Schooling in Cayman

Starting School

In Cayman, it is compulsory for all children from the age of five to 17 to attend school or be homeschooled, and the Ministry of Education is very strict on children going into their correct age group. Most children start in Reception at age 4, and finish at 18 after they have completed Year 13/Grade 12. Some parents choose to start their children at primary school at age five, and in this case the child will go straight into Year 1, missing the crucial foundational 'Reception' year when children start the process of learning to read and write.

At all levels in Government schools, priority for admission is assigned to Caymanians; in addition, at the compulsory education stage, priority is also ascribed to dependents of Caymanians, dependents of Government workers, dependents of Permanent Residents, and other children approved by WORC for entry into Government schools. Admission for categories outside of Caymanians and dependents of Caymanians, is subject to space availability. See the guidelines for school registration for more details. The cost difference between public and private schools is significant.

The education system in Cayman is generally good but the quality of education fluctuates between schools, and indeed between classes within the same school. The children who excel the most have parents who are constantly on top of their children’s academic progress. Knowing, for example, that 90% of children should be able to read quite comfortably by the age of six should raise a red flag if your child is not. See the Literacy Development Milestones article written by Clinical Supervisor and Speech-Language Pathologist, Cynthia Rowe, for more information. Parents who keep in very close contact with their child’s school, insisting on solutions to any problems, and who are willing and able to help their child with their reading and homework will find their children do not fall through the cracks. It’s worth every effort you can make as education has been proven to be the best way of pulling people out of poverty and provides access to highly skilled and higher-paying professions.

The Office of Education Standards has an amazing team of fair and highly experienced educators and ex-educators who conduct regular school inspections. From their reports, which include everything from teacher's and student's performance to where a schools strengths and weaknesses lie, you can make either an informed choice on where to send your child or where you might need to assist your child so that they fulfil their full potential at school. Most schools are inspected once every two years, unless they are graded 'weak' and then they are inspected again six months later. A 'Good' or 'Excellent' school inspection result is highly coveted and a 'Weak' or 'Satisfactory' result highly frowned upon, so standards have been improving at a considerable pace as a result.

Warning Re Children Starting Primary School in Year 1 at Age 5

As mentioned above, five is the mandated legal age that all children in the Cayman Islands must be in full time education. This does however, often causes massive long-term issues, which until now have not been talked about. These are the issues:

If Your Child is Going to a Government Primary School
In the Cayman Islands it is not a requirement for you to send your child to the Government primary school in your district until your child turns 5, which means, if you hold them back at home or in a preschool, they will go straight into Year 1 at primary school. Some parents choose to hold their children back, while others find that there is just not enough space in the Reception class (at age 4) for their child.

For example, The John Cumber Primary School in West Bay only has three (3) Reception classes but then from Years 1 to 6 they have 4 classes, meaning that in West Bay at least 22 children have to stay in preschool, or at home, for another year and will then skip the foundational skills and move straight into Year 1 at the age of 5. All the other primary schools in the Government system have the same number of Reception classes as they have classes in Years 1 to 6, but often the school is completely over-subscribed in Reception (which caps their numbers lower than Year 1), or the parents choose to keep their kids at home until they have to go to school at five.

However, if the child stays at home, or in preschool, thus missing that foundational year in primary school, it sets them up for a very difficult year of transition once they do get to primary school at age 5. The child will have missed the gentle adjustment to primary school that is given to children in the Reception year; they will have missed being taught the phonetic sound of the alphabet and missed the part when the other children were taught to blend their letter, and have missed the part where they would have started to learn to read alongside all their classmates.

They will also have missed the gentle start to being taught their early Maths skills, which they should have been taught in preschool, including their colours, shapes, sizes, proportions, numbers, counting etc. Once the children get into Year 1 they are expected to know the early foundational literacy and Maths skills, and the work is much harder. It is exponentially harder if your child does not know these foundational skills. However, if your child does stay back at home or in preschool, thus missing the Reception class, you must ensure that they are actively taught the early foundational skills in reading, writing and Maths that they would otherwise learn in Reception.

If your child does stay in preschool, past the age of 4, then the preschool is required to teach the foundational skills, but this process is not consistent between schools. In fact is is seriously inconsistent between preschools, but the Early Childhood Department of Government is actively trying to improve the situation. This is something that must be considered by every parent in the Cayman Islands! If your child can get a place in a Government primary school at the age of 4 we highly recommend that you take it!

