I visited Montessori School of Hong Kong, because their website said that they offered bilingual classes, even a creche (under 2). It was terrible trying to contact them, we had to leave a message and then wait for our message to be returned. Then the staff member insisted that we must bring our daughter for the initial visit (so she could be 'assessed') when we just wanted to visit to see if there was enough to warrant applying and going through the interview process.
Anyway, we brought our daughter, filled out all the required paperwork, and went to visit the school. On the day we visited, there were two separate classes and it seemed that there were two or three teachers per class (perhaps 3 for the younger class, and 2 for the slightly older kids). I don't remember clearly anymore (this was earlier this year) as I have tried to block it from memory.
What struck me most was the furniture was being held together (decorated?) with tape! Not just some of the furniture, but practically everything--the chairs, shelves, tables, and even the tape was falling off. The Montessori materials were in terrible condition, some of them missing knobs, essentially rendering them useless. The woman who led the tour told me she didn't think anything was wrong with this, when I asked her how the children were expected to pick up the flat geometric shapes when the knobs had fallen off. Her reply was that they manage. She was rather defensive when I asked her to show me.
What they actually offered was completely different from what was advertised. No creche, for example. The children seemed to wander about the room pulling toys (not work) off the shelves randomly. It was a dirty, dark, horrible place. They claimed to be affiliated with AMS (I think) but when I checked the AMS website for affiliated schools in Hong Kong, they were not listed.
I think the teachers tried hard, but it did not seem as though they had Montessori training, and they seemed sad, not enthusiastic. I wonder why anyone would teach there, let alone send their children. The fees are comparable to Woodlands, from what I remember.
Absolutely stay away.
Anyway, we brought our daughter, filled out all the required paperwork, and went to visit the school. On the day we visited, there were two separate classes and it seemed that there were two or three teachers per class (perhaps 3 for the younger class, and 2 for the slightly older kids). I don't remember clearly anymore (this was earlier this year) as I have tried to block it from memory.
What struck me most was the furniture was being held together (decorated?) with tape! Not just some of the furniture, but practically everything--the chairs, shelves, tables, and even the tape was falling off. The Montessori materials were in terrible condition, some of them missing knobs, essentially rendering them useless. The woman who led the tour told me she didn't think anything was wrong with this, when I asked her how the children were expected to pick up the flat geometric shapes when the knobs had fallen off. Her reply was that they manage. She was rather defensive when I asked her to show me.
What they actually offered was completely different from what was advertised. No creche, for example. The children seemed to wander about the room pulling toys (not work) off the shelves randomly. It was a dirty, dark, horrible place. They claimed to be affiliated with AMS (I think) but when I checked the AMS website for affiliated schools in Hong Kong, they were not listed.
I think the teachers tried hard, but it did not seem as though they had Montessori training, and they seemed sad, not enthusiastic. I wonder why anyone would teach there, let alone send their children. The fees are comparable to Woodlands, from what I remember.
Absolutely stay away.
