Adam started attending ENS at the age of 4. The determining factor in our choice of a kindergarten, and then of a school, was the senior teachers at ENS are not just native English speakers, but qualified, experienced specialists with teacher training qualifications obtained in the UK. The comfortable and stimulating educational environment was also attractive.

At the moment, Adam is in Year 3 in the British programme and in the first year of Russian school; he’s following two curricula within the walls of one educational institution. Very comfortably! We’re pleased with his academic performance: he’s reading, writing, and speaking in two languages. On trips abroad he communicates in English easily and naturally, expresses himself fully and finds a common language with children and adults.

When one of this contemporaries tries to provoke a conflict situation outside (I witnessed this once), Adam behaves like a true gentleman and responds to the provocation according to the Golden Rules laid down in the school. He says, “No, thank you” or “I don’t like this” and steps aside, i.e. he does not let a conflict situation develop. And it works! The offender freezes in bafflement, and the conflict dies down. The school doesn’t only provide academic knowledge: it also instills good manners in children and teaches etiquette for conversation with peers and adults. True, there are some question marks: it ended up casting doubt on Grandma’s cooking! He says that the cereals and soups at school are tastier. 🙂

At first the fees seemed rather high, but I saw they were justified when I realised I was giving my son the best! I have never had any doubt I made the right choice. I am sure I am giving my child a good educational foundation. The only thing that makes us think is his future educational trajectory: we’re looking for the right secondary school, one that will support both curricula. Is there a place like that in Moscow? I would like him to continue studying in English in the main educational disciplines, but not to the detriment of education in his native language.