Any Primary 1 place anywhere?

[bighead_cat]

Thanks Carang,

It's a great tip! $999/month is certainly different to $7200/month woodland would charge. And they are both in Sai kung.

My son is a mixed kid as well. I am Chinese, my husband is English. Unfortunately I don't speak to them (a son and a daughter) in Chinese at home .. my fault.

I am very keen for him to learn Chinese, but i didn't want to put him in a local school immediately, as moving house, moving country is big enough change for a little 5-year old.

Where are you going to send your son to primary school? Presummable you also live in Sai Kung area.

[carang]

we have decided to send our kids to a local primary school in sai kung, at least for the first few years.

i'm canadian, hubby is local.

it could be a bit of a shock to your little one, but really, he would not be the ONLY one in the class that doesn't speak chinese.

i cannot say enough good things about the school.

i think this is their website: http://www.skly.edu.hk

if it doesn't work, let me know and i'll try to find the right one.

we live in sai kung country park, out in the boonies. we used to live in DB (and are good friends with oze_kid!) but we just couldn't afford it any more. now, we have a 2100' place. the kids have a playroom and a huge bedroom, for less than $20k/month!

honestly, i think you should consider Lok Yuk. if you arrive in june/july, drop me a line. we can get together with some other kids that go to the school (one american, one british) and then your son would have friends before he even goes.
my son is 5, too! (feb 12,2005)

[bighead_cat]

Thanks for the link. I am on their website, it's loading slowly.

My son was born on 26th Feb 2005! It will be great if we could meet up before he starts school. I also have a daughter who is nearly 3.

I am also looking at places in Sai Kung/CWB area for the space and price. Where did you find yours? It's a very very good price for the space. Did you look on the internet or go directly to the local agents?

My husband's work is in Central, mine is in TST. I believe that the commute from CWB is not too bad (under an hour) but Sai Kung might add another 20 mins to the journey. Is that right?

[carang]

my daughter just turned 3, too! (feb 6, 2007).

yes, sai kung would add another 20-ish minutes, but i have lived in both places, and i prefer sai kung. there are shops, playgroups, playgrounds, a public pool (kids LOVE IT!) restaurants, a gym, a library etc. CWB doesn't have anything. it is closer to the MTR, but that is it.

if you are going to have a helper, then sai kung would be better, it would be much easier for your helper to pick up drop off kids, take them out and about than if they were in CWB. (she would have to take 2 buses/minibuses to get to sai kung.)

the price of our place is so good because we live REALLY far out... (20 minutes on the other side of sai kung from CWB).

sai kung is well connected with public transport (except mtr). there are minibuses that go to various mtr stations, double deckers to sha tin, and other mtr stations. lots of taxis....most houses come with a car park...

[MommyTo3]

You can also look at ESF's Corporate Surety System. CWB is also a very oversubscribed ESF school. Interviews for Year 1 were all done the beginning of this year already, but with the System (look it up on their website) you may have another chance.

[TheQuasimother]

There are other international schools in KT too. Not as popular. Costs a fortune but would usually have spaces - Yew Chung International is one of them. Never known them to be overly subscribed as there's always a kid leaving for a better international school.

In Tai Po - Hong Lok Yuen International, Japanese International (English section - very popular though) and Norwegian International.

There are also local English medium schools you can look into. PLK Camoes is one of them (in Kowloon). Fees aren't that bad at such a school.

[carang]

we looked at norwegian... already a waiting list.

as i stated, local schools start P1 a year later than ESF.

[bighead_cat]

Hong Lok Yuen International school replied saying that they have a waiting list for P1. When I asked how long, I got an ambigious answer: "over 15" ... it could any number. But I am going to try my luck and apply anyway.

I checked PLK Camoes, it looks pretty good, presumable their P1 starts next year, we might have a chance.