Feedback on Cathedral High School -Richmond Road - Bangalore - Page 1

@1  It is a nice school.

@2 Yes it is missonary board and board is same as of bishop cotton, even staffs are interchange time to time for one school to other.

@3 fee is around 32k for one year, but first year you have to pay development fee which is around 30k.

@4 it is 30-35k.

@5 they have 4 section in LKG and each class strength is maximum 40 child, classes are neat and attractive.

@6 it may be not more than 2-3%

@7 Try your luck, it is no gurantee even it is very near to school. Some case ppl from rajaji nagar, KRPuram and BTM also get the admission.

All the best...

Thanks rusrun. Let me apply and test my luck

@rusrun

Do they have 11th & 12th as per ICSE syllabus or is it State syllabus (in Pre Univ college I guess). The school prospectus does not mention anything about this.

Any idea how it would compare with Baldwin Girls, Francis Xavier & Bishop Cotton Girls with regard to academics

Hi rusrun

Thanks for that valuable info on cathedral high. I had enquired in my neighbourhood, some elders commented that this school was not a good choice many years back, and that they would not recommend it. However, nobody has an idea about it now. I heard that there is a new Principal now. If your kids are studying there, please let me know about the school in terms of academics, teachers and quality of education.

Thanks

Hi All,

Even we have applied for Cathedral School for my son for LKG. Please let us know if the child would get individual attention in the class. Also does the teacher and the adminstration entertain parent teacher interaction from time to time to understand the progress of the child. Even we are put up in Ulsoor and fall under general category. Will the child have overall good exposure and development from teachers. Please let us know on this.

 @  kidmom : Yes you are correct, Till 10th it is ICSE  board and 11-12th it is state board PU college. Definitely the schools mention by you must be first choice.  

@ ara80 : School exist from more than 100 years and run by the same board CSI which run bishop cotton. I don't know too much about the past. My kid is studying here in class 1, till now my experience is very good. Some students form my neighborhood goes in higher classes also, they also have good experience.  Two year back a new Principal joined this school.  

@ Rukmani2012 : Academics and co-curricular activities are good. They have a regular interaction with parents also. Teacher and student ratio is also good.

Thanks for the info @rusrun.

Any idea when the list for 2012  LKG admissons is going to be put up?????

Please refer the below URL for 2012-2013 admissions:

http://www.cathedralbangalore.com/nursery_admission_2012-13.pdf

Cathedral LKG  First List available on their school website.

http://www.cathedralbangalore.com/blank.html

Dear All

My sons name appers in the list. Went to the school this morning, interview starts from 18 april, fee is about 62 K

Thought the interview is going to start tomorrow (4/Apr/2012).  Can some one confirm the interview dates.

There is a confusion in the selected list since application number and names are not matching for few of the selected candidates. 

School authority asked us to just refer the names.

Hi All,

Can you please help decide between st germains and cathedral school. I received a call today that my son's name is there in the list for LKG batch. We have already done the admission in St Germains, However would like to know which one would be better option for overall development. Please do share your thoughts ASAP.

wen do the good schools in bangalore generally start issuing forms? i hav  a daughter who has to be admitted in nursery 2012-2013, dont want to miss out tryin any gud schools. very keen on sophias

hi N0303, I think both germains and cathedral are good schools, St germains has good infrastructure and experienced teachers. Cathedral has extra amenities like swimming pool , high tech equipments which probably st germains doesent have as of now. But in academics, sports and overall developement of the child st germains is good. even their fee structure is very good compared to cathedral. But its my opinion please check out your preferences and take a decision.

 Hi,

My kid is in Cathedral. She joined in her UKG and has finished her 3rd. I have decided to change her school from this year.

My views on the school are mixed. I put her there cos of 2 reasons, Firstly i wanted a co-ed school and the likes of bishop cotton,baldwins etc were not. Secondly wanted a school which had equal importance to academics and co-curricular activities. I had a detailed chat with the then Principal, Mr Zachariah, whom i felt to be visionary in terms of where he is leading the school to. 

My personal views are as follows. I would mention that these are purely based and biased on my personal experiences in last 4 years and in no way a judgement on the school. 

Academics : The school is decent. If you are excited seeing marks card every second month, you are in the right place. The routine is 1 month class, 1 month exam, and holidays. Your kid will carry enough homework to tire him/her off by evening. Your kid will carry a bag equivalent to his/her weight every day to school. This is the case with all schools in Blore, I admit. Still fail to understand why a school with 100 years of legacy cannot make 4 term texts of a text book, I mean cut the one huge text in to 4 small texts. 

Teachers : One of the strongest point of the school. Every teacher I have interacted with have been good and very passionate about what they do. The KG level teachers are extremly good in english, probably due to their parentage, which has helped my kid develop a strong spoken english. Current year they have brought in a rule that teachers should not give their contact numbers to parents. Teachers can be met only with prior approval from Principal. 

Class rooms: Clean, spacious,well ventilated. Only negative is lack of storage space. With 50+ kids in each class, it ends up being cramped still. 

Co-curricular : Very few activities which include

1) Bul-Bul/NCC : My kid was in Bul Bul and went for a 3 day camp to Madumalai. She enjoyed it so much that she was waiting for the next one. It was the 1st time she lived alone away from home for 3 days. They have every tuesday as bul-bul day, where they have to be in the bul-bul uniform too. The teacher in charge is also very passionate, so a lot of work happens there.

2)Sports : There are few good facilities. But not much at the primary level. The 3rd std kids still do lemon and spoon races for sports day. May be the 4000 odd kids in the school make it tough on them to do extensive sports events. But there is a exclusive sports day every year. 

