Interview process for primary school entrance

[Twin Mummy]

Hi all - does anyone have any information to share about the interview process for primary 1 school places, local and international (not ESF as I know this already!). They say "no preparation necessary" but we all like to have some insider info right??! I know most are group activities and no parents are involved so I am just curious as to what the teachers are looking for, what questions are likely to be asked and what tasks will be involved. Thanks all!

 

[fhurley]

Hi there, Im an ESF teacher who used to teach Yr 1 and was part of the group that did interviews at my school.
All we are looking for is children that have a suitable level of English to cope in a school that teaches in English.

In our school the interview would look something like this:
5 or 6 children at a time come into a classroom on their own (parents meeting the management team)
The children will sit and listen to a story. The teacher asks questions about the story to try and get the children chatting. After this some children will get to play with toys together. The others will be asked to draw a picture of their family or similar and be encouraged to talk about what they have drawn. I must stress the teachers are looking for children that can speak English and understand English not those that have beautiful pictures or can already write.
We also listen to the children that are playing to see if they interact with the other children. Also no child would be turned away for speaking Cantonese or another language to the other children but they must be able to speak English too.
Then the children playing and the children drawing switch so everyone gets a chance to do everything.
If we are worried about a child's level of English because they are very shy or haven't seemed to understand we may get them to look at some cards and tell us what is happening in them. These are just simple action cards For example we would expect something like "the man is putting a letter in the postbox" for that picture card.
I hope this helps. The best thing you can do to help your child is to build up their confidence and encourage them to be chatty so that they aren't too shy to talk.
I hope this helps. If you have any questions let me know.
Frances

 

[rani]

A friend applied to Singapore Int'l School and her son had to sit a written test in Mandarin, English and Maths. I can't remember how long the test was. He was 5 at the time and couldn't read, so he couldn't have done very much on the test. Somehow he still got accepted. However, she realized SIS may not be the school for him and decided to go with ESF.

You hear of parents creating portfolios for their child with all their achievements and extra curricular activities, which they bring to P1 interviews. I don't think this is the norm in Int'l schools but definitely in local schools.

 

[Twin Mummy]

Thank you both! Very useful information, indeed., I think your friend made a good choice in ESF instead of SIS (although I did consider SIS as well). Having to do written exams at 5 years old really tells you something about the school, right?