Parent
I had two kids in this school but had to resign the place of my younger child in 2019 (level P1) because he would not get along with the system at all. In 2020, I resigned the place of my older child also. So they studied in the school for one and two years, respectively. I have a very good knowledge of the school as I engaged with the activities and was involved through my children. Now, one year later, I thought to look back and compare with our current situation. In retrospect, I should have resigned the place of my other child much earlier: they had problems with school bullying and they were not able to stop it.
The school seems very welcoming, open and flexible at first. The teachers are genuinely nice and I could tell that they were trying their best. In my opinion, their school system is very difficult and inefficient. The teachers seem stressed out: I heard their outbursts in front of children and know a couple of cases where unacceptable methods were used, for example, a teacher using peer pressure against a student. There is a lack of leadership and structure. As a consequence, they have formed a unified, faceless body of teachers (the "team") that answers parents' questions (questions that in my opinion should be answered by the responsible teacher)-> leads to extreme inefficiency in solving pressing problems.
Moreover, the lack of structure leads to illogic. For example (I know many similar situations), they said to one of the children, who is allergic to several nutrients, that he was not allowed to eat meat balls with ketchup (he has a very limited diet) on a field trip because they are a sugar free school. But at the same at school the students practise making chocolate and bake cakes...
The academic level of the school is substandard. We had to enroll our children to PLP literacy classes in parallel with SISOG in order to develop their English skills.
Moreover, they claim to teach French, but in comparison to our current situation the results were very poor. The lack of structure also made it a bit difficult to follow the development. The difference in age and level between the students is very large so it is very challenging for the teachers. When I checked the assignment book of my child I saw numerous cases where my child had made errors but it was marked correct by the teacher. The difference between PLP and SISOG was like night and day (our children learned more in one year going half a day once a week than the whole year in SISOG).
In this school there are many problems but still I want to stress that the teachers are trying their best and they are very nice (they are not the problem). The location is very attractive for people at CERN. Perhaps the school could be a solution for kids around Meyrin area below level P1 who do not need yet a high quality academic teaching. However, the price is quite high for the quality.
3 other reviews for Swedish International School of Geneva - (Reviews aren't verified )
Parent
Like one of the other reviewers, I was shocked to read the two bad reviews about this school. The Swedish International School has been excellent for our son and I highly recommend it. Our son has attended between the ages of seven and eleven. He loves going there and we have had a great experience.
The school is not for everyone. If your child needs a super structured learning environment with homework every day, learning through memorising, and strict discipline, then perhaps this school is not what you are looking for. As well, you will not find sophisticated sporting infrastructure, What the Swedish School does give children is the freedom to follow their own learning journey, learning through their interests, being creative, spending time outside. Values and being good citizens are emphasised at the school and one can tell by how the children treat each other.
Being a bilin... read full review
Student
SISOG doesnt walk its talk. They put a very different face out than what they practice. The school does a good job about creating a community but that is all and the rest is worse than mediocre. They are very incompetent in addressing different learning needs and what is sad is they dont want to do extra work necessary to address the needs of kids who learn differently. It is very expensive when one considers what they offer. Often there is terrible communication if at all between teachers and parents. so much so that you never know where to pick up your child after school, but that is nothing compared to other communication mishaps they do. after school teachers dont know anything about pedagogy and my child has been yelled at by class teachers because well, the teachers are not really competent. They are so incompetent that they think dyslexic kids are academically retard... read full review
Parent
I’ve had my child enrolled in the Swedish International School of Geneva (SISOG) for many years, first in Preschool and then in Primary School. I must say that I was very shocked to read the single review existing on this site. The description of SISOG is completely unrecognisable compared to our experiences here! This school is highly professional and welcoming, they provide a secure environment where our child is able to follow their interests, explore, and take risks.
My child has never experienced any bullying, nor have we heard of any serious incidents. Children do come into conflict with one another, in the way that all children test boundaries; however, teachers seem to always take the time to address this with the children, walk through the situations, and reason with the children. Our child’s group is very sweet with their classmates, everyone is accepted. It is clea... read full review
