Parent
We ultimately decided that Terra Nova Bilingual School in Küsnacht wasn’t the right fit for our family, and we regretted our choice. An overview of our experience:
* Campus and Environment: The school campus felt quite utilitarian and lacked green space, which was particularly noticeable given the school’s location near two industrial companies. For younger children, the outdoor areas were very limited, with one small concrete space being primarily used for outdoor activities. This lack of outdoor areas was a concern, especially when compared to other schools that had more on-site access to nature.
* Logistics and Parking: The daily parking situation around the school was problematic. With parents from multiple districts arriving at the same time, the area became overcrowded, and the local infrastructure struggled to accommodate the volume of vehicles. We felt that the situation was not safe, and it led to stressful daily pickups. This issue had been a concern for many parents, neighbours, and even the police, as the area was frequently congested.
* Quality of Education: While Terra Nova is a private institution, we felt that the educational experience didn’t meet our expectations. In some areas, it seemed comparable to what you might find in a public school, which didn’t justify the premium tuition for us. However, this may vary for each student depending on their needs.
* Extracurricular Activities and Fees: We were also disappointed with the extracurricular activities, which came with high additional costs. The pricing structure for these activities wasn’t very transparent, and we felt that some fees were not clearly communicated upfront. There were also clauses in the terms and conditions that adjusted the fees, which we only discovered later on.
* Communication and Management: Our experience with the school’s management left much to be desired. We had to make multiple complaints about various issues, and we were concerned about how the situation was handled. We found the communication to be lacking in some areas, and this made us question the efficiency of the management team.
* Data Privacy: We experienced a significant breach of data privacy at the school that persisted for well over a year. When we initially raised our concerns, the response from the Terra Nova team was disappointing—they denied any wrongdoing. It was only after we submitted clear evidence of the violations that the issue was acknowledged and a formal apology was issued. While we appreciate the eventual recognition and apology, it came only after considerable effort on our part and was long overdue.
In the end, we chose to withdraw our child mid-year, and we are now much happier with our decision. Our child is thriving in a new school that better suits their needs. Based on our experience, we would recommend prospective parents to thoroughly research all aspects of the school before making a decision.
