Kwangju Foreign School

Kwangju Foreign School
Location
633-1 Yangsan-dong, Buk-gu Gwangju Republic of Korea
Coordinates	35.1746°N 126.8837°E / 35.1746; 126.8837
Information
Type	Private
Motto	Character and Knowledge
Established	1996
President	Robert Holley
Principal	Trevor Goodwin
Staff	6
Faculty	18
Number of students	130
Website	www.kwangjuforeignschool.org

The Gwangju Foreign School is an International school in the city of Gwangju, Chollanambdo, Korea. Gwangju is sometimes written as Kwangju, depending on what part of the world you are from.

The school is located approximately at Latitude 35.17462 N and Longitude 126.88361E or 370 kilometers (230 miles) southwest of Seoul, and it was opened in response to city officials needing an International school to attract foreign buisness.

School Philosophy

Students attend international schools because the classes are taught in English, and to gain acceptance into universities in the U.S. The course curriculum is therefore identical to that of U.S highschools, and counseling services in the schools provide the students with direction as to the appropriate activities to be involved in and the preparation necessary for the special entrance exams for non native English speakers. The school is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASQ)

Teaching Staff and administration

The teaching staff at Korean International private schools are on what are called E-7 visas as opposed to the E-2 visas that are issued to English teachers at Institutes(Hogwons) or Public schools. The issuance of E-7 visas now requires that applicants have upwards of 5 years of relevant experience. Immigration has come down hard on Korean International private schools as a kneejerk reaction to Christopher Paul Neil having worked at such an institution.(This particular institution in fact) There are 3 elementry school teachers, 4 middle school teachers and 4 highschool teachers.

The administrative staff are chosen from the teaching staff, by a consensus of opinion or by the principal himself. Sometimes the administration turns out to be different from what was expected, and morale amongst the teachers and the students suffers. School would be better to have proper experienced administrators with experience in either the public or private school system.

School Location and Facilities

The school is one of two private schools owned by Mr Robert Holley. It is located in Yangsandong, Buk Gu an industrial suburb of Gwangju. The school occupies a two building campus, sharing an old, noisy and dilapidated neighborhood with a lot of traffic, a few furniture stores, apartment buildings, a gas station and a butcher shop. The Na Dong apartments in the rear of the school are the homes of the school's teaching staff. The campus buildings are not new, and were formerly office buildings for public services. A public driveway passes between the two school buildings to the teachers apartrments and another set of apartments. Often traffic on the driveway has to be slowed down, because the occupants of the other apartments have little regard for the students walking between classes. The school also has an assembly hall, but it's old and quite unkempt. The school's science laboratory needs refurbishing, because it is poorly equipped (no bunsen burners) and lacks the proper saftey measures( e.g. no fume cupboard).

The playing facilities are quite limited, but the students are hardy and make the most of what they have. Come basketball season though the teams practice off campus on a regulation size basketball court at the Gwangju Institute of science and Technology.

There is a cafeteria in the basement of the main building which provides lunch for the students. Friday is the day the students look forward too because the meal consists of prepare your own hamburgers.

Students

Many of the students are Korean nationals who have lived in English speaking countries and who have also attained a certain proficiency in the English language. Korean law requires that students wanting to attend international schools must have proof of residence (a passport) in an English speaking country for at least five years. There are a a few non Korean expatrate children attending the school, many of whom have parents working at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology(GIST).

Uniforms are required. Now and again students jump the gun so to speak as to when to change from winter wear to summer wear or vice versa, and have to be reigned in.

ESL Programe

The school also has an ESL programme for students with poor or no English skills. Some of the core subjects are taught as ESL subjects until such a time that the student can make the transition to the regular classes. There are a good number of students in the schools ESL programes, and their English ability improves quite dramatically. The programe is essentially an immersion type programe, and this forces the students to learn the language very quickly.

School Sports

The school participates in sports with other International schools in the area. It competes in basketball and soccer with International schools in Pusan, Daejeon, and Pohang. The sports teams usually do well in competitions, as there are some very enthusiastic teachers willing to help out with coaching. There is also an annual cross country race for the students, which sometimes becomes an inter school event. Like most schools, lunch hour is basketball, soccer, and volleyball time for both the boys and the girls.

School Science Fair

The school has a science fair, that all students must participate in every year. They make science projects, and are judged on the better points of the project. The winners attend a regional competition for other foreign schools; the same schools that compete in the sports. Participating in the competition are the other private international schools in Kyungsannamdo. Students must submit a project of sorts, because participation improves a students application process for a U.S. college or university. Preparation for the science fair is a challenging time or the students, but an excellent learning experience.

Recently one student was invited to Turkey to present her science project. She left the school when she returned, because she was activley recruited by some of the better private schools in Korea.

Extra Curricular Activities

Some students are keen Hip hop, B boy dancers, and they practice often after school. There is a boys group and a girls group although the girls seem to be more into Jazz Dance. They are both regular fixtures in the school's concerts, and talent shows.

The school also has an orchestra, and it performs once a year for parents, and guests. There are music institutes on every corner in every town in Korea, so the exposure of Korean young people to Classical music is widespread. Most Korean children are now expected to play an instrument of sorts, so if a student has an aptitude for music no expense is spared to ensure that he or she gets the best tutoring available.

The students are also able to put to-gether a rock group or groups whenever the need arises.

Philosophy of some Student's Parents

Often parents in Korea send their students to International schools to learn English only and then send them to Korean public schools for their highschool years, or send them abroad to continue in a regular western highschool. One parent usually accompanies a child when he or she studies abroad. The sending of children abroad with one parent to improve their education has been responsible for the term "wild goose industry".

Some students leave for a year to study abroad and then return to resume their study at the school. The use of private tutors to help one's children is a lucrative business for the countries university students and or the university graduates. All the more power to the parents for making use of this avilable resource.

There is an incessant drive on the part of Korean parents to give their children an education in English no matter what the expense, hence the constant concern in the news about the bulk of the GNP being diverted to-wards education of the countries young people either here or overseas. This is also responsible for the proliferation of English Institutes, and the push to place native speaking English teachers in all public schools E2 visas will now be given to qualified people from Malaysia, Singapore and the Phillipines, because there aren't enough expats from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, the U.S. and Great Britain to fill the available slots. The exchange rate hasn't been very good of late as well, and has led to an exodus of many teachers.