[cadogan]

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!!

[rani]

Welcome to HK! Getting into a school can be a bit stressful, but good thing is that you're starting early and you can put your kids' names down right away.

We have a list of Preschools on HKIsland here:

http://www.geobaby.com/directory/edu...g-kong-island/

Would recommend you email Woodlands, Tutor Time, Southside Kindergarten.
Kellet School (a British primary school which has a reception class as well)

Here's an idea of school fees
http://www.geobaby.com/articles/educ...g-kong-island/

[cadogan]

Thank you Rani!
I am still a bit confused though - does this mean that i should be looking at kindergartens rather than primary schools? The twins would be starting primary (pre-prep) school in the UK in September as they will be 4.5 years old in September, having already spent 2 years in a kindergarten. In HK does reception year happen within a pre-school environment rather than primary school? I really want them to do a full day - they are definitely ready for a more structured full-time learning set up. Are there any schools that will take 4.5 year olds? I worry that they will fall behind their contempories in the UK if i delay them starting proper school for a whole year after when they would have started in London?
If they do need to stay in a kindergarten for another year, which ones should i prioritise to ensure they are top of the list to be considered for places in a great British system primary school the year after (and are the best of these generally considered to be the ESF ones?).
Finally, you say we're starting early but surely application dates for most schools and pre-schools will already have passed for places starting in August?
If you could spare me a few more minutes to explain i will be so grateful!
Thanks!

[rani]

The twins need to be 5 or turning 5 before the cutoff Dec 31st, to go into P1. Not all the primary schools have a reception class. Kellet does, but ESF does not.

My son is at ESF and I went there myself. To be honest, I wouldn't say its the best. Have a look at Kellet, class sizes are smaller.

You're right you have missed the deadline for \schools. But Hong Kong is a very transient place, and many expats do leave by summer. And you move up school waitlists fairly quickly. So put your name down ASAP.

The kindergartens I recommended earlier are all good.

[sea princess]

Hi Cadogan
I, as many women on this forum, empathise with you! The schooling stuff is so difficult and just when you think it's all orgnaised, you're moving countries! There are two options to consider, first is do you want them to go to an international school (which have international streams, many follow the british curriculum) or ESF schools? If you think ESF then they stay in kinder to do their reception year and they enter at P1 level as Rani pointed out. if you are in Repulse Bay, Southside Kinder, Woodlands have good reputations and are worth looking at to see if they are in line with your philosophy.
The plan for our daughter was to send her to an ESF school, Bradbury (as we are in that catchment area) which has a good reputation. However, for us, we found all her friends left kinder and went to international scholols the year they turned four and she was then the only four year old in her group. She found it frustrating and didn't want to go back. That was our experience anyway and we were at a smaller kinder than some of the more main stream options. Luckily it all sorted itself out and we got in to an international school at the last minute.
With the Canadian International School, French International School and Hong Kong Academy, they have a recpetion year at the school and the children would enter the September they are 4. The FIS follows the British curriculum, the Canadian school, the Canadian curriculum and so on. The IB is popular here which makes assimiliation back to other countries easier I suspect?
As for Kellet, they have a different birth date cut off. They have a recpetion year and operate on a December 31 cut off. So some children may be 3 3/4 when they enter.
Company debentures push you up on the priority list and you should check to see if this is an option for you. It was the reason we got in at the last minute, so it can be really useful.
feel free to PM me if you have any q's.

[cadogan]

Gosh thanks so much Rani and Sea Princess...what a confusing system!!!! So.......(and please correct me if i'm wrong)....assuming ESF aren't necessarily considered the best schools then I might be better trying to get the twins into an international school (or Kellet) since this also allows them to go straight into reception in that school this September (aged 4.5), rather than them joining one of the kindergartens suggested for a year before going onto an ESF school? Is that right? I think there will be some help with company debentures, and also budget is not an issue so wouldn't need to rule any schools out based on that - i really just want them to get the best educational start possible to ensure that they will be well set up to get into the top prep and public schools when we return home. Also, the twins are bright, confident and easily bored (god I sound like a nightmare pushy mum, but i promise i'm not!) so they do need to be stimulated and pushed - they are both quite a bit ahead of the rest of their classmates at nursery here and one in particular is showing signs of being pretty gifted, so i do feel nervous about them spending another year in a kindergarten setting as i think they will get bored and de-motivated and start playing up.
Of the International Schools, are any considered "better" than others (and of course i know this is highly subjective!). Are there any subjects that an international school wouldn't cover that their UK counterpart might (French, latin etc?).
Finally, does location matter that much - i see the schools all seem to have school buses but i don't know HK well and can't work out whther it is important to live very close to a school or whether just living on the Island and choosing a school on the Island (assuming we're lucky enough to get offered places) is enough. Should I wait to see which school they get into and then decide where to live based on it's proximity to the school (don't want the twins spending hours on buses - again it's that boredom thing where my terrible two can start to become monkeys!).
Sorry for all of these questions but literally my husband accepting the job now rests on this one school thing.....so it's big responsibility for me to have to make the decision, and we have to make the decision in the next day or two!

[sea princess]

I think the ESF schools are considered academically very good and not a second best. People I know that have their children there are very happy with the standard. I think for many though, if you have the opportunity to get in to an international school through a corporate debenture, then most of us would probably grab it.
Anyhow I have sent you a PM (personal message).

[sea princess]

oops, one other thing I should have mentioned. location is not so important really. Kids from all over the island go to different schools. Repulse Bay area is really well situated between most of the schools and buses service all over the place. Kids don't tend to get too bored on the bus, they find it an extension of their school time and have a blast!

[mumofone]

I work for an orientation/relocation company and would suggest getting this guide http://www.tuition.com.hk/school-guide/ - looks like they will deliver to UK.

[cadogan]

Good idea Mumofone - i'll order one.
Thanks