School portraits · Singapore
The Flat They Didn’t Rent
A dual-campus application, two ends of an island, and a family that refused to sign a lease until January.
September deadline to January offer, in a serviced apartmentRead the story
School life, between the linesBy NewSchoolRun
Notes from the School Gates
School stories, admissions adventures, and the things parents talk about on the way home.
School portraits · Singapore
One Right, Two Children
A relocation package with a single Guaranteed Placement Right, a set of twins, and a decision no parent should be asked to make.
One relocation spring, from offer letter to first dayRead the story
School portraits · Singapore
The Wrong Lane
A Canadian father, four admissions lanes, and the Ohio grandmother who could have fixed everything in 1987.
One application season, from lane assignment to a March emailRead the story
School portraits · Dubai
Weekly Boarding, Ninety Minutes Away
An Abu Dhabi mother, a Year 7 son, and a boarding deposit that would come back when he did.
One first term, Sunday nights to Friday afternoonsRead the story
School portraits · Bangkok
The Question on the Fee Form
A refundable deposit or an annual payment: the NIST joining form asked a couple the one thing they had never agreed on.
One fee deadline, then seven monthsRead the story
School portraits · Dubai
The Little School
A Nigerian-British father, a daughter leaving Year 6, and the discovery that his primary school was exactly that.
One Year 6 to Year 7 summer, Umm Suqeim to Al BarshaRead the story
School portraits · Hong Kong
The Waiting List with a Sandwich
A mother in Sai Kung, a boy who wanted Year 7 at Kellett, and a waiting list she took more personally than he did.
One application cycle, autumn to the following springRead the story
School portraits · Dubai
The Asset in the Facilities Cupboard
A Dutch mother, a closed waiting list, and the corporate debenture nobody at her husband’s company could find.
One spring, from a closed list to a found folderRead the story
School portraits · Hong Kong
The Bus He Was Not Allowed to Drive
A Swedish father in Discovery Bay, a seven-year-old at Repulse Bay, and the school rule that took the school run away from him.
A first term, August to the Christmas concertRead the story
School portraits · Hong Kong
Sunday at Seven
A mother in Mid-Levels, a Year 6 boy at Harrow in Tuen Mun, and the weekly boarding timetable that ran from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon.
One autumn term of Sunday drop-offs and Friday collectionsRead the story
School portraits · Singapore
The Nursery Entrance Requirement
An Australian mother, a daughter two months shy of three, and the one admissions criterion nobody can coach.
Six weeks before a Nursery assessment, in Bukit TimahRead the story
School portraits · Dubai
The Thirty Thousand That Came Back
A Glaswegian accountant, a refundable debenture, and seven years of referring to it as a loan.
Year 7 to Year 13, with one spreadsheet throughoutRead the story