AISHK follows the NSW Curriculum so I guess it is pretty similar to Australia academically and culturally (well NSW!). There are lots of Chinese kids there but many are Australian Chinese so more from the Australian culture. I only know people with older kids there and they are really happy with the school having transferred from Oz. A good friends daughter is starting in P1 in Feb so will have a better idea next year about the early years.
My oldest has just started Reception at FIS (international section) and loves it! I was a bit worried because it is known as being very academic and I really do not believe all this early focus on hard core learning is beneficial (and the researh backs this up) but so far (only her 3rd week) she seems really interested and stimulated by everything and certainly not overwhelmed. All the other mum's I have spoken to have said the same- they mostly have girls, there is a high proportion of girls (which I think may be to do with the assessments as generally speaking girls handle these better). She loves her teachers who seem very nuturing and is very happy there despite the long days. They are certainly learning through play at this stage - they follow the British Early Years curriculum which is pretty similar to Australia (although they do start school a bit earlier in UK, not much but a bit). Hope this helps and good luck, know this school thing is a minefield! So much easier when they just go to the local school down the road.....
My oldest has just started Reception at FIS (international section) and loves it! I was a bit worried because it is known as being very academic and I really do not believe all this early focus on hard core learning is beneficial (and the researh backs this up) but so far (only her 3rd week) she seems really interested and stimulated by everything and certainly not overwhelmed. All the other mum's I have spoken to have said the same- they mostly have girls, there is a high proportion of girls (which I think may be to do with the assessments as generally speaking girls handle these better). She loves her teachers who seem very nuturing and is very happy there despite the long days. They are certainly learning through play at this stage - they follow the British Early Years curriculum which is pretty similar to Australia (although they do start school a bit earlier in UK, not much but a bit). Hope this helps and good luck, know this school thing is a minefield! So much easier when they just go to the local school down the road.....