Posted by
bcmchan
15 yrs ago
We currently reside in the US and are planning to move back to HK summer 2010. The main issue for us is finding the right schools for our kids, 13-year-old (8th grade in US system) and 9-year-old (4th grade).
Which international schools has good academics, is well-rounded, and has a student population that does consist of either mostly US students or international students?
Is it very hard to get into a good international school? Do people apply way in advance and the schools always have waiting lists? I'm very worried that since schools have long wait lists, our children won't be able to get in and we will not be able to find a good school for them.
Your advice is highly appreciated. Thank you.
Please support our advertisers:
Depending on where you are living and working check out HLYIS and ICHK they have worked out well for us and others in this region of HK
Please support our advertisers:
Try HKIS, it's a bit far for most but good if you live somewhere in tai tam. It's American standard and most of their expat students are americans and also international students.
Please support our advertisers:
Do not try HKIS if you care about academics. As an HKIS parent, I am looking to change schools where my child will actually learn something. This is particularly true at the lower grade levels. My child is not challenged at all. The math program is a joke. The administration does not care to change anything since the waiting list is long.
Please support our advertisers:
Thank you for the feedback.
kaesemaus: Can you please tell me more about your dissatisfaction with HKIS? This is actually the first time I hear complaints about HKIS academics and I would love to know more. This would be helpful.
What math program do they use? So compared to local school math, it's a lot easier? One comment here though, in the public schools here in the US, the math is definitely behind the local schools is Asia, so if they are indeed following the American curriculum then the math is probably not as good.
How about for English language learning? Which grade is your child in, and what books are they reading at school? What kind of writing do they do?
Thank you so much!
Please support our advertisers:
I've always thought HKIS was one of the best schools, but lately I keep hearing a lot of negative things like kaesemaus described. My US friend's neighbor (also US) pulled out all 3 kids. My friend here, said she would never choose the school again (too religious and learning too little). I've heard reading levels are much lower and I've seen 7 year olds walking around with school books my 5 yo is reading and she's slightly above average. For some reason something doesn't seem right. It just seems like a very logical choice for US parents but a lot start doubting. I would look at a wide variety and see what school fits your child most regardless whether it's US, British, German, Canadian, etc. curriculum ...
Please support our advertisers:
This is valuable info (but also disappointing) to know. But has the curriculum changed? Or the quality of teachers?
Would you say the curriculum of CIS or German-Swiss is better and the standard higher?
Thanks again.
Please support our advertisers:
It depends on the child. GSIS is one of the best schools and so is CIS (especially if you want a bi-lingual approach). Can't comment on HKIS any further, it's just the things I hear around me which worry me. Go take a look, and find out for yourself.
Please support our advertisers:
CIS is Chinese International, CDNIS is Canadian, at least that's what I always have been told.
Please support our advertisers:
If you are moving from the US and your kids have been accelerated, HKIS is not very challenging. But there are very few options. At grade 9 level, perhaps you can take a look at the schools offering IB program. HkIS also does not have a very international population. Most kids are local but hold foreign passports, which enables the school to say that 50% of their kids are not local. I have heard good things about Chinese International, but once again, I had heard good stuff about HKIS too. Depends on what you are looking for, I guess...
Please support our advertisers:
I was under the impression that HKIS has truly over 50% of kids from US, and that it has strong academics. Sounds like may be there are doubts in both of these areas. But like minsin said, since we're moving from the US, this leaves us with very few options. I did look into Chinese International School, but they said that priority is given to students who know Chinese well (and my kids don't). Also I heard a lot of kids in Chinese International are local and rich and snobbish (is this true??)
ESF also is mainly local kids and they have catchment areas.
German-Swiss may be a very different culture from US and language (German) may be a problem...
Please support our advertisers:
I am an HKIS parent and agree with some of the prior posts that HKIS is not academically rigorous, particularly in the lower grades. The school does not do a good job of articulating the underlying educational philosophy or the expected academic outcomes. However, kids ARE learning there - perhaps not as aggressively as other schools. Students who graduate from HKIS do go to some very prestigious universities.
HKIS is great from a social perspective - for both the kids and their parents. It is quite easy to build a strong social network, particularly if you live on the southside of Hong Kong Island.
All that being said, if I had to do it all over again, I would have looked at a number of other schools - Canadian International and Hong Kong Academy in particular.
Good luck.
Please support our advertisers:
bcmchan, if your kids are currently schooling in the US, then they'll have the top priority at HKIS. HKIS gives top ( not guaranteed ) priority to students applying from the States. Given that most reputable international schools in HK have long waiting lists, it would be wise for you to try HKIS and then applly a second school as a backup.
Please support our advertisers:
You must be logged in to be able to reply.
Login now
Copy Link
Facebook
Gmail
Mail