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Hello people, does anyone have any info about childrens schools in hurgharda. The kids are 8 and 12. Also any info about cost and what the education system is like. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Patsy
Posts: 104 | From: Hurghada | Registered: Aug 2005
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hi i am in the process of schooling for my children they are the same age as yours.there are 3 schools in hurghada the first is st,josephs it is a catholic school the cost is £500per year per child they teach in english as their first language it is run by sisters of the cloth the only problem with this school is that they want a residency permit before you can join if you can get one of these then your laughing but this is easier said than done.the only way to obtain one is to marry an egyptian or start an official business.the second school is called rajac international.this is a cairo/american run school at the mo only the primary school is built the secondary school is not estimated to be finished till next year at the earliest so ok for younger child but not for older it is also a lot more expensive than the other two schools.the last school is el gouna international which is supposed to be THE school but it is a good 30 mins drive away from hurghada there is a one off set up fee of i dont know how much as yet!but the yearly costs are just over £1000 per year per child all books uniforms and travel costs are at your own expense too with all schools the bus to el gouna is pricy.this info is direct from the schools atained by appointments interviews and entrance exams that my two children have attended and is not second hand info from others.if you want to get in touch with me we could work this quest together and it would be nice maybe for the kids to get to know each other email me on m_orritt@hotmail.co.uk and il give you my mobile number and address here in hurghada hope to hear from you soon rivergod
Posts: 71 | From: hurghada | Registered: Mar 2005
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Hi rivergod, Thanks for the promp reply. How long have you lived in Hurghada? we've just got back to England after 2wks hol and its just a fab place. Property seems pretty cheap and thats what we are looking into at the moment. The 2 kids are my grandkids so they will be coming over to live with us along with their mum and also my younger daughter who's 23yrs. I know what you mean about getting a residency permit it's no joke how hard that would be but hopefully it will be easier to get work. My husband wants to do his dive instructors course over there and then do that for a living, he made a lot of contacts while we were over there and they have said that any help we need we've only to ask so if you need anything just get back to me and i will see what i can find out. Cheers Patsy
Posts: 104 | From: Hurghada | Registered: Aug 2005
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hi weve been here 6 weeks now and like yourself fell in love with the place whilst on hols.as for work its not that easy unless you can speak other languages the way we got around it is im a hairdresser and a lot of ex pats didnt like the european hairdressers and the egyptians are a no no so i keep my prices cheap and work from home or go to clients homes it seems to be workin out so far my husband buys land and that is goin well as for divin my friend samia is a diver here and if i am not mistaken it is not easy to get a bdive permit as the government is clampin down on the amount of intructors startin work here due to damage to reefs however dont quote me on this as i dont dive and was told this info when my husband showed an intrest in it leave a post on here for a member called samia she will tell you everything you need to know re divin she has been doin it for a while now and knows what she is talkin about.if you need any other info findin out dont hesitate to ask as i know quite a few tollerable people LOL who are used to all my questions people ranging from postal service banks where to buy or rent from even pets as we fetched our dog just ask maasalaama rivergod
Posts: 71 | From: hurghada | Registered: Mar 2005
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Hi rivergod, this moving business is a pain in the butt. We've been told different things from other sources andm it can get a bit confusing. My husband was diving with Voodoo divers over the 2wks and a dive co-ordinator called Ruth who works for a few different dive schools told him it would be easy for him to do his internship and then find work. The family who own Voodoo told us that my 2 daughters should be able to get work pretty easily. It's such a pain not knowing how things work as we just want to live the 'dream'. I would be interested to know how you go about taking the dog over as i have 2 yorkies that i want to go with me. Thanks again for the help and i hope the hairdressings going well i'll know where to come for a haircut.
rivergod is correct in her infotmations regarding the schools, BUT the rajac school is not open yet, they are still building it - the st. joseph is the second school in hurghada itself and there is also a small french school and a german one in construction....
the problem with rajac and st joseph is, that they teach the egyptian curriculium - which doesn't give your kids an international valid exam in the end... and, they language in st joseph might be set as english, but they do teach in arabic!!!!
el gouna is having an national and international section - the international section in teaching the british curriculum and your kids will have valid exam in the end.... yes. it's a 30 min busride from hurghada, but the kids get picked up pretty close to their houses and also returned ...
the school fee does include the books, maps etc - how much you will ahve to pay depends also on the age of the kids... calculate aout euro 2000 per year; i know that they have been talking about a "entrance fee", but i don't know how much and if it took place...
the transportation cost is on you, for the school bus it's about 1500 le = 210 Euro and for the public bus it's about 9 euro per month, so you can choose
the diving : i think my friend samia will be happy to tell you all the little stories of her idc - in general, YES your hubby can do his divemaster as an internship - takes usually three month and he will have to be at least Advanced or equal certified to join such a programm... which languages does he speak??
ones you are here, there are enough ways toget your instructor - i think i now about which ruth you are talking, she's a very relieable person, diving since ages and knows a lot about the buiseness....
hope that this information helped a bit - good luck !!
