Hkis

the high school program is very good at HKIS
the primary is more "free" - good for kids that need more condfidence building and parents who want their kids to have "fun" all the time.
it's been around for 42/43 years now....has a good history..
but in terms of chinese learning - the time allocated is less than ideal

spoilt brats ....well you find them at a lot of international schools (not just HKIS) so I wouldn't worry too much about that - family education has a big role to play in whether or not child becomes a "spoilt brat" too.

just my thoughts...
 
very good points.
if you were to compare Yeu Chung at KTto HKIS,which one do you think is better for an overall education and for eventually being able to get them into better universities?
 
We were deciding between Chinese vs. English priority a couple of months ago and now have settled on the latter. Thanks Russel and lesliefu for your replies to my pevious post.

Now we are debating between ESF and HKIS. HKIS is more expensive and takes a long time to get to from where we live (Pok Fu Lam). Of course if there're great advantages we are willing to go the extra mile. What we are struggling at this moment is to identify what HKIS offers that is considerably better than ESF. Could any one help shed light on this? Many thanks!
 
i studied in the ESF system and worked in the HKIS system - i think they are both good - just depends on what you want....
one's IB (ESF) the others American
one's has a great campus (HKIS) the other has a great campus if you get into West Island
you can check the college placements...I believe that ESF probably has more going to the UK and HKIS to the USA - so it depends what you want in the long run...
each kid has a laptop at HKIS - not sure about ESF
HKIS has it's own field and great sports facilities (West Island does...not sure about the other ESF schools)

hope this gives you a little more to think about but doesn't confuse you anymore!
 
Many thanks lesliefu!

Do you think there's any significant difference in how the students of the two schools turn out to be, in terms of academics, social and emotional maturity, ethics, well-roundedness, independence, etc.? I'm less concerned about having the state-of-the-art facility, and more concerned about the "software" the education system instills in the individual.

If you don't mind, I have a few specific questions:

1. I heard complaints that HKIS often ask parents to seek professional help for their kid if the kid slightly lags behind in certain area. Is it true?

2. Is it true that HKIS sends parents an annual report on how their kid compares to their US peers based on Standard test scores?

3. We are not a religious family. Does it make it difficult for our daughter to fit in at HKIS?

4. How serious is the budget/resource issue at ESF and is it affecting their quality of education noticeably?

5. My daughter is very interested in art and music but less so in sports, between Kennedy and HKIS which school offers a better environment for her?

6. I know neither school offers a strong Mandarin program, but is one better than another?

Thanks a million in advance!
 
Since you're considering Kennedy, you're obviously looking at Primary, not Secondary, so the West Island comments are not (yet) applicable. My daughter goes to ESF at QBS. Personally I cannot justify almost 3 times higher fees. I honestly don't think my child will get 3 x better education for that money (besides the fact that I have 3 kids ...).

I also don't hear the greatest things about HKIS lower primary (friend who pulled 3 kids out, other friend who regrets her choice, etc.). It's a little too free for me, I prefer more structure and academic approach (at a slow rate combined with play), perhaps a more traditional style of education. However, I heard secondary is very very good. Facilities are great, but at this point, we're not willing to pay that much extra for that, it's quite simple, we pay from our own pocket.

Also, I am not at all religious, so that's also a concern to me (my friend's daughter came home that God created Earth ... fine, but not everybody shares that view). Overall, I've been happy with ESF, yes, classes are quite big, it's not super fancy in terms of facilities but it's well structured and organized, at least at my daughter's school. She progressed quite impressively, integrates very well (she's Caucasian, blond and the school looks / is very Asian but not necessarily Chinese). The level is very good and it's quite down to earth. It's good quality education for a good price (for HK international school standards that is). Even though my daughter is American, and we hope to return one day, I don't regret our choice at all. On the other hand, I know plenty of people who are quite happy with HKIS, but most are American, religion may be less of an issue, they'll most likely return to the US at some point and quite a lot have education paid for by the company so the money is not an issue. Different things to consider.

Good luck with your decision.
 
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