If they cannot then make sure they learn the foundational skills at home or in preschool, and lobby your MLA to ensure that all Government primary schools have enough Reception classes for the number of children in their district. This problem is one of the main reasons why some Caymanian children are finding it so hard to do well in reading, Maths and English. N.B.There is a little-known rule in Government primary schools that no expat can start in a Government school at the age of 4 in the Reception class. The earliest they can start is in Year 1.

If Your Child is Going to a Private Primary School
Every private primary school in Grand Cayman has a Reception/Kindergarten/Pre-K 3 class where all their registered children get offered a place (if there is space) when the child turns 4 years old. The child has to have turned 4 by September 1st in the UK system (Cayman Prep, Island Primary, Footsteps and St. Ignatius) or by August 1st for the US system (Triple C, Cayman International School, Grace Christian Academy).

The exact same number of children then move up to Year 1 when they are five, leaving no spaces in Year 1 for those parents that wanted to keep their children back for a year. Hence all parents take the space in Reception if it is offered to them! In Reception at the age of 4 the children adjust to being in primary school, get taught the phonetic sound of the alphabet and start to blend letters, and they consolidate their early Maths skills which they should have been taught in preschool (colours, shapes, sizes, proportions, numbers, counting etc). Then as soon as they know the first set of letters they start to learn to read. Children will then move into Year 1 when they are 5 years old already reading and they advance to more complex topics.

Improvements in Education - Public

In March 2025, a new, cloud-based school management system called Arbor was rolled out across all government schools in the Cayman Islands. It is designed to modernise and simplify how Cayman’s schools manage student data, and track their academic performance. It replaces their previous cloud system called Everest.

The Ministry’s Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Unit has extended the very successful Smart Start Early Stimulation Programme, which is designed for families with children who are three to four years old in Bodden Town, North Side and East End. There is also a new programme, in conjunction with nonprofit LIFE Cayman, Family Resource Centre and the Department of Children and Family Services, called the Roving Parent Mentorship Programme. In this programme, trained volunteers have been working directly with parents and caregivers in their homes, offering personalised guidance to help support their child’s literacy and social-emotional growth before their children start at primary school.

It is too early to know what the new NCFC party will change in regards to education in the Cayman Islands, but the theme of education featured heavily on the TCCP and CINP’s election manifestos. Their combined theme was that the government education system needed to offer each Caymanian a fair chance of succeeding in life and that it should supply an education that improves employment prospects for all Caymanians.

Improvements in Education - Private

In the private sector, CF School officially opened their new campus in Buttonwood Park, George Town in September 2025 and are almost at capacity on their student enrolment. With all subject specialist teachers, an English curriculum leading to Cambridge IGCSEs at the end of Year 11, small class sizes of 15 students, and a full afternoon until 5.30pm which includes homework club and their popular after-school enrichment programme, this is a very welcome addition to Cayman's school offerings.

In the preschool sphere, Montessori West opened in West Bay in October 2024 and caters for children aged 18 months to six years. Another new preschool in West Bay, Kiddiewinks Garden Playschool, is scheduled to open for the 2025/26 school year. The new state of the art purpose built facility will cater to children from the age of 12 months to 5 years. The waiting lists for many preschool places are oversubscribed and parents are reminded to put their child's surname and due date down on multiple school lists well before birth.

At the other end of the education cycle, the Ministry of Education's Scholarship Secretariat has authorised two additional centres where Caymanians can study for a TVET course and the Ministry will grant scholarship funding for those who qualify. The Brainchild Learning & Development Centre and the Financial Services Institute join Cayman Career Academy and Inspire Cayman Training in offering Caymanians TVET courses.

Factors to Consider

When considering schools for your child, remember to take into account school inspection results, class sizes, discipline, manners, special needs support, standards of teaching, the dedication of the teachers, and the cost.

School Inspection Reports
The Office of Education Standards (www.oes.gov.ky) has an amazing team of fair and highly experienced educators who conduct regular school inspections. From their reports, which include everything from teacher's and student's performance to where a school’s strengths and weaknesses lie, you can make an informed choice on where to send your child or where you might need to assist your child so that they fulfil their full potential at school. Most schools are inspected once every two years, unless they are graded 'weak' and then they are inspected again six months later. A 'Good' or 'Excellent' school inspection result is highly coveted, whereas a 'Satisfactory' or 'Weak' result is, of course, less desirable.

