Posted by
roselin
18 yrs ago
Hi everyone, I am new to this forum. I have read a lot of discussion on schooling in HK, but still unable to decide for my son. So I will describe my concerns and any comments or suggestions are much appreciated!
Wer are living in HK right now, my husband is Canadian born Chinese, I am from Taiwan and my son is 2 year 3 months old. I speak to my son in Mandarin and my husband speaks English. However, as my son and I have been travelling quite frequently without my husband, he is only speaking single english words right now. I hope this situation will change when he hears more english as we are home now. He has never attended any schooling yet.
We plan to be in HK for probably the next 10-15 years, so we are now thinking about where son will go for primary and secondary. We want him to be fluent in both English and Mandarin. From what I read, ESF schools seems to be pretty good choice offering good education with reasonable fee. And we are in the catchment area to attend Beacon Hill School and KGV. But one concern is that the level of Mandarin teaching is not very high. That's why I am also considering Kiangsu & Chekiang, which appears to have heavier emphasis on Mandarin (5 classes per week). Can anyone comment on the academic quality of Beacon Hill/KGV and K&C? Does it make sense for him to attend K&C first, learn how to write Chinese characters up to at least Grade 5 or 6 and then change to KGV? Is it difficult to make the change? BTW, I didn't see anything on debenture or capital levy on the K&C website, does it mean that K&C doesn't require it? Is there any other choices of school that I should be considering?
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MC
18 yrs ago
roselin, i am sure u have done a seach on this site. so many threads on this topic. Personally don't know Beacon Hill or GV.
ESF schools are very good indeed. But if u want good mandarin, you can forget about it.
K&C is good at mandarin and is probably the only one in HK that is local and teaches in mandarin. However, the campus is not attractive and the place is very Chinese in every aspect.
Depending on what you want for your child. Personally I don't think it is possible at all for a person to be completely equal in both languages. One will always be stronger than the other. That is something you have to decide.
Local schools aside, the only international school that teaches mandarin properly is Chinese International School. They do charge hefty fees. Unfortunately limited choices.
Again, all comes down to personal choice. For me, not a chance that I will put my child in a Chinese (local or not) school system mandarin or not.
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MC, you mean the international section in K&C are also really "local", academic program and everything else? That is truly something to consider...
But at the same time, CIS fee (and pretty much all other int'l schools) is really expensive. I don't know if we can afford especially we are thinking about a second child. sigh..
it's just strange to me how it's difficult to learn mandarin and english side-by-side when they are the languages that are spoken in HK everyday.
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MC
18 yrs ago
roseline, totally share your view. K&C in generally is very Chinese. I am sure the int'l section is better. I actually sent my daughter there when she was 2 (the local section of course as the int'l one doesn't take children till they are 5 I think). Took her out in 2 weeks as she just didn't like it. Looking back, I should have stood my ground. If I had to do it again, I'd put her there till she turns 4 then to somewhere else. She is at CIS now.
Guess what I meant was that to truely master both languages well is not possible. I speak both very fluently. My native language is mandarin. However, I know for a fact that my Chinese is better as it has more than just speaking and reading. Writing and everything else is the hard part.
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CIS is expensive but it is the one that sounds like meeting your needs. The other is Yew Chung in Kowloon Tong - but even more expensive I think.
Otherwise I think ESF is very good as KGV is very reputable. Mandarin aspect is much weaker, but I think if you get an individual mandarin teacher plus yourself teaching her mandarin - then I don't see that as a main concern.
Other international school you can consider is German Swiss or French international (both very reputable but again weak in Mandarin)
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Having done supply at K&C at both infants and primary level - the curriculum and teachers are quite western and I am impressed with what goes on there - despite the limited facilities.
The mandarin program is strong in the international section,with all the teachers (mandarin and regular teachers) being professional, caring and excellent teachers. They are governed by the mandarin section of the school and so there are things which reflect this (ie limited play areas as this does not contribute to learning!) But on the whole I think the school does its best with what it has. I also must note that the level of english the students speak and write is far higher than many other international schools I have worked in. there is a large population of local students who have lived elsewhere with not many non chinese - and they all seem to assimilate well. It has a small school atmosphere as well. Don't disregard it as it has many good aspects.
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stg
18 yrs ago
I don't want to stir the pot here and drudge up an old listing, but I was rather floored (in a bad way) with KCIS (K&C). I went to visit the school today, and I could not imagine sending any 2 year old there of any race. I am keen on my children learning mandarin, very keen thus the visit, but however good the teachers are, the ratio of teacher to student (toddler) is 1:14. Classes up up to 38 students! Could you take care of 4 2 year olds let alone 14? I understand the teachers are professional, but isn't this extreme?
I write this because everyone seems to have such glowing things to say about this school, and I really want to like it for I believe in the curriculum and school's philosophy.
Further, I can understand sending a 5 year old there. Maybe even a 4 year old. But at 2? I get the whole local education thing. I love the concept.
The children were adorable, and very well behaved. But the environment seemed to strip away childhood?
Please, for all of you with personal experience with the school, please explain.
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how about having private mandarin lessons after school or on a saturday at home? i know from some of my friends that they send their children to an ESF primary school and then organise 'group' mandarin lessons once or twice a week. the cost is split between several families and the friends all learn together and even the venue changes to different flats....just a thought...
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My child has just started at KCIS this month and so far I am happy with the school. The teachers are very caring and class is around 18 only. The int'l section is UK curriculum with daily Mandarin. PE and library lessons as well. It doesn't admit any 2 year old toddler. I found that my child is able to count and speaks some simple words in Putonghua now ( the local section's pupils speak much more fluent Mandarin as I could hear in my child's schoolbus) stq, I think the local school of K&C is same as many local school with large class size. I could not comment on how they take care of the pupils as I don't have actual experience in the local section but the school (both IS section and local) concerns much on the discipline and behaviour of pupils , which I appreciate but I also agree large class might be more suitable for a more independent kid over 4 years or older. For a 2 year old, I think you still have wide range of choices for nursery classes if you don't like large class size. That's why local schools are struggling for small class sizes nowadays. I trust the pupils are more attentive in a smaller class.
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my question is why do 2 year olds need to attend school? would you send your 2 year old to school if you were back home?
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kooni
18 yrs ago
I believe i's more a matter of expat families wanting their children to learn Mandarin, so they lose perspective...?
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It is difficult to find a school or system that suits all your needs so at the end of the day I think you should choose one that suits most of your requirements and supplement anything you feel is lacking. We have put 3 children through the ESF sysem. One is now at university, one is at KGV and another still at primary. The get a fantastic all round education and develop into well rounded adults that mix with any society. We have been and are totally satisfied with the ESF. Yes, Mandarin is not strong, although this is changing, but if this is important to you, then as we did, supplement this "weakness' by yourself an have your child have extra external classes/tuition and keep up the mandarin at home. My mother is Chinese, I went to an ESF school and learnt my Chinese (Cantonese) in the same way.
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