Throwaway account for personal reasons.
We applied our little one over a year ago for the lowest class. A "friend" applied her child a few months ago for the same class. We were told there is a waiting list, yet they received a placement. I asked how, and she told me her husband handled the application and she doesn’t know the details.
For an early class school doesn’t test or even meet the children or parents during the application process. Did they bribe someone, or why did they get the place when we didn’t? If there is waiting list we should have been much higher on it than they were. We are all same nationality, children 1 month difference in age. No siblings already in school.
How does ISM work? Do people really pay high bribes to someone in the school, are rumors I hear around Monaco true? Coruption? The selection certainly doesn’t seem fair.
International School of Monaco – ISM
byu/DelaySpirited7724 inMonaco
Posted by DelaySpirited7724
9 Comments
Donations or contacts. It’s a business with a board, they don’t have to be fair.
I can’t speak about ISM Monaco specifically, but I have personal experience with a top-tier IB school in Asia that operated similarly. Admissions priority was given first to families from embassies and the UN, with remaining spots allocated partly based on donations to the school. This is fairly standard practice at many international schools, simply because running a world-class campus with top facilities is extremely expensive. It’s not bribery – it’s how these institutions sustain themselves financially while managing limited capacity as a private school.
Donations. A friend dropped 25k and the school has no problem that they travel extensively and the child is missing days.
Don’t waste your time.
Way better to have your child home schooled with a call in teacher and enrolling your child into outside activities.
Must have contacts
That’s how Monaco works, unfortunately. Is the International School in Nice too far away for you to try there?
Im sure theres lots if wealth there.
What are some if the industries the parents are in?
Many own international companies?
There is no advantage to putting your kid into ISM as a 3-year-old. Monaco *maternelles* are excellent especially if you are in the Larvotto, St Charles or Fontvieille catchment areas. Your child will learn to speak French like a native speaker, which is a huge benefit in itself, and make local friends who don’t move away after a few years.
So you speak English at home? If so, I would look into putting your kid into ISM after elementary school or Year 10. That is when a lot of kids leave for boarding schools, so there are always many free spaces for new students. If you plan to stay in Monaco for that long, that is.
ISM is not a good school. Teachers underpaid, often working as tutors after school. Directors and board of trustees extremely corrupt, taking bribes, accepting event invites, going to yacht parties, concerts all paid by some parents. Probably one of the most corrupt places in Monaco. Teachers not allowed to accept “gifts” but directors don’t mind.