TURKISH Cypriot students have shown great interest in attending the English School in Nicosia this September, headmaster Robert Swan said yesterday.
The fee-paying school said a total number of 20 places had been made available for Turkish Cypriot students in Years 2, 3, 4 and 6.
Late entrance examinations for Years 2, 3 and 4 will be held at the school next Thursday and candidates for Year 6 will be interviewed in early September.
“We have received 36 firm applications for examinations for Years 2, 3 and 4,” said Swan.
Candidates for Year 6 have until August to apply, which was why there were no firm applications yet, he said. “They still have plenty of time and are also waiting for their ‘O’ level results this summer.”
Around 100 potential Turkish Cypriot parents and students, who are interested in finding out more about the school, attended an orientation evening last week, he added.
“We had arranged for a bus to pick them up from the checkpoint and in the end it had to run three times. Since then, they have been queuing up to register.”
Turkish Cypriot parents have a number of concerns, said Swan.
“Some are concerned about the stability of the situation as there is no guarantee the checkpoints are going to stay open, although they are still willing to send their children here,” he said.
It was also not feasible for students to cross by car through the Ayios Dhometios checkpoint every morning and they would have to come over from the Ledra Palace checkpoint on foot. “Transportation to school by bus will have to be arranged, but it’s a question of who will pay for it.”
The parents would also like to know if they were going to receive financial assistance from the government. “The English School has not received any official information as to whether or not the government will help Turkish Cypriots cover the cost of school fees,” said Swan. The Cyprus Mail has in vain been trying to get an answer from the Education Ministry on the issue for three weeks.
Twenty places is the maximum number of additional places the school could provide this year since entrance examinations had already taken place. “We’re not necessarily going to fill those places and they have not been taken away from Greek Cypriots or other candidates. They were created specially for Turkish Cypriot students and will only go to candidates who can cope with the English School environment. They will not be made available to other candidates if they are not all fulfilled,” he said. The interested students will mainly have to demonstrate that their English is good enough to keep up with the curriculum, and that their general academic knowledge is up to standard, he said.
One of the parents’ concerns was whether or not the standard of education in the north was comparable, he said. “We don’t yet know the answer to that yet. On Thursday, we’ll get a clearer idea,” said Swan.
In future, the school hopes to offer places on a quota system – four classes in Year 1 for Greek Cypriots and one class for Turkish Cypriots. Unsuccessful candidates could then reapply in Year 2, as long as their English was up to standard, he said.
The English School was a bicommunal school since its foundation in 1900 until 1974. For more information contact the Head Teacher on 22-799302 or email [email protected]