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Hi Hatshepsut, Thanks for the info.My husband is advanced diver with two specialities but only speaks english. The cost of childrens schools are about what we expected and seams to be a fair price. Once again many thanks.
posted
hi again ive been doin some diggin the info i gave you about el gouna is correct i have the tel no of a peter dowling who is a teacher there email me if you would like it as for divin iv spoken to samia tonight whilst doin her hair i ran through what id told you and she said the info i gave you was correct however she will be more than willing to discuss this with you yourself for peace of mind as for the dog firstly you need to get all vacs up to date and a rabies jab for this you will a cert then you have to apply to DEFRA (their add can be found on web my nearest was in preston)for an import cert this has to be filled in and sent back to the defra office they will then send a cert to your vets to complete in the meantime you need to get permission from cairo airport to accept the dog when it arrives .once the final health check has been done by the vet you must take the completed cert to the consulate of egypt and the legalising board to get it stamped(this can be as little as 2 days before travel but thats the way it gos with the egyptians)defra will guide you through every step it sounds complecated but it really isnt just go with the flow and dont -panic cos believe me it can feel at times that it just aint gonna happen.i thought at one point that i would have to put our dog in the rspca cos of the time scale they operate on.the best way of flying the dogs out is by excess baggage they will need a crate to trvel in heathrow airport can give you the tel no of a v good company to arrange a crate pets abroad i think they were called we have a staffy and the flight price of her and her crate was £438 so that will give you a rough idea i still have all the paperwork so if you need any moree info let me know and dont forget to email me for pete dowlings tel number at el gouna best wishes rivergod Posts: 71 | From: hurghada | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Originally posted by p666ats: Hi Hatshepsut, Thanks for the info.My husband is advanced diver with two specialities but only speaks english. The cost of childrens schools are about what we expected and seams to be a fair price. Once again many thanks.
Patsy
Patsy... look at my reply to your post... I really dont want to discourage you.. but first thing Hubby needs is to learn a language or 2... then...a LOT more diving... I disagree about it being easy to get an i nternship unless you are young....ie, for the word "intern" read "SLAVE"!! It's a long hard road to instructor... please feel free if I can help you any more, but,at the moment I don't consider it the best time to start looking at this...tourism is down and dive staff are looking for work!!
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Hi rivergod, Wow i feel a bit deflated now that i've heard from Samia. We so want to live in Hurghada but it sounds like my poor hubby's dreams will turn into nightmares. I live down the motorway from preston a place called winsford, cheshire.I've seen the sight for DEFRA and it looks very informative. Did you just decide to leave England or did it take you a while? We are selling our house to make this move possible but i dont want to give up everything to find there's nothing for us over there. This is scary stuff. Thanks for the info about the dogs. Patsy
Posts: 104 | From: Hurghada | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by p666ats: Hi rivergod, Wow i feel a bit deflated now that i've heard from Samia. We so want to live in Hurghada but it sounds like my poor hubby's dreams will turn into nightmares. I live down the motorway from preston a place called winsford, cheshire.I've seen the sight for DEFRA and it looks very informative. Did you just decide to leave England or did it take you a while? We are selling our house to make this move possible but i dont want to give up everything to find there's nothing for us over there. This is scary stuff. Thanks for the info about the dogs. Patsy
Dear Patsy I am on the other side of the water in Sharm and yes there have been huge lay offs in the diving schools immediately following the bombing. But the fact is you will never keep the divers away from Sharm and in time ( and I hope not before security is improved) the business will come back up to where it was before the bombings.
Don't let your hubby loose his dream, it is just the timing that is all wrong at the moment.
Can he not pursue his diving qualifications in the Uk in the meantime and then god willing he will be qualified to pursue his dream when this madness has settled again.
