Please help me!!!! School/HK confusion!

[rani]

Hi, just wanted to respond to notmyaisle above because what was said about guaranteeing an interview is not actually true. Going to ESF kindy does not guarantee a place or an interview at an ESF primary.

Has this changed recently? When we were at ESF kindy 3 years ago, we were told we would be guaranteed an interview.

 

[JKemp]

To be honest it has always been the case officially. However, the ESF tried to get you an interview at another ESF school out of catchment if they could not accommodate you at the one you are local to. But, this is not always possible now because of the higher numbers of children in ESF kindergrtens. So, basically the Cat 1 children will be fine usually as they get the kindergarten priority over children from other kindergartens but some of the Cat 2 children may not get an interview for an ESF school. The exception being Renaissance and Discovery who usually try to offer all ESF kindergarten children an interview if they apply, but it is a separate application and interview for those schools to the standard ESF application.

 

[snagito]

ESF Kinder at Hillside is having an Open Day on February 9th and 11th. I'm not sure if this is just for the current parents, but it might be worth a call or email to them to see if you could pop in and see the kindergarten for your twins if you are interested.

 

[Alexander]

There is a whole thread on here about the GSIS moving. But Ma On Shan is out in the New Territories which would basically mean around an hour bus ride for the children from central.

This is not correct and highly misleading.

GSIS is NOT going to Ma On Shan. They are decanting to Wanchai, the premises presently used by Singapore International School.

This is confirmed in the thread on this forum which you have mentioned.

 

[BrownS]

Hi
Totally out of the blue this week it looks as though my husband, myself and our three children (twins aged 3.5 and baby 6 months) will be moving to HK from London this summer. Having spent ages securing places for the twins at a great London pre-prep school to start reception in September 2010 (twins will be 4 years old and 4 months old at the start of the school year) I am now in a total panic as I know nothing about the HK school system other than that everyone keeps telling me it is a total nightmare!!!! From looking at these forums and websites I'm not even sure if children start school at the same age in HK, let alone which schools I should be considering and how on earth I am supposed to find places (and of course I need 2 of them at that!!) at this late stage. The twins seem to be pretty able and definitely ready to start full time school (have been at kindergarden for 2 years, and got into all of our London school choices first time although some of those apparently offer places to less than 1 in 7 of applicants). We would prefer (pressumably require?) a british system as anticipate moving back to the UK for the twins to start prep school at 8, and need to be sure they have been taught to the correct level in the correct subjects to pass their 7/8+ exams for those schools.
Will be living i think somewhere like Repulse Bay (definitely on the Island somewhere) and although i wont be in HK with the children till August or early September my husband should be there within next few months to sort things out on the ground, and we will both visit within the next few weeks to get a view on house location etc.
Sorry to be so clueless but any help anyone can give me will be appreciated before I combust with stress!!

Hi Cadogan! I am just curious as to how you got on with finding a school for your children. I am in a similar position as you were when you first posted this. We are considering a move to HOng Kong. My husband is flying there this weekend for a final interview. My 2 kids are in school here in the UK. One is in year 2 and the other in Upper Nursery. We are looking for places for 2011 in Reception and Year 3. How did you get on? Was it very difficult? My first choice is Kellet due to small class size and good reputation. I have contacted them and it sounds like the only way in (and not even guaranteed) was corporate debenture. I think we could get that from company but does that give me a really good chance or not really? Any insight you could give me on your school experience would be great!! Thanks!

 

[cadogan]

Hi BrownS
It all worked out brilliantly - we did get places at Kellett with corporate debentures and also they got into CNDIS through assessment, but i really liked Kellett the best so that's what we went for and they started 3 weeks ago when we arrived. So far so great - they love the school and we are all settling in vey well. I think that although the school system here is a bit alarming at first it seems to me that even without debentures then everyone does eventually get places somewhere you'll be happy with - we didn't need debentures at CNDIS and it would have been a great choice too, for example, and everyone i've met with kids at ESF schools seem totally happy as well, so in many ways i think all my stressing was for nothing! HK is proving to be a wonderful place to live and i'm so glad we took this opportunity!
Good luck

 

[BrownS]

Hi BrownS
It all worked out brilliantly - we did get places at Kellett with corporate debentures and also they got into CNDIS through assessment, but i really liked Kellett the best so that's what we went for and they started 3 weeks ago when we arrived. So far so great - they love the school and we are all settling in vey well. I think that although the school system here is a bit alarming at first it seems to me that even without debentures then everyone does eventually get places somewhere you'll be happy with - we didn't need debentures at CNDIS and it would have been a great choice too, for example, and everyone i've met with kids at ESF schools seem totally happy as well, so in many ways i think all my stressing was for nothing! HK is proving to be a wonderful place to live and i'm so glad we took this opportunity!
Good luck

HI, thanks for getting back to me! I'm glad to hear it all worked out. Although, Kellet told me that there is a waitlist for Corporate Debentures right now. Was that the case with you as well? I really liked the sounds of Kellet mainly due to it's small class size. My kids now go to a small independant school in London and the classes are small and it's a very intimate setting. Kellet sounds similar. Is that true? Also where did you end up living if you don't mind me asking?
Thanks again!
Suzie

 

[cadogan]

we're finding it very nurturing and the most similar to what we would have been experiencing in London - big class sizes by London standards but small by HK standards. Not sure on the corporate debenture thing i'm afraid - i don't really know how they work but think my husband's company already owned them. We are living in Stanley and also think that was a fab decision - on the beach, lots of places i can walk to, lots of expats etc - bit of a commute for hubbie but to be honest when the traffic is bad wherever you live takes a while anyway, and at least when he does get home we can stroll along the waterfront and feel like we're on holiday!

 

[BrownS]

Hi, thanks! Just curious what the class size at Kellet is approximately. Thanks for the info and wish me luck!

 

[cadogan]

23 per class - but average class sizes out here seem to be over 30. Classes have one teacher and one classroom assistant so as a ratio far more kids per teacher than average London pre-prep, but it seems to work fine and i for one have no complaints.
Good luck with it all - it is all worth it once you get here!