- 11-01-2011, 02:06 PM #9Registered User
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I would not classify ISF nor HKA as quite academic. I dont know where you got that impression from but I would encourage you to visit them both and also talk to some parents to get multiple perspectives.
I have one child at ISF and our good friends have 2 kids as HKA.
ISF is not easy due to their Mandarin language but I would definitely not call it academic.
For Marianne, I am not sure as I am a native Mandarin speaker so I guess I can teach kids at home? but I am not confident on this. I have many friends whose kids has lost ability to use Chinese as their main language environment is English.
- 11-01-2011, 02:24 PM #10Registered User
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- 11-01-2011, 02:31 PM #11Registered User
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I have my kids in ESF so I can give you some insights there. Applications for Y1 and KG have just passed (September and October). Next September you'll have to apply for Y1 for children born in 2008 and in October for K1 children born in 2010 to start August 2013. ESF is not truly British as they follow the IB however the majority of teachers is from the UK with some Australians, NZ and Canadians (very few Americans, we have none in our school). You cannot apply before but the number of applications far exceeds the number of spaces no matter the school (they go by catchment). For next year Y1 there are over 3000 applications for 1000 spots. Because siblings but also ESF Kindy children will get priority for an interview (no guarantee), wait lists for ESF Kindy are also very very long at this point as it is (for most parents) the best chance to get in. Mandarin is OK but nothing compared to some of the other schools mentioned but fairly solid with one session a day (4 sessions a week in Y1), sufficient for us, at least.
- 11-01-2011, 05:10 PM #12Registered User
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thanks hawardcooms my son is in Yewchung 2s and he is very happy to go to school everyday. however, I don't think he got enough English expose as class is done by Cantonese and English. he is there for 3 mths already, it seems that he has not increased much vocabulary in both languages, although I don't understand any cantonese.
Mommyto3 do you know if WKS is easier to get in than Abucus?
- 11-01-2011, 08:41 PM #13Registered User
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A "top schools" a ranking is somewhat meaningless. You're going to get a good education at any of the ones that are currently way oversubscribed but what you should really be looking at is what is in the best interest of your specific child and the way they learn, along with your long term plans for the future.
For example, ISF Academy is a bilingual school, and even the teachers and administrators there would caution you "come here if you are ready to commit to a bilingual education until at least age 12 or so. The reason being they don't want to have a child move over to a fully-English language school midway through their primary years as they might not be on par with their peers in their language development by then.
Some children want to be on a path that is not going to disrupt them that far from their path "back home", so you see many British students at Kellett, many American students at HKIS, French children at the French International, etc. If you foresee yourself moving away in a few years you might be better suited at a school on the same curriculum rather than one that some others might perceive to be "a few notches higher" than others.
You might also have a child who needs a smaller class size as they don't stand out as well in say the 30 kids in ESF, or conversely, would be better suited in an ESF with 30 as that will be good preparation for their future schooling somewhere else with similar class sizes. You might also want to choose a school physically closer to where you are living rather than a supposedly 'better' school on the other side of the island, given the commuting difficulties and the chance for more play dates and out of school interaction with classmates. Some people don't like schools that have religious overtones, others don't really mind it (or actively seek them out).
My advice is to treat it a bit like you treated university applications. Apply for a few of the "reach" schools (schools you might not really have that much of a chance of getting into), a few "likely" schools (schools you might have a leg up on via passport or debenture or some other connection) and a few "safety" schools (schools you have a very good chance at getting into based on location, passport, debenture, etc).Last edited by penguinsix; 11-01-2011 at 08:48 PM.
- 11-02-2011, 07:45 PM #14Registered User
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Kellett has a huge mix of nationalities - it is not all little blonde haired children" it has a healthy proportion of Asian/Chinese families and has had so for quite some time.
HKA is not academic? They run the IB, which is much more academically demanding than the UK(A-levels)or US-style curricula.
As for Mandarin: you need to decide whether you want a bi-lingual school or not: but I disagree that you have to attend a bilingual school to excel in Mandarin. There are many schools in HK where students go in knowing no Mandarin and come out fluent.
I agree with the comments about treating schools like universities - decide what you want and apply based on that.
Also keep in mind that many parents have the one child on a dozen waiting lists - so I would still register for Kellett if you want to. A lot of families move before their kids go to school or accept a place elsewhere.
I would highly recommend Kellett, CDNIS, ESF (Bradbury and Quarry Bay in particular are very good for primary), HKA and HKIS. They all have a good 'community' feel about them (particularly Kellett and CDNIS), excellent staff and high academic standards.
- 11-06-2011, 09:39 PM #15Registered User
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Since I work near Kellet, I see many students and also see the school buses all the time. Perhaps all the Asian families drive their kids to school, but I can swear that I see 80% or more blond kids whenever I see the Kellet uniforms.
No matter, thats a non issue - If you want a Brit style education, its a fine school.
HKA is not academic? They run the IB, which is much more academically demanding than the UK(A-levels)or US-style curricula.
As for Mandarin: you need to decide whether you want a bi-lingual school or not: but I disagree that you have to attend a bilingual school to excel in Mandarin. There are many schools in HK where students go in knowing no Mandarin and come out fluent.
*shrug*
If you want Mandarin, you need to go to a decent Mandarin school; otherwise YMMV
- 11-08-2011, 11:46 PM #16
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