Paphos Life

We are trying to find out a bit more about the education system for young children here in Cyprus as we have a 4 year old who should be starting school soon.

We are not very sure what is best thing to do so can anyone tell us a bit more about any of these questions?

1. At what age do children here have to start school?
2. Do children have to start school at the beginning of a school year in September? Or do they have to start school as soon as they reach the starting age?
3. Our child only knows how to speak English so where do most of the 5 year old British children and English speaking children who are starting school go to school in Cyprus?
4. Do most of the 5 year old British children and English speaking children who are starting school go to English speaking private schools in Cyprus, or do they mostly go to the Greek speaking state schools?
5. Does anyone know much about any of the English speaking private schools in Cyprus or know which of the English speaking private schools in Cyprus are the best? Does anyone know a good English speaking private school in Cyprus? We are currently just renting a property in Paphos but we can move to any town in Cyprus to be near to a good school.
6. Any idea what kind of fees these English speaking private schools will charge?
7. Is it easy for most 4 or 5 year olds to get admission to one of these English speaking private schools? Or is there usually an entrance exam or selection test that some children or many children will not be able to pass?
8. And if a child was refused admission to a private school because of not passing an exam or test, are there any English speaking private schools in Cyprus that will accept all children who apply?
9. And what if a child is not able to get admission to any of these English speaking private schools for some reason? Is going to a Greek speaking state school the only option then for the child?
10. Does anyone have any experience of a 5 year old English speaking child in their family starting at a Greek speaking state school here in Cyprus and how was it?
11. Did the child manage to learn the Greek language fairly soon or was it a difficult process for the child to attend a Greek speaking state school?
12. Are there any Greek speaking state primary schools in Cyprus which will have a large number of young British children and English speaking children? If our child was to go to a Greek speaking state school then it would probably be better if they were not the only English speaking child in the class.
13. I know that Peyia for example has quite a large British population, so presumably any Greek speaking state primary schools in Peyia will have quite a large number of young British children and English speaking children? Does anyone know if this is correct? Does anyone know anything about the Greek speaking primary schools in Peyia and other towns? Does anyone know a good Greek speaking state school in Cyprus?
14. If our child was wanting to go to university some day in the UK, would there be any advantages in them going to an English speaking private school in Cyprus? Or would they be able to go to university in the UK just as easily by completing their primary and secondary education in the Greek speaking state schools?
15. Do the English speaking private schools in Cyprus mainly try to educate their students according to the relevant curriculum and exams for entry to UK universities? And do the Greek speaking state schools in Cyprus mainly try to educate their students according to the relevant curriculum and exams for entry to universities in Cyprus and Greece?
16. And what about homeschooling? Is this an option for young British children and English speaking children in Cyprus? or is homeschooling not allowed in Cyprus?

There seem to be many people of different nationalities with young children living in Cyprus, and so presumably the Greek speaking state schools here are well used to having 5 year old children joining the school who do not speak any Greek.

I have also read elsewhere on the internet though that some English speaking children have had quite a difficult time at Greek speaking state schools, and some English speaking children have also been bullied because they do not speak Greek.

So we are not very sure what is the best thing to do.

Is it best to look for an English speaking private primary school in Cyprus, or will a Greek speaking state primary school be able to provide a good primary education for an English speaking child?

It would be useful to hear any relevant advice or information.

Thanks

I can´t comment on Cyprus specifically, but when I left my home country of Germany with my elementary school children for an English speaking country I sent them to English speaking schools and it was amazing how quickly they picked up the language. Sending them to a Montessori school helped a lot as there kids are teaching each other, so that there will be much more interaction, making it easier to form friendships and develop language skills. For a 4 year old I personally would consider a Greek kindergarten first.

A four year old will soon pick up the language at primary school, get the child enrolled at a local school, the problems occur when older kids ie ten years or older try to learn the laungage and are put back in lower classes, it will benefit your child greatly to speak the local laungage, and if you want and can afford the fees there are some excellent international secondary schools for later years.

My daughter was 3 when we cameto Cyprus - she’s now 31 so possibly things have changed, but she went to a private nursery in the mornings, then to a state kindergarten when she was 5, Cypriot children start ‘proper’ school at 6 and she was transferred there automatically after the compulsory year at kindergarten.
She went all the way through school in Paphos, she had private lessons for English from age 6 to 13, taking her ‘English as a second language’ GCSE at 13. The certificate she left lyceum with aged 18 was enough to get her into a UK college, she then needed to take a GCSE in English there before going to uni in the UK, although this may not have been necessary for a different uni course or if she had scored more points in her final exams in Cyprus.
I have no regrets about sending her to a local school, she is a fluent Greek speaker and has many Cypriot friends, also there was no way we could have afforded private education for her, so the alternative for us would have been to return to the UK.
The only thing I would say is if you don’t speak Greek you will have to pay for extra lessons in Greek grammar when your child is at secondary level - also be careful they don’t pull the wool over your eyes with what teachers are saying about them - it was only years later that my daughter admitted she had translated her teachers saying she needed to work harder into saying she was doing OK when I went to see how she was doing - luckily she did well enough in the end to get a decent job!

There are3 English run private schools in Paphos area. The biggest and longest established the International School of Paphos. It has 3 sections,pre primary, primary and senior schools. Wide curriculum, good sports and after school clubs. Has a good reputation and teaches the English curriculum, students take English school leavng exams.
Also, Aspire School and TLC School. The latter is situated at Agios Georgios so nearest to Peyia.

Hope that may help.