Under priority one but no intervew at ESF

[banana_in_hk]

Oh how horrible is it and I feel the pain with you banana_in_hk. I would think that you son should be classified as cat 1 so this means that even cat 1+ESF kinder is not a guarantee for interview to ESF primary. Then who is getting admitted to ESF primary this year? Cat1+non-ESF kinder? How could they do this? I really want to know what the decision is based on.....So what is your plan now?

yes, not a very nice feeling...I'm just thinking whether the decision was based on the fact that i was honest in my application to KJS. On the application form it asks what languages the parents could speak. I can only speak English, however my wife can speak Cantonese(even though she speaks to our son in English) and i did state that my wife could speak Cantonese.

Our son's mother tongue is English and cannot write/read Chinese so we can only consider international schools in HK. Looking/calling around schools to see what's left...like i'm scraping around the bottom of the barrel for scraps! Fingers crossed x

 

[banana_in_hk]

Banana - what school did your son apply for? If he only speaks English and went to an ESF school for 2 years, then he should be Category 1 priority 2.

There is only one priority level above that which is for siblings. It seems doubtful that the entire class would be full of Category 1 siblings. Maybe somehow your child has been classified as Category 2? Maybe you need to make inquiries/appeal because if you applied in time, do not speak any language other than English and attended ESF kinder for 2 years, it seems that your child should have been accepted.

My LO is a Category 1, priority 5 (child of alumni) and he had an intervew at Glenealy. Other children in his interview group were Category 1 but no priority.

We applied for KJS and thinking the same as you(our son being Cat1) we'd at least get a chance to interview there never mind getting accepted!

 

[wegetable]

I think Cat. 1 & Cat. 2 are subjective to what the parents put in their applications. I just met a local Chinese girl who got accepted to QBS for P1 this year which is the school I applied for my kid whom didn't even get an interview even we are under Cat. 1. The girl speaks Chinese, her parents said they spoke English to her when she was first born then slowly introduced Chinese to her. I guess that makes her a native English speaker!!?? The point is that she speaks Chinese and I watched her playing with other kids communicating in Chinese. The parents put she only speaks English in the application so it made her Cat 1. I personally think that once the kids get an intervew and they are willing to communicate in decent English during interview, ESF doesn't get too picky. So it is not all so black and white here, Cat 1 or Cat 2 depends on what the parents put on the applications. The irony is, this couple doesn't even care about ESF, they have their eyes on somewhere else, ESF is just a backup. Here we are, desperate for a place because our kids don't speak any Chinese and can't even find a place anywhere yet. Go figure.

 

[fungyuenyan]

We need a place in KJS badly....wegetable, I read your post and this really made me feel mad. Do they know there're a lot of children who cant access local school system really need a school place in ESF?
Oh, I cant handle my feeling these days after I got the reply from KJS.....

 

[banana_in_hk]

Hi, has anyone had any first-hand experience/knowledge, i.e. interviews, reviews etc., or heard from other parents about Yew Chung Int'l School?

I see that they follow the National Curriculum of England, so similar to ESF which i prefer.

 

[wegetable]

Fungyuenyan, don't think you have to worry much. Your kid is 2nd one on the waiting list, I am sure she will get an offer sooner or later. I was told by another international school that many people put their deposit down in one school while waiting for result from another. ESF has their interview relatively early comparing to other schools such as CIS, HKIS.. you may have to wait a little but I think it is going to all work out for you. I do understand how you feel though, when I first found out we are under Cat 1 and didn't even get an interview, I was upset for days. But again, we moved here and this is the game we have to play then we have to go along with it. If it means we have to study in an interim school until we can get in the school we want later. My youngest one got accepted into ESF kindergarten, I didn't accept the offer, we decided to send him elsewhere. Even the letter said I had to put down the deposit before certain date, I didn't do so and even two weeks after that they still call and left me a message to see if we wanted a spot. I think it takes them awhile to work out all the details on who comes who goes or what. Now I am looking at other options that otherwise I wouldn't. Just have to keep pounding on the pavement until finding a way. Good luck.

 

[ocean419]

Hi, has anyone had any first-hand experience/knowledge, i.e. interviews, reviews etc., or heard from other parents about Yew Chung Int'l School?

I see that they follow the National Curriculum of England, so similar to ESF which i prefer.

I have heard many good things about Yew Chung kinder and primary but the opinion on their secondary is quite the opposite.

If you really care about the bilingual English+Mandarin education I think this is one of the top choices for you. Also their business model is to grow through expanding in other cities in China such as Shanghai and Beijing and etc, so if relocation to one of the major chinese cities is in your plan you should definitely look into it. I know people who had to relocate and their kids got transferred to Yew Chung IS in the new city without any problem. However fees are a lot higher comparing to ESF and similar to the top IS such as HKIS and CIS.

 

[MommyTo3]

I know still so many Cat 1 (non ESF Kindy) on the waiting list ... too many! Overall a lot of spots were/are taken up by siblings (some schools around 50%), then there is ESF Kindy, and then the random lottery. However, I do still believe a lot of (technically Cat 2) parents forget to mention their (or their child's) Cantonese ability ... and especially if they go to an English medium kindy it's hard to prove I guess ...

 

[ocean419]

Just read from another edu forum about esf primary. The parents took the opportunity to chat with the admin staff while their child was being interviewed and they were told that category classification was done primarily based on which kinder the child was coming from. If you child has been going to one of those popular English only IS kinder since age 2 such as woodlands/sunshine house/tutor time, then it is already obvious enough that it would be unfair to expect the child to compete for a place in the local system against those who have gone to local kinder and are fluent in Chinese, hence the definition for having no access to local system.

 

[TheQuasimother]

I know still so many Cat 1 (non ESF Kindy) on the waiting list ... too many! Overall a lot of spots were/are taken up by siblings (some schools around 50%), then there is ESF Kindy, and then the random lottery. However, I do still believe a lot of (technically Cat 2) parents forget to mention their (or their child's) Cantonese ability ... and especially if they go to an English medium kindy it's hard to prove I guess ...

The situation with applications, priorities, stop at the invitations to interview. After which, as I understood it, it is a random within priorities of categories based on your given random number and provided you pass the interview.

We got offers from both KJS and RC. We turned down KJS for RC. So someone out there got our son's place. As I understood it, KJS is one of the toughest schools to get into this year. The way I see it, is that it's going to get worse, particularly for Cat. 2 (even Cat 1, with sibling priority and attending an ESF kindie). This year, all ESF schools could simply pick and choose their students for Year 1.

Good Luck to all who are still waiting! It's a tough year, we know kids who have siblings, in Cat. 1, all with priorities, residencies who did not get in.