Being a British Overseas Territory, the system of education on the Cayman Islands is clearly influenced by this. Bearing in mind that there are many international students who live on the Cayman Islands, courtesy of the fact that their parents live and work on the islands, it is relevant to consider the educational opportunities that are available there.
Introduction to Education on the Cayman Islands
Not only is there is the opportunity to enroll for pre-school as well as primary and secondary school on the Cayman Islands, it is also possible to attain a variety of higher education qualifications while there.
In general, the Cayman Islands boasts high levels of education at all levels. There is the opportunity to enroll your child at a public school which is run by the government, or alternatively at a private school. The government policy on education requires that all children aged between 4 years and 9 months to the age of 17 years be enrolled at school. Therefore if you are an expatriate who lives and works on the islands, and you have school going children, it is imperative that you fulfill this requirement.
As a general rule, the Caymanian government encourages expatriates to send their children to private schools. This may be a good idea taking into account that you may only be on the islands for a limited number of years, and you will want to ensure that your children have access to education that will allow them to shift to another country, or your home country when the time comes.
If you do have a budget constraint in terms of sending your children to a private school, which you will have to pay for separately, the alternative is to make an application to a public school. The Caymanian government will entertain such requests taking into account your income bracket as well as whether there are places available in the public schools.
Note that Caymanians and permanent residents will not be required to pay for their children to attend public schools.
It is strongly advised that you explore the private school education options before uprooting your family and bringing them to the island with you.
Documentary evidence
If you are an expatriate worker, then in order for your family to live with you, you will have to met with immigration officials and provide copies of your work permit as well as apply for dependency permits for your family. If you have school-aged children, you will need to provide documentary evidence that they have been accepted into a local private school before your work permit can be stamped allowing them to come onto the island as your dependants.
It is also relevant to note that some private schools require the child to sit for an entrance examination or a placement test prior to acceptance. Once acceptance is confirmed, you will need to make an initial deposit to confirm enrolment before the school year commences.
The Caymanian government requires that all children starting school on the Cayman Islands complete a health screening before the school year begins, or before the child starts school on the island. This documentation will include your child’s immunization records as well. You will be required to obtain a Health Screening Certification and can opt to do this either at the Public Health Department or privately.
The health screening will include not only a general medical requirements but also sight and hearing tests as well as blood typing and speech and mental development. It is fairly comprehensive and you should allocate about half a day for the screening to be completed. It is also useful to bring along any documentation of family medical history that you have available in order to simplify this process.
If you are transferring your child from another school, it will be useful to bring along copies of transcripts and other academic and non-academic data for the purposes of your application to the new school.
At its discretion, the government can require students aged between 10 to 17 years to be drug tested (and you should not take this negatively) and also require character references for the child.
Public / State Schools
If you are considering enrolling your child in a public school, you will be required to pay a nominal fee of CI$750 per year for primary school, an annual fee of CI$900 for middle school and an annual fee of CI$1200 for high school. Note that this does not cover the cost of books and study materials and school uniforms that will have to be paid for separately.
In order to enroll your child in a government or public school, you will have to register your child with the Department of Education before the end of July. For the purposes of enrolling your child, the documentation that is required includes :
- The child’s birth certification
- Your passport
- The original immunization card
- Documentation proving the child’s residency category – this is normally found with reference to the child’s passport or a status letter issued by Immigration
- Proof of residential address via a utility bill or a tenancy agreement which should be notarized.
Ideally you should take the originals of these documentation as well as two copies of each for the purposes of submission to the Department of Education.
It is useful to remember that there is no guarantee that your child will be allocated a seat in a public school and you will have to prove that you are unable to afford to send your child to an international school in order for your application to be considered.
Private schools on the Cayman Islands
There are a variety of options available for private school on the Cayman Islands. Depending on whether you are interested in providing your child with exposure to the British school syllabus or the American school system, you can choose the schools accordingly. The two private schools that conduct the British school system are Cayman Pre and High School, and St Ignatius. Enrolment is available for children aged 4 years by September of the relevant year. If you are opting for the American school system, then you should consider enrolling your child either at Cayman International School or Triple C. Here you can enroll your child from the age of 5 years.
If you have children who have already completed high school, there is the option of attending the International College of the Cayman Islands and the University College of the Cayman Islands for higher education.
A useful tip is to register your child early in any of these institutions as there is no guarantee that there will be seats available when the time comes.
Private school fees
On average the school fees on the Cayman Islands for private schools is considered to be reasonable compared to many parts of the world. If you are looking at preschools, expect to pay about CI$8,000 per year for a full day. Alternatively, you can opt to enroll your child at a church-based school where the fees are only about CI$350 per month but note that religious studies are given a fair amount of focus in such schools.
If your child is aged between 5 or 6 years of age and about 11 years, then you should expect to pay about CI$3,000 to CI$15,000 per annum in school fees; while children in high school between the ages of 13 years to 17 years will be required to pay between CI$3500 to CI$17,000 per annum.
The general rule in private schools is that the first child will be required to pay full fees and each subsequent child enrolled from the same immediate family will be entitled to rebates of between 10 to 15 percent on the tuition fee. Fee payments are either to be made on a term basis or annually.
Special needs education on the Cayman Islands
The Caymanian government views the provision of special needs education as something that needs to be done and every effort has been made by the government to ensure that special needs kids have a solid learning platform.
If you are an expatriate with a special needs child, there are some options of private schools for special needs children that are worthwhile considering. In this regard, the government is very proactive in identifying special needs children and specifying the appropriate learning platforms that will be required.
One of the schools to be considered in this regard is the Lighthouse School.
Conclusion
All in all, for expatriate children, there is the opportunity to enroll in schools that provide international levels of education and since there is the opportunity to opt either for the American or British system of learning, most expatriates are able to rest easy that their children will be able to get world class education on the Cayman Islands.