Sir Ellis Kadoorie Primary School - Any opinions?

Does anybody here have any insights about the Sir Ellis Kadoorie Primary School in Causeway Bay?


I have visited the website but would like to get word from the street about it. Wondering if it's a good option while we wait for a spot at an ESF school.


Thank you!

Sir Ellis Kadoorie Primary does not have a good reputation. The school is one of the few government schools where anyone who can speak "some" English can gain entry. It caters to HK residents who do not speak Chinese (mostly SE Asian) and will attend local school for 12 years. Unfortunately, very few obtain entry to a "good" secondary school.


If you are looking for an interim solution to ESF on HK Island with lowish school fees, the following may be much better options:

--Delia School of Canada

--Kiangsu-Chejiang Internationl

--Korean International

--Victoria Shanghai International

Another alternative is the Catholic Mission School - in Central (don't know if the location is convenient) in Caine Road. My daughter goes there and I am very pleased with it. They teach in English and Mandarin with a smattering of Cantonese. They teach Pinyin as well. My daughter's class has 14 students and the school has a "family" atmosphere. It is free and was originally a government school but now under the auspices of the Catholic church. You don't have to be a Catholic and the school is very forward-thinking with many nationalities in the school.

SIR ELLIS KADOORIE PRIMARY SCHOOL.

Not every school can have such a glorious, rich, prominent and proud history as Sir Ellis Kadoorie School. The school has a continuous proud history spanning over a whole century. Many of it's early primary school students moved on to renowned proud history spanning over a whole century. Many of it's early primary school students moved on to renowned colleges like Queen's College, King's College, KGV and the best universities in Hong Kong and overseas. Contributions to Hong Kong society by past students are significant. There is a long list of successful past graduates who went on to become prominent and successful Hong Kong and overseas residents and they include Harnam Singh Grewal (Secretary of Civil Service Hong Kong No.5 in the HK Government heirachy 1990s), Mr. Barma (Secretary of Transport 1997), Pritam Singh (Director of Broadcasting Authority 1980s). The list can go on and on. There are also many past students in the legal profession and business sector. In the early days of Hong Kong, many graudates of the school joined the Hong Kong government serving the Police Force, Prisions Department, Treasury, Water Works, Public Works. Everything is hard in the beginning but they helped establish those essential government departments building Asia's finest police force, professional and well organized civil service. The localisation policy of the civil service significantly reduced the number of ethnic minorities serving the civil service in the 1960s and the 1960s saw serious corruption in the police force resulting in the establishment of the ICAC. The Hong Kong University and Ruttonjee Hospital, HK Bank are founded by the minorities. The pioneering roles of the ethnic minorities is being gradually forgotten by the ungrateful Hong Kong society. Hong Kong residents seem to have forgotten the famous saying of the British authorities after the war, recognizing the contributions of the ethnic minorities proclaiming on their behalf; "FOR YOUR TOMORROW, WE GIVE YOU OUR TODAY".


Today, Ellis Kadoorie School continues to flourish proudly providing quality students for the Hong Kong society. The school is one of the best government schools in Hong Kong, continuously and selflessly administered by highly qualified school administrators and capable, caring teachers. Most of it's students are hard working, industrious and respectable. The school has a high standard of English to the envy of other local schools. Some of the Chinese parents, traditionally insecure and having the sheep mentality sometimes make undesirable comments about internationl schools. Such ignorant attitude is indeed pathetic. They fail to realize that Ellis Kadoorie school is most respectable, well run and does not have the addictive drugs and problematic attitude of some of the regular students in Hong Kong.


I myself, is a former graduate of Ellis Kadoorie School and I am grateful to the school for providing me with a great education enabling me to be successful in business and the IT industry. I would choose the same school if I have to live my life all over again. Sir Ellis Kadoorie school forever.

Apparently they don't teach spell checking or proof reading at this school...

You wrote: "Apparently they don't teach spell checking or proof reading at this school..."


I believe you mean "proofreading" instead of "proof reading". Perhaps one liners don't need proofreading. Good try anyway.

This is a brief description of Sir Ellis Kadoorie A.M. School from an alumni.
I was happily enrolled in first grade in a Chinese School located in Shum Shui Po (Kowloon) in 1960. However, my parents would like to put their children in an environment where their children can pick up the English language more effectively.
My mother discovered that Sir Ellis Kadoorie A.M. School located in SooGunPoo (Hong Kong) had vacancies for Hong Kong residents because there were not enough East Indian and Pakistani students to fill all the classes. I was admitted to second grade after a simply written test in English and I think I also had an in-person interview by the school staff before being accepted.
The ethnic mix for the school at the time was approximately 40% Hong Kong residents, 30% East Indian, 20% Pakistani, and 10% with mixed nationalities.
Academically, the students were average when compared to other primary schools in Hong Kong. The student conduct was good but there were a few bad apples who gave their teachers headaches. There were special activities scheduled in some evenings for students and parents to attend/participate. There were open house days to display the students' art work, woodwork, knitting and other creations for perspective new students and their parents to check out. There were annual track and field days held in a stadium for all students to participate. We also have our own Cub Scout troop on campus. There were also unofficial Christmas and New Year class parties too.
Our sixth grade had 127 students but only 76 were allowed from each school to take the city wide Secondary School Entrance Examination (SSEE). So, the sixth graders were given an internal exam to get ranked. My ranking was good and I went along with my 75 peers to face the SSEE. After the SSEE, I elected to stay at Sir Ellis Kadoorie A.M. School for Form-1 because I am well adjusted to the people, the environment and my family had also moved close to the school for a few years already.
The education program for Form-1 to Form-3 was excellent. Aside from the normally required classes, there was Domestic Science for girls and Woodshop for boys. Chinese (Cantonese), Hindi, and Udo were offered to the diverse student population. Schedule was full and there was no time left for the optional higher level math, algebra. However, Mr. Chan, our math and PE teacher was willing to stay after school to teach algebra and graphing for those who wish to stay.
The highest level this school offered was Form-3. The top 15% of Form-3 were transferred to other schools for Form-4. There were students promoted to Queens' College, Wah Yan College, Ying Wah College, and other colleges. The students who did not made the cut had to find their own school for further education.
Sir Ellis Kadoorie A.M. School was a perfect school for me because I was an "average" student. Now looking back, I felt we were like a school of tiny fish in the ocean moving us up and down, in and out by the massive waves and currents. Along the way, I had picked up all kinds of social and academic skills and I didn't even know it at the time. I learned to speak fluent British English, including all the offensive phrases along the way. My Indian and Pakistani friends can curse fluently in Cantonese too. We hang out but some can't eat beef and some can't eat pork; so, we had mutton. There were silly kids' conflicts and fights but never because of race or religion.
Sir Ellis Kadoorie A.M. School gave me a good foundation. I finished my BS in Medical Technology with honor and MS in Clinical Science with high honor, both at California University.
Every parent wishes the best for their child and I can understand that. However, the school with the best record may not be the best for your child. The school that can bring out the best from your child is the one you should pick. Based on simple statistics, top 10% are the smart ones; therefore, 90% are good, average, or not so smart. If your child is not the top 10% but get stuck in a high ranking school, he or she will have to work very hard just to keep up. If you matched your child's ability to a compatible school, your child will be happier and excel with less problems.
If you go to the school's website, you can get more current information. The SooGunPoo campus is all primary school now and the newer secondary school is in Kowloon side.
Good Luck !
David Kwan
關金甫