3)Arts : Choir group , arts day, arts competitions are conducted with lot of fan and fare. But again with so many kids, every kid doesnt get an opportunity. This is not desirable to a kid. They also have a day which is dedicated to awards. Winners of arts/proficiency are awarded in front of a capacity crowd.

4)Facilities : A good sized ground, A very large auditorium, Not so great KG play area ( old and worn and torn equipments). Swimming pool was always found dirty and I was vary of putting my kid for swimming competitions. 

5) Staff : Friendly and courteous for such a large and old school. 

6) Transport : There are school buses in many routes, but no where close to catering for even a minor %ge of the schools population. We have to rely of the private operators, and its a risky choice. You travel that side when the school leaves and weak hearted people will faint seeing kids running around near the back gate. The 2-3 security guards and staff do their best to control them in vain. 

7) Canteen : Good canteen and decent food. Though I personally dont advocate packaged chips and fatty foods being served in a school canteen. 

Im in no way negative of the school, just that my personal expectations were not met. But im sure with such a strong alumni and legacy, and around 3-4k students studying there everyyear, a vast majority are for sure happy.

I think I covered most of it, pls free to point out any thing Ive missed out. 

Thanks 

Manoj 

Hi Manoj and Rukmani,

Thank you for your valuable inputs and feedback.......  As we have already completed out admission in st germains we will go ahead with that........ But i should definelty say that these admission process and timelines really sucks......... Parents are exploited to the core in the name of their kids.......  My best wishes to all parents out there.......  End of the day its only you who have to be their for your child regardless of the school the child is in...............

 Hi Manoj,

Nice review based on your experience. I am not sure if 50:1 student teacher ratio is ok for any grade?. I mean to ask if all students will get required individual attention? I am worried about this as most of the popular schools have similar ratio. One more thing as you said if the school has a population of around 5000 students will they get enough opportunities to get relevant exposure/experience leaving alone the infrastructure and facilities they have ? Also I need inputs if these so known popular schools would be flexible on the rule of 4 years as on June 01, 20xx. My son would be 3 years 10 months by that date.

 Thanks,

 Rajesh

 Cathedral school LKG first list is out in their web site. Please check for your kids. 

Hi Rajesh,

Most convent schools would have the 50:1 or 40:1 ratios as I have seen. The nursery section of Cathedral was impressive, as the kids really picked up language owing to the teachers in those classes. I was not happy with the other recreational learning facilities they had at that time. Not sure of the current stds.

No school would be flexible on the age rules. Its a strict govt norm and I dont think schools take a call on that.

My advice would be to not push your kid on that. Let him reach the age of admission. A year would not make any difference in the childs growth or education. Squeezing him by accomodating him into a class with kids elder to him will affect him.

Just my thoughts. You are the best judge.

Thanks.

Hi CTmanoj,

I just enrolled my son in Cathedral. Read ur above points on the school and was just curious to know if one of the reasons for shifting ur daughter from the school was for individual attention not paid by the teachers. Its one of my concerns looking at the figures( 4000 kids in a school).
I was happy with the infrastrucrure, lots of greenery, big, spacious. A good area for an energetic 4 yr old boy to run around. The school rooms for LKG did look a little dull and small( for 50 students). Hows the current reputation of the school? I am also curious to know as many people dont speak about Cathedral like they do about St. Josephs, BCBHS, FAPS, St .Germains. I mean if its such an old school, how come it has got such a quite reputation? I mean people are speaking about Baldwins admissions which supposedly is not considered one of the best school but I havent seen many talks about Cathedral school.
 

My major concern is the private van. Can u give or advise any private van operators contact numbers? Do these van leave the child inside the school or outside the gate and after school, does one of the caretaking ladies escort the child to the van?

I am not from Bangalore so would really appreciate some advise and guidance.

Thanks!!!

 any idea when they are puting the second list....

Hi Sonya,

As I had mentioned in my earlier note, the decision to shift was based on multiple factors. Student teacher ratio being just one of them. My kid had recieved very good attention from her teachers and the Aayas in her nursery. They still recognise me when i see them. So i would not complain of the quality of teachers and staff.

I was not happy of the infra as you sound. Did you see an empty school compoud probably during admissions?. I have my reservations on the play area when the school is full of kids.

I had the same doubt that you have on why isn't Cathedral sought after as the other similar schools. Everyone seems to be getting admissions there. No one seems to be rejected for want of seats. Many of her friends have since moved to other schools. Reasons are something I have not pondered on since moving her from the school :).

The school has its own buses. Limited number and limited routes. Might as well check in the office first before you put a private van. Private vans DO NOT drop the kids inside the school. They have to wait outside near the back exit of the school. And its a mad rush after school hours. The teachers used to insist that the van driver comes and picks the kid from school and take them in a que to the van. Im not sure how much that is followed now. I have personally complained to the management earlier about the kids running to cross the road to catch their vans. The security is insufficient. My kid used to go in a private van. I have his number. Would depend on where you are put up . These guys cater to specific areas.

Hope I have addressed your queries. Thanks.

Hi Manoj,

Thanks for the information, Yes, I did see an empty school compound during admissions and I thought it was because it was a saturday so thats why.

Yes, thats what I thought...I heard about Cathedral only thru the internet not by word of mouth which generally is the case if the school is in the same city and well reputed.

The private vans are my main concern now since u have mentioned that they do not drop inside the school premises. I definately do not want my hyper, naughty son standing outside the gate with the busy main road with traffiic there. I mean if the school buses can come inside then they should allow the vans too especially for such small children. Its totally absurd.
 

I stay near Benson Town, to be precise Marappa Garden. If the number u have of the van caters to this area then pls forward it to me. It would be a great help.

Thanks again for the info...now that my son is admitted...I just need to wait and watch. I heard that the new Principal has made some changes for the better so lets see.