Curriculum
Government schools follow the Cayman National Curriculum and students take CXCs and GCSEs in Year 11. The brightest students at government high schools are entered into the Goal Accelerated Programme (GAP) where higher-performing students are guided through a far more rigorous programme that ensures goal-oriented students take additional CXCs/GCSEs as early as Year 9 as well as in Years 10 and 11 when all the other students take their external exams. Students then have various options for their 12th and 13th year of school, although only Year 12 is absolutely compulsory. UCCI offers Associate's Degrees; CIFEC offers BTECs and vocational courses, or if needed, students can retake CXCs or GCSEs and participate in work experience; CF School, Cayman Prep and St. Ignatius offer GCSEs/IGCSEs with the latter two also offering A Levels. The American system leads to a US High School Diploma and AP (Advanced Placement) credits. The highly regarded International Baccalaureate is available in Grades 11 and 12 at Cayman International School.

Class Sizes
Class sizes vary from school to school. All government school class sizes are capped at 24 students per class for Kindergarten/Reception and Year 1, and 28 students in other years. In private schools, it ranges from 13 students to 25 students. All government schools and most private schools also have a full-time qualified teaching assistant helping the teacher. In some schools, this additional teaching resource runs through all primary year groups. Make sure to ask about this.

Religious/Non-Religious
Most of Caymans schools have a strong Christian tradition and celebrate the Christian faith. If you would prefer a school that is not affiliated with a church or religious group, then there are a few to choose from. See our Ultimate Guide to Cayman's Schools for more.

Location
Entry to a government school is determined by catchment area. Private schools are spread between West Bay and Prospect, so you'll need to consider location when making your choice.

Exam Results
The Ministry of Education publishes a very detailed data report each year which explains the performance data from government schools plus student attendance. The reports are very thorough and make for interesting reading. You can view them on https://schools.edu.ky/data-reports. Look under the 'Resources' tab for the Data Reports. Student enrolment numbers for both government and private schools can also be found in the report.

Free School Meals
All students in government schools have access to free breakfast, lunch and snacks every school day. This multi-million dollar meal programme has been universally welcomed by teachers who have seen a significant improvement in students' behaviour and academic performance since its introduction in March 2022. Money previously spent by PTAs and non-profit groups to feed students has now been spent on expanding literacy and after-school programmes. In many instances, it is the only nutritious food that the student has all day, and some students still struggle for food security during the school holidays.

School Inspections

Check the school's inspection report and read in detail how they are doing. See School Standards & Inspections on the Cayman Resident website. You can also view them on the Cayman Islands Office of Education Standard's website.

Key Preparations Prior to Starting School

Health Screenings
New students entering either private or government schools for the first time have a school medical exam before the new school year begins in September. These tests are invaluable for schools as they identify previously uncaught speech and language, sight or hearing issues just before the child starts at primary school. Interestingly, most therapists agree that this test should be done at 2.5 and not 4.5 so that remedial therapy can begin well before the child goes to primary school. Some problems caught under the age of three can be completely resolved if therapy is started early enough. This is one of the reasons why all preschools are now required to have a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) on staff. Also, the literacy organisation, LIFE, has been working closely with private clinics to offer free testing to children they identify as maybe needing intervention.

Additional immunisation clinics ensure that children aged four and five entering school for the first time are up to date with their required vaccinations. For further information, please contact the Public Health Department on (345) 244 2648/ (345) 244 2889. In Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, school entry screenings can be done through the Public Health Nurse, Kadine Hyde, at Faith Hospital, who can be reached at (345) 948 2243 or (345) 244 7643.

Uniforms & Dress Codes
Each school in Cayman will have approved vendors that sell uniforms, and some schools sell them directly to parents. Every school will have different rules, but most maintain a strict policy on such things as uniforms, hair accessories, jewellery and hair length on boys.

Transferring Schools

Moving your child from one school, either private or government, to another private school will involve some written assessments to determine the level your child is currently working at, or capable of. Many schools will now assess applicants using some form of Cognitive Ability Test (CAT) which assesses the child's innate skills and ability for learning. If this is the case, then it does not necessarily matter what areas your child is strong or weak in but rather how able they are. Some schools will also assess English and Maths using traditional tests to determine gaps in learning, so that teaching is directed accordingly, rather than to ascertain the level the child is currently at. Of course, there are no guarantees of a place at any public or private school and some children who have been considered as working at a high level in their current school may find that the new schools assessment criteria is more stringent.

Other things to consider are that your child must have an up-to-date medical record that includes vaccination details and a completed transfer form signed by the previous school. Along with a standard report on the child's performance and behaviour, this form must clearly state whether financial commitments have been met. This is an essential component of the acceptance process for students transferring within the private school system. If you wish to move your child from a private school to a public school, you will also be required to apply online. See this page for what you will need to supply: https://schools.edu.ky/registration/.