We are an American family coming to Hong Kong soon with our two children – a girl in 2[SUP]rd[/SUP] grade, boy in 5[SUP]th[/SUP]. We want a school with an American curriculum where our kids can meet other English-speakers. I have looked at the website for the American International School but I’m worried cause I can’t find any recent reviews of it. Can someone tell me about what it’s like now? Thanks.
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American International School - Kowloon
- Thread starter MarLib
- Start date
We had a tour of AIS about half a year ago. The tour was given by one of the admin staff and was very helpful. In terms of impressions though, they didn't have any organized parent or tour days like many of the other schools, and that does make me question whether the school is just good or great.
Perhaps the most unexpected thing about AIS will be the fact that very few Americans actually go to AIS. AIS' student body is mostly local Chinese, Korean, Japanese. There are many nationalities, but don't expect from the name that the school has lots of Americans. Now that said, most of the students still develop a fairly American English accent.
You've probably already read it, but the "real" American school in HK is HKIS. HKIS is probably the closest you'll get to a truly American experience in Hong Kong. And in fact, Americans make up the largest numbers of students there.
Was happy to see four square courts there. Hope that helps.
Perhaps the most unexpected thing about AIS will be the fact that very few Americans actually go to AIS. AIS' student body is mostly local Chinese, Korean, Japanese. There are many nationalities, but don't expect from the name that the school has lots of Americans. Now that said, most of the students still develop a fairly American English accent.
You've probably already read it, but the "real" American school in HK is HKIS. HKIS is probably the closest you'll get to a truly American experience in Hong Kong. And in fact, Americans make up the largest numbers of students there.
Was happy to see four square courts there. Hope that helps.
We have 2 kids (1 Elementary, 1 Middle) who have been going to AIS for the past 2 years. We love it. I realize that it is not as big as HKIS, but that is one of the appealing things in my opinion. AIS offers the "small school" feel rather than the typical HK experience. The teachers and staff are always very helpful, and stay connected with us as parents which is also very beneficial. Not having an "organized" parent tour day, rather a 1:1 tour, doesnt seem like a downfall to me, but that's just my opinion.
The teacher / student ratio is another pro for this school. We saw several schools when preparing for our transition from the US, and AIS had the most pros vs. cons on our list. The elementary school is brand new this year and they are continually making improvements to other parts of the school.
Please PM me if you have any specific questions. Choosing a school can be a daunting task. Given that we have already gone through the process, I am happy to help if I can. Good luck!
The teacher / student ratio is another pro for this school. We saw several schools when preparing for our transition from the US, and AIS had the most pros vs. cons on our list. The elementary school is brand new this year and they are continually making improvements to other parts of the school.
Please PM me if you have any specific questions. Choosing a school can be a daunting task. Given that we have already gone through the process, I am happy to help if I can. Good luck!
Welcome to Hong Kong. We moved here from the US three years ago when our children were 4th and 5th grade. We toured AIS, ESF, HLYIS and ICS.
We chose ICS and were lucky that it was the year they expanded their 4th and 5th grade classes to add another section. While ICS has a large Chinese population, the curriculum is from the US and the majority of teachers are from the US with others from Australia, New Zealand the the UK.
We were most worried about the Christian aspect of the school as we are Roman Catholics. Has not been a problem. This school is warm and nurturing even at the secondary level. It is so nice to see teachers interacting with students during lunch and after school; something rarely seen in the states.
In regards to AIS, we did tour the school and at the time ruled it out as the day we had our tour, the school was unprepared for our visit which had been confirmed several times. That just threw us off and we decided to look elsewhere. However, we have been neighbors of the headmaster and cannot say enough good things about him and his family.
You will hear from everybody that you need to find placements for your children before anything else. Housing is easy, school is hard.
If you want any more info, please feel free to PM me.
Best Regards,
Amy
We chose ICS and were lucky that it was the year they expanded their 4th and 5th grade classes to add another section. While ICS has a large Chinese population, the curriculum is from the US and the majority of teachers are from the US with others from Australia, New Zealand the the UK.
We were most worried about the Christian aspect of the school as we are Roman Catholics. Has not been a problem. This school is warm and nurturing even at the secondary level. It is so nice to see teachers interacting with students during lunch and after school; something rarely seen in the states.
In regards to AIS, we did tour the school and at the time ruled it out as the day we had our tour, the school was unprepared for our visit which had been confirmed several times. That just threw us off and we decided to look elsewhere. However, we have been neighbors of the headmaster and cannot say enough good things about him and his family.
You will hear from everybody that you need to find placements for your children before anything else. Housing is easy, school is hard.
If you want any more info, please feel free to PM me.
Best Regards,
Amy
@jjohnso5 Re: my tour, I wasn't specific enough. It was given by an admin staff, so she couldn't tell us very much about anything at all other than show us the facilities. Nothing about the education programs, admissions, school activities, etc. Whereas the week after we visited ISF and we got the organized tour which was still 1:1, but it was a highly organized event. Also, not sure where you're originally from, but basically any ESF/International school in Hong Kong is a "small school" feel compared to the US where graduating classes are easily 1K students.
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