CDNIS vs HKIS vs ESF

My son got accepted in the CDNIS, SIS, HKIS and ESF Peak school. Would appreciate any parents who have kids in the above school pros and cons. We need to make decisions soon. Bilingual program is important to us and we plan to stay in HK for a long long time. Any advice is highly appreciated. Personally I like the ESF system they have the most friendly and international environment, However the mandarin program is not strong in ESF.

I have a daughter at CDNIS (preschool level). She has been there 1year and we have been very happy so far. The school has a friendly feel to it. Parents are welcomed. She is already doing Mandarin every day - and I understand their Mandarin program is very strong. She has native speakers taking this class. They are introducing the IB program at the moment - which makes getting into international Universities easier.

The main disadvantage I see is there is no car parking at the school (although their bus system is very good). This makes getting to school events difficult - even when taking a taxi because the traffic gets very bad and slow.

ESF have experienced some management problems recently at the head office level, however this has not impacted on the schools. The standard of education is excellent and the teachers highly dedicated and caring. The schools have a very international environment which is a great asset to most children who attend with all children speaking fluent English. ESF have recently taken on a Head of Mandarin who by all accounts is very impressive and was as I understand Director of Chinese at CIS. They have just implemented a pilot scheme in three primary schools where Mandarin is taught four days a week for 45 minutes and the expectation is to role this out to all Primary Schools in the near future. As you intend to stay in HK for a long time, just ensure that what ever school you choose makes provision for a secondary education, ESF does as does CDNIS, HKIS, I don't think SIS does unless they have extended. Good Luck! one last thing you may want to consider before choosing is what country are you from? what country is your son likely to do his university education? this may impact on what type of education you wish him to have here.

Hi scottydog,


Which 3 ESF primary schools will be in the mandarin pilot scheme?

I think it is four schools actually. I am not entirely sure so give ESF H/O a call and ask them or check their web as they maybe listed there.