without my family; however hoping that they can join me in the 2nd year.

Any info about what to expect?

Hi All,

if any of you have any questions about JKS please feel free to send me a message and i can answer your concerns individually. Like i mentioned b4, i have just finished a year with the 'school' and it was awful.

please feel free to ask away!

Hi, why was it awful? Please advise?

What did you teach?  Why was it so bad???

Signed the contract with JKS; should be in Jeddah 20 August 2013; excited

Hey there,  I have just accepted a job at JKS and was wondering about your experience there

Thanks

David

Also, what was Sharbatly compound like?

Hi david.
I'm going to be honest with you . Don't bother signing up with this school. A lot of my mates still work there and it hasn't got any better. If you want to find out what other people have said about the school I urge you to visit international schools review website and read what former employees have said.

I am happy to answer any questions you want. So don't hesitate to fire away!

Sharbatly compound isn't too bad. It can get boring at times and it's what you make of it! They have a decent gym , 3 pool areas, a supermarket on site and dry cleaning service. You can also pick up a maid for around 50 quid a month. They also have bowling, tennis, squash, pool and football facilities.
However the school Is shambles, I would also urge you to negotiate hard in terms of salary. One thing to note about saudi, a paper contract is worth nothing !

Regards ,

Also, the children at this school are super rich and belong to the elite. They are spoiled rotten and behaviour is atrocious . The school will not show you any loyalty, the loyalty lies with the super rich parent. Parents will demand high grades no matter what.

Interesting that someone else had a bad time at Jeddah Knowledge.  Would like to have the details.  In my case, it was due to a poorly qualified department head--bad middle management, I guess.   Since I live in Jeddah, I just excused myself and moved on.  What's it like now?  I liked the students and colleagues.