Criteria for admission in Bishop cotton/Baldwin/Frank Anthony/Cluny/Bethany - Page 1

What is the criteria for admission in Bishop cotton, Baldwin,Frank anthony, Cluny, Bethany?

Are there any other good traditional convent schools which have a balance of academic and extracurricular

Do these schools take pre kg (ie 2.5 to 3.5 years)

Can a distance of 8 to 10 km be considered decent distance in bangalore?

*Can a distance of 8 to 10 km be considered decent distance in bangalore?

Can a distance of 8 to 10 km be considered decent distance between school and home in bangalore?

Hi NJ,

I don't think distance is too much of a criteria in admission for bishops or baldwins. i know of kids coming all the way from marathally / whitefield for baldwins! Nobody really knows the criterias...but one thing i can vouch for baldwins is 'don't go through middlemen' even when you come across any. Just submit the application form and go the school on the said date when they'll put up the list. I hear baldwins / bishops has a good balance of extra curricular (sports, theatre etc etc.), for little older children. My daughter is in lkg/nursery as they call it (5 years old), but there they focus quite a bit on writing, which i personally didn't like. But it's a good school otherwise, except for the number of students in one class (around 50!), which i hear is common, except in international schools where it is lesser.

All the best.

Cheers
Meera

You must consider distance in bangalore atleast & also from the roads via which the child would travel. In the coming years, traffic conditions would become more worse.

All the schools mentioned above are pretty good especially (BC) & Baldwins. They do not have the montessori method of teaching & they take admission directly in LKG only after 4+. I do not know about their feee structure & the admission procedure, but if one is not keen on the montessori method, they should try out these schools. I read in a website that (BC) has been ranked the best schools in bangalore

Thanks very much Meera and Chiri for your replies.

Meera,

What are "middle men"? Also does Bishop cottons go mostly by recommendations?. Do they consider merit also?. Is there a student interview to get admission in LKG at BC,Baldwins?  Are there school buses going till Whitefield at Baldwins or the students come by their own transport?

Chiri,

I would not like my kid to travel more than 1/2 hr max to reach his school and back home since they would feel very tired after the travel and to think that they would have to do this everyday.. I heard from my brother who is in Bangalore that the govt would be constructing a lot of flyovers and metros etc. So commuting time will decrease and become much easier, is it true?

I would personally prefer traditional way of teaching if my kid can handle it. What are the montessori schools you recommend?. Also are these schools ICSE, CBSE boards or they are international boards?

Hi NJ,

'Middle men' are the people who assure you of a seat in the school, but pls avoid them. Regarding merit, I am not sure of the higher standards, but for nursery, we jsut filled the application form and submitted it. Baldwins and bishops have their own fleet of school buses; there are also private vans that operate. So you could check what is more convenient. In baldwins / bishops, there is no formal interview as such; once the list is put up on the school notice board (this list is considered as 'admitted'), then the priincipal meets the parents and the child as a formality, but you have to attend this, otherwise the admission will stand as cancelled. But it is not so in Frank Anthony, where the meeting with the principal, i hear, is considered crucial for admission.

And as Chiri commented, find a school which is closer home, otherwise you will waste precious time (which you can use for extra curricular activities and other stuff) in commuting, which will unnecessarily tire / stress the child.

Best...

Meera, So is it that admission to Baldwins and Bishops are by Luck?

Building flyovers would ease the traffic on the crossroads only but that will not widen the roads, decrease the total numbers of vehicles on the road. Since the IT companies in bangalore are spread all over the city, their is too much traffic on the roads which are generated by transport vehicles of all these companies. Upon that all the schools have their own transportation buses. More over most of the IT folks(male/female) have their own seperate vehicles. So day by day total number of vehicles on the roads are increasing & is more that the capacity which the roads can take. Atleast the roads are in better shape now with less pot holes etc. The flyovers being constructed are all taking its own time to complete.

If you are going to stay in Whitefield, then I recommend that do not see for any schools beyond marathalli/KR Puram towards the city. Even NPS Indiranagar would be far from the marathalli junction. You can argue that one can reach NPS via old madras road instead of old airport road, but still it would be almost 17-18kms from the whitefield road near Nitesh estates etc. Travelling that distance one side near the busy Marathalli/KR puram roads would be very difficult & might be nighmare after some years. So be very spectical in choosing your accomodation as well as school for children.

Regarding montessori/nursery method, montessori is a much better method of teaching children as compared to the traditional nursery method. Both the methods take admission from 3+ & goes till 6+ where they merge & the child goes to class-1 when he/she/shim is 6+. The Nursey method has Nursery/Infant/Pre-Nursery + LKG + UKG & then to class-1. The montessori method has mont/environment - 1/2/3 & then to class-1.