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Hi Penny, We were in Hurghada when the madness hit sharm and this didnt put us off one bit. As for diving in the uk he hates it with a passion, it's cold, dark and not to pleasent.He knows it will cost him a lot of money to get to instructor but says it's worth it. We wont be moving until after christmas so hopefully things may calm down a bit. Thanks for the reply it's very much appreciated. Patsy Posts: 104 | From: Hurghada | Registered: Aug 2005
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sorry, to say, but samia is right what she's saying.... you can do an intenship when you can effort to live for three month on bred and veggies, not if you gonna have to support a family... and a second language is def. needed.... but still, keep he flag up, ask hubbie to get a couple of more dives and try to find the time to come over here for a while to see if you like it... don't move over, before you are really sure, you know what you are going into... holiday is different from living here!!!!!!!!!
for the school : yes, peter is one of the teachers, rivergod is right with this information, as they are having still holiday in the moment, i would advice you to have a look on the website www.elgounaschool.com or net - not about that, but you can easiely find it through google....
if you need any more help, feel free to ask - you are welcome!!
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hi again i wouldnt say i just uped and left but it wasnt hugely planned either.as i said before i fell in love with the place like you after a long hols i come from blackpool and was sick of the dead end life there so i decided if i was destined to live a dead end life it might well as be in a place i liked.it was mid april that i actually decided to make the move my husband wasnt origionally up for it but said if i could organise it he would take the plunge.obviously being a hairdresser helped as i did a lot of enquiring about whether an english hairdresser would work out the responce was hugely encouraging from a lot of these fine people on ES.i befriended a few people living in hurghada and put a lot of trust in these people and so far it has paid off.the thing with moving here if you dont have a job to walk into is to find a niche in hurghada life they are there for the taking it just requires trust patience guts and cash to support your family in the meantime. we were going to buy but its easy to put your money into property but not so easy to get it out if for whatever reason you want to return to uk.i managed to get a £750pm 3 story villa down to just under £300pm by paying a full years rent a lot of people will say that this is still a lot to pay as the average rent here is about £100-150 pm for a 2 bed apartment.its ideal for me as i said because i have 2 lively kids and a dog.i have my own beach and literaly only 2 mins walk from the main beach.it is fully furnished air con throughout direct water supply(no tank) i am guarenteed no electric cuts which i can happily confirm i havent had even a flicker. at the end of the day you have to follow your heart if it is what you really want then you will make it work.i was given so much advice some positive some negative but all good advice.there are many non financial benefits of living here you can leave your kids without worry of all the sickos we have back home the language skills the children will come out with. my daughter,whom is 9,can string a pigeon sentence together in arabic they will be living in a multi cultural society oh and not forgetting the weather here.if its what you want dont be put off follow your heart follow your dreams i am evidence that dreams can come true. here for you always rivergod
Posts: 71 | From: hurghada | Registered: Mar 2005
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Thanks for the advice rivergod, I know what you mean about feeling life here is crap. I just feel that it's the same **** day in day out, i never see my husband as he's away all week and when he is home he's either knackered or the weather's to bad to do anything other than sit in the house together. I'm 47 and feel about 67 i hate my job and have a boring life. If i wrote a diary of my weekly life it would be the same thing on every page week in week out. Sorry for that little rant just feeling frustrated. Thanks again and i'm so glad things have worked out for you. The only thing i do other than my day job is wedding buffets, birthdays or buffets in general and i really enjoy doing that because my little hobby has brought me a lot of work through word of mouth. Cheers for the chat. Patsy
Posts: 104 | From: Hurghada | Registered: Aug 2005
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Hi Rivergod, You say that you managed to get a villa for under £300 a month, thats great. Did you find it before you left England or did you have someone do it for you? This would be something i would be interested in instead of jumping in and buying a property. How easy/hard was it to find as a home on the beach sounds priceless to me, even a small pool would do me as i will not be working so a bit of comfort sounds fab. Thanks for your help. Patsy
Posts: 104 | From: Hurghada | Registered: Aug 2005
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hi sorry for delayed reply iv been busy.where i am there are several empty villas i can ask around for you if you are interested our villa is 3 story and sleeps 10 but there are several 2 story villas here too my neighbours are an egyptian family but they are the loveliest friendliest people i dont drive so nahla the lady of the house takes me she is fantastic so if you want just let me know i have lots of contacts now re property in all areas and i make a point of making them know me LOL
Posts: 71 | From: hurghada | Registered: Mar 2005
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Hi Rivergod, Thanks for the reply, i would be grateful for any info on property that you can give me. Hope you are settling in to your new life and alls well.
