Boarding Experience at Ecole Globale
Our experience at Ecole Globale, Dehradun
Like many parents, we selected Ecole Globale with the hope that our child would receive a supportive, disciplined, and positive boarding school environment.
Before admission, the school interactions and counselling discussions gave us confidence that students would receive proper emotional support during the hostel adjustment phase.
However, as per our experience, the actual first few days became emotionally difficult for our family much faster than we had expected.
Language & Hostel Environment
Before admission, we were informed that English would be the primary communication language inside the school environment.
However, as per our experience, outside academics and classrooms, most hostel conversations and student interactions were largely in Hindi.
During academics, communication was usually a mix of Hindi and English.
Since our child came from a different background, this became one of the major adjustment challenges during the initial days and increased the feeling of isolation.
Emotional Adjustment
The first few days in a residential school can already be emotionally overwhelming for students.
During one difficult night, instead of emotional support, our child felt uncomfortable after being asked by her roommate to stop crying because others had school the next morning.
Small situations like these may appear minor, but for a child adjusting to hostel life for the first time, they can have a very deep emotional impact.
Counselling Support
Before joining the school, our child was extremely excited and positive about the boarding experience.
During the difficult adjustment period, we had expected strong emotional and counselling support from the school.
However, the counselling interaction during the first few days was very limited. There was only one short interaction, and our child mainly received reassurance that things would become fine with time.
Looking back, we personally feel the situation was much more serious than simple homesickness. The emotional impact on our child continued even after returning home, and we are still supporting her through counselling and emotional recovery.
Even today, certain memories from the experience continue to affect her emotionally at times.
Hostel Concerns
During move-in itself, another student warned our child about belongings frequently going missing and advised her to keep the cabinet locked at all times.
Hearing such things on the very first day increased anxiety instead of building confidence.
Special Note for CI Students (Cambridge Board)
Before admission, we were clearly told multiple times that there was no distinction between CBSE and Cambridge students and that the school functioned as one combined family.
However, as per our experience, the actual environment felt very different after joining.
Our child felt that Cambridge students were not naturally integrated into the larger student environment and that social interactions could sometimes feel unfriendly and excluding.
Instead of feeling welcomed during the adjustment period, she gradually started feeling isolated and emotionally uncomfortable inside the hostel environment.
Looking back, we personally feel this became one of the major reasons behind her emotional breakdown during the initial days.