Many of the schools have both the methods. Some old schools of bangalore have only the nursery method as is (BC)'s,Baldwins,Frank Anthony,St.Josephs, Air Force Schools. NPS (Rajajinagar & Indiranagar branches only, Koramangala & HSR are only two years old) has montessori method & is a pretty reputed,old & good school academically. They lay a lot of stress on academics & one has to look out for co-curricular activities like sports,music others. Vibgyor High,Ryan are other schools in & around Marathalli. Ryan is very bad. Vagdevi is near marathalli & has both Nursery & Montessori methods. If you are going to stay in Whitefield, than Vagdevi, Vibgyor High, Ryan, Brigade International, Gopalan school would be some of the good options. Even Gear International, Greenwood high would be good.

Meera:

Have you tried in (BC)'s, Frank Anthony & St.Josephs also along with Baldwins?

What is the fee structure,donations etc?

Whats the admission procedure?

Chiri,

Which among these schools - Vagdevi, Vibgyor High, Ryan, Brigade International, Gopalan school,  Gear International, Greenwood high is ICSE or CBSE? Also is the international syllabus like IGCSE or IB helpful in preparing the children for the indian competetive entrance exams to professional courses?

Which of the areas are near or accessible  to schools in Indiranagar, Koramangala, Marks Rd/Richmond/Fraser town, Ulsoor are cheaper than these places since the places where the schools like BC, Baldwin etc are located are very expensive. How is Vibhuthipura, I read it comes somewhere between Marathalli and HAL airport behind HAL helicoptor division. Any idea what good schools will be closer to this area?

Hi NJ,

The forms will be given in January some time...so by december start calling up the schools as to when they will be giving out the admission forms. Pay for the forms and fill it up and submit by submission date. In the school notice board, they would've written the date when the list of admissions for interview would be given (if they have not, keep calling the school to find out when the list will be out).

Fee structure for baldwins / bishops is aroudn the same. We paid 23k as school fees and 25k as donation / development fee. They have a date by when the fees have to be paid, if you fail to pay by then, the admission will not be considered again.

St Josephs has Indian / European. The latter is better for boys, but i heard the fees is quite high. Frank Anthony is the cheapest amongst the mentioned schools and i hear is also one of hte better ones, though admission here is pretty tough. Frank Anthony is also co-ed unlike the other schools mentioned.

A very good montessory school is Shishugriha in Thippasandra, but i think the admissions for htis year is over. The fees are quite high. A friend paid around 40+ k for the fees and 60+k as donation.

Best...

Thanks very much for the info Meera.

One big advantage I noticed in Sishugriha, New Thippasandra was that they allow the parent to accompany the child in class for 1 full month.

By then the child would get used to school.

Vagdevi: CBSE till class-12th. You can check the school with different boards below:

http://www.educationbangalore.com/schools/ -> List of different board schools in blr

IGCSE/IB syllabus: As far as the current education system & the competitve/ professional entrance exams in India are concerned, does not look like it would not be appropriate.

Aread near Indiranagar to stay: Domlur,HAL,Kaggadaspura,CV Raman Nagar,Old Madras road & adjoining areas of Old Madras road.

Koramangala: Koramangala,HSR,Adugodi,Viveknagar etc.

Ricmond: Shantinagar,Sampingeram nagar etc.

Ulsoor: Not sure which are the nearby cheap areas near ulsoor.

Vibhutipura: This is where I stay exactly. Very near to Basavanagar bus stand. It is a very convinient location for schools in Marathalli,KR Puram, Old Madras Road, Indiranagar, HAL & even ITPL/Cosmos Mall/Koramangala(NPS/Bethany). Old airport is only 2.3Kms & KR Puram railway station & Manipal hospitals are less tha 5Kms. Many IT companies on ORR/ITPL/Old Airport Road & Bagmane Tech Park are very near by.

You can also try in Bangalore Public School, HAL Public School & Shishya BEML Public School

Sisugriha admissions were over by Sep-1st week itself. It is pretty costly & located in the busy Thippasandara market road. This montessori is recognized by

www.indianmontessoricentre.org

Heard that the school is good.

Chiri,

I asked about Vibhuthipura since we had shortlisted a property there. By any chance have you heard of Chitrakut Environs. just in case you are aware of or seen this project, How is the location. Is it reasonably ok or too lonely, too bad roads, any other issues?.

I stay in that appartment only. Have you already enquired in the office there?

If not, I can help you in that. Email me at amit.chiripal@gmail.com

MeeraG,

Just wanted to check about ShishuGriha. You mentioned your friend has paid the fees, is that for this year (2010-2011) or last year?

shuma

Hi Shuma,

Her kids joined this year in June, so it must be for 2009-10.