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Hi Rivergod, hope you are well and keeping yourself busy. Have you settled into your new life yet? The house is now on the market and hopefully it will sell soon then we can make our move. As usual it's raining but at least it's warm. Take care Patsy
Posts: 104 | From: Hurghada | Registered: Aug 2005
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hiya patsy yes ive been very busy i have just had business cards printed with help from samia (thanks samia)i have also just rented a shop and took an egyptian girl on to sell all things cute so far itsgoin really well.AND.....i have got my kids into school finally yes rajac is open yes my kids are in and start sept 18th hurray it cost 5025le each child per year this is inclusive of all books and equipment.they are studying english maths science computer and geog in english and are studying arabic and german as second language.when they have learnt enough arabic they will also study history and re in arabic they will get an american diploma.the extra after school activities are swimming horse riding and various other clubs at a cost of 300le per term if you are interested for your kids fetch birth certs health records and school reports the rest is a doddle trust me MY KIDS ARE IN.
Posts: 71 | From: hurghada | Registered: Mar 2005
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Hi Rivergod, so pleased that everything is coming together for you, you sound really happy. We are hoping to be there in the new year but if it was up to me i would be there now. Dont know yet if my eldest girl will be coming with us now as she's worried about the two kids and schools. She wants us to go on ahead and then will come over for holiday to check out things for herself, the other daughter is still coming but she's 23 so no need to worry about school for her. Good luck with the shop but by the sound of it you dont need any. All the best Patsy
Posts: 104 | From: Hurghada | Registered: Aug 2005
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A permanent move to Hurghada ? It may be a good idea to try moving there for a few months and see how you feel about living there. This is only my opinion, but I found Hurghada a nice place for a vacation but sure hated living there. Once you get bored with the beach, there really isn't anything to do and the constant hassle from the low lifes living there is a real pain in the butt. Food is also an issue. The supermarkets don't have much variety.
As for the schools, try finding some parents in Hurghada you can talk with. I know first hand that El Gouna school is expensive and a joke. Last school year started out with a lot of kids not even having a class room. A lot of the parents are really not happy with this school, but unfortunately for foreigners, there are not many other options.
Good luck
Posts: 84 | From: Gherkin Land | Registered: Aug 2004
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I have been reading your posts and it seems like you have managed to get a lot of things done. I know living here as a foreigner can be extremely difficult and trying to do the simplest of things can be extremely frustrating and very time consuming.
You have managed to find a flat for a good price, purchased land and a shop, and in such a short time ! I am amazed, how did you do it ?
[This message has been edited by GrumpyGherkin (edited 08 September 2005).]
Posts: 84 | From: Gherkin Land | Registered: Aug 2004
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posted
[QUOTE]Originally posted by GrumpyGherkin: [B]Hey RiverGod
I have been reading your posts and it seems like you have managed to get a lot of things done. I know living here as a foreigner can be extremely difficult and trying to do the simplest of things can be extremely frustrating and very time consuming.
You have managed to find a flat for a good price, purchased land and a shop, and in such a short time ! I am amazed, how did you do it ?
Posts: 84 | From: Gherkin Land | Registered: Aug 2004
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Hey Grumpy Gerkin, thanks for your response. I take it you no longer live in Hurghada and didnt find the experence to great. I am not going there to work in fact i plan to retire so doing nothing will suit me fine. My husband and daughter will be working and to be honest they can turn their hand to anything, my daughter sets up web sites at the moment and is a bit of a wizz on the old computer unlike myself who can just get by. Once again thanks for the info. Patsy
Posts: 104 | From: Hurghada | Registered: Aug 2005
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Hi Rivergod, just wondered how you are doing? in your last post you sounded pretty busy and things were going great for you and your family. Hope all is still on track and you have settled into your new life. We are just waiting to sell the house so that we can start our new adventure. Got up this morning to rain so we were going to just book a flight and pp over for a week when i found that my passport only has 4mths left on it so now i have to stay here in the rain and send off for a new one, what a pain in the butt. Hopefully it wont take too long to sell up and i cant wait to get back there. Have the children settled into their new school? our grandchildren wont be coming to live over there as their mum has found a nice bloke and is thinking of getting married so thats one less thing to worry about. Anyway hope all's well. Patsy
Posts: 104 | From: Hurghada | Registered: Aug 2005
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