-- meera

Hi Meera,

For the forth coming academic year (2010 - 2011) i'm trying for my daughter in BC & Baldwins. Can you just give me some tips for the child to get prepared for the interview.

Thanks

Hi Ashinsn,

There was no formal child interview in Baldwins. (I'm not sure about BC, because tho' my chid's name appeared in the list, we did not go for the interview as we had already paid up for Baldwins - the timings really suck, you have to pay by her certain date, otherwise you don't get the seat - and the timings are such that when one puts the list, you should've already paid for the another one!). We just filled the form and applied. The names of those selected appeared on the board and a date and time were given for parents and child to meet the principal. In that (group) interaction,  it was just a formatlity. We had missed out (group) interaction, so we requested the PA to give us another date. It was just a formality thing, she just asked my child her name and age etc. Then she gave a candy, to which we had trained my child to say thank-you. We also trained her to say good morning once we walked in etc. To smile and behave a like a polite child etc. The regular thingy, not anything particular.

But i was told that once the list is put up, the admission is pukka,  the meeting is just a formality.

All the best.

Hi all,

My name is Latha.  Just few of my thoughts to add to your conversation :)

As you all know FAPS is Co-ed unlike BC or Baldwins..

The admission procedure was like this at FAPS when I joined my daughter for Class 3 and my niece for Class 4 last year...

We had already paid fees, bought new uniforms, books etc roughly totalling to Rs. 20K  at the old school and the classes had also begun in June

At FAPS we had been asked to visit the school during 1st week and check the notice board for any admissions. Luckily there were few vacancies from Preparatory to Class 5 and an entrance test to be conducted in English and Maths. We were asked to submit an application form accompanied by birth certificate, previous class marks card and a photograph. Entrance test were on two seperate days for both subjects. Those students who fared well in this test were selected and the result was put on the notice board on the next day. We were given a day's time to pay admission fee + tution fee totalling to Rs. 29K failing which our children will not be given admission.

That's it. Our children had passed the exam and they got admission in FAPS.

But on the contrary, many people had told us (even today they tell).. getting seat in FAPS is very difficult and that too for classes like 2, 3, 4 ...... till 10, it is extremely impossible. People are ready to pay donation starting from Rs. 2 lakhs upto 5 lakhs for class 2, 3 or 4.

At FAPS, it is highly impossible to meet the Principal. Although appointments are given.

But at the academic front, studies are good. The fee structure for class 3 that I'm paying for my daughter is Rs. 1800/- (tuition fee 1200 +  computer fee 600).

So, to gain something, we need to lose something..

This was my experience during admission..

Regards,

Latha

Hi Meera,

Thanks for the information. In BC & Baldwins i've submitted the form. Let me wait for the list to come up.

Can you pls tell me what was the admission amount last year. In the fee structure on notice board it had displayed some where around 24k. Is that all you paid, or anything more than this.

Takecare

Hi Ashinsn,

The fees were 23 k and the 'development fee' (read donation) was 25k. Last year we paid around 48 k totally as fees and development fee. The transport fee was 9k, school bus, there are also private ppl, don't know how much they charge; and books were around 2k and the uniform was around 500 or lesser, can't remember.  I heard BC and baldwins fees are aprox the same.

Cheers

meera

Hi Meera,

Any idea how is Baldwin Boys School? So far, I have heard that Bishop is good for boys & Baldwin is good for girls. I have applied for both but coz of age criteria there is less chance of my son being short listed in bishops. So, I needed some inputs abt Baldwins.

Hi Sanya,

That's what i've heard too. but i met a lady whose son studies there and she likes the school.

you could try frank anthony public school (faps) - that's supposed to be a v good school. josephs (european) is another v good school for boys, but i think they are not taking nursery adm from this year.

which area do you stay in?

cheers

meera

Hi

I want to know if Baldwin has any interview for child before admission?

I've applied in FAPS but heard that they too are very strict about the age criteria..so the chances of getting there is bleak. In st josephs they've stopped taking admissions in to LKG aswell frm this year. We are presently in malaysia n will be relocating to blore in april n will be taking up a flat near to the school. Can u plz suggest other good schools?

Hi Vidkar,

Yes, Baldwins do conduct interview before admission.

Sanya,

You can try in National Public School in Indiranagar. This is also a very good school.

Hi Lakmisuresh,

      That for the info. Will they call & tell the date of interview? Any idea how is Cathedral school, Richmond road? Any feedback on that.

Thanxs

Dear Vidya,

Yes, if you have already applied, then u will be informed about the interview date, which will be put up on the notice board.  But once your child's name appears on the list, then you can be sure of the seat. This 'interview' drama is only a formality.

Cathedrals is also a good school. But I heard from my friend that they are too strict..

Regards,

Latha