Posted by
Clodagh
16 yrs ago
We are planning on moving to Hong Kong in August from the USA, but the biggest ssue we are facing is school places for our three children- 13,11,7. The ESF schools are all full and there seem to be waitlists everywhere. Are these genuine waitlists? The ESF are almost discouraging us from applying as they say the waitlists in the years of our children are very long. We do not have an enormous budget for education and the company do not have debentures at any schools. The American International school says they do have places for from what I read this is not considered a great school. Renaissance College may have a place for one child. What should we do at this late stage?
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- Waiting lists tend to be a bit daunting. However many (most?) expat and upper class parents put their kids on 2-4 waiting lists. Once the time comes, lots of kids will come off 2-3 lists. So even if the waiting list is 80 kids, perhaps only 20-40 actually "count".
- This year, many many expats are leaving. This means freed up spaces at the schools.
- Many schools have assessments (for example FIS and CDNIS). This means that even if a kid is high up on the list, there is no guarantee. If he/she fails assessment, that spot is freed up for the next kid. This of course also means that as a parent you cannot depend on your kid getting in to a school that has an assessment.
My advice is to find 3-4 schools you like and apply for all of them. Sure, you'll lose the application fees, but compared to the school fees they are insignificant so it's worth the cost.
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cd
16 yrs ago
Definitely worth applying to ESF, you need to get on the wait list. I'm hearing every week at my kids school of people leaving, most unexpectedly. For the first time in several years their ESF primary is interviewing during the summer for next term.
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lmcf
16 yrs ago
I might focus on the schools that could offer spaces to all your children (such as ESF, CDNIS, Renaissance, HKIS etc). Most schools have a "sibling rule" which means that once one kid is admitted the other siblings will have first priority above anyone else in the year group. With 3 kids, your chances increase tremendously in terms of finding one space and then getting high priority for the others.
ESF follows a strict priority policy and really does not make exceptions since there is government funding involved. This is not necessarily true for all the schools..... ie they may pick some candidates over others, and not necessarily based on academics. CDNIS definitely is trying to diversify their student base which includes admitting more transferred North Americans. CDNIS school fees are higher than ESF, but less than HKIS.
All the schools are experiencing unexpected departures, and so options could happen overnight. You should apply asap for you're on the list.
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Thank you for all your replies. We have sent an application in to Renaissance and are waiting to hear there. Do you know if it is possible to apply to ESF without an address in Hong Kong? Also they say the kids will have to sit a test before being accepted. Is this something to start preparing for or is it more to check if they can speak English?
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Well, there's assessment and assessment. Talking about only reception and first form an the moment, at Kellett 98-99% of those offered a spot pass. Basically they want to know if your child has the basic English and social skills needed. It's not a tough test by any means. Most any child will pass as long as they speak English somewhat close to their age level.
CDNIS, on the other hand, is on he other end of the scale. The teacher will come out and pick up the group of applicants to be assessed. He or she will say "come with me" and just turn around and go. The test is quite "tough" and disadvantages shy children. Consider that the children in question are 3-4 years old. It baffles me because lots of children are shy at a young age and as far as I know this does not have a direct impact on academic ability or how they are as adults.
So while they all have assessment, it ranges from "is your child reasonably normal?" to "we really want to find children who will be top performers". At Kellett, if your child is on the waiting list and gets a spot, he/she will get in pretty much automatically. At CDNIS, position on the waiting list is almost irrelevant. If the child does not pass assessment, and the fail rate is very high, he/she is not offered a spot.
For the record, I think "tough" assessments which try to find "outgoing" top performers, for children that young, are a bad way of selecting students. Who knows how a child will develop when they are that young? One example is Einstein, who by all accounts was a poor student. I don't think he would have gotten in at CDNIS. ;)
"if your kids are halfway decent students, you shouldn't have any worries about the assessment."
Not at some schools. They might be having a bad day and not pass. Theymight be shy and not pass.
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Indeed you are correct cara. I'll get off my soapbox now. ;)
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lmcf
16 yrs ago
Yes, the assessment process is very different for 7/11/13 years old than kindergarten. Also at this age, most of the international schools are keen to replace departees/ empty spaces with fluent English speakers or international students that can bring some diversity to the school's environment.
For ESF (all areas).... your kids will have an assessment for English language. Not difficult for native speakers and grade appropriate. The test consists of reading comprehension, writing and oral. For native speakers, they often don't bother with the oral. For the secondary school (which may include the 11 year old -- usa grade 6 = esf year 7), there may be a math component; however this is solely for placement into the correct level/ set.
Renaissance (NT) should use a similar assessment, however, since they have more discretion in their admittances than ESF they may add a bit more academics.
CDNIS (HK side) will have both English and Maths for your kids age groups. If your kids are at grade level, they would most likely gain admittance since they seek international students in these age groups.
You could also consider HLYIS/ JIS (NT) which is opening a new secondary school for August (their primaries are well-established). On HK side, Kellett also is offering primary to USA grade 8 (secondary is newer for Kellett).
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Wondering if this is of interest to you, from the ESF website. Perhaps if the company applies for you, you'll have more luck.
Corporate Surety Scheme
ESF introduced a new Corporate Surety scheme in 2007 to enable companies to secure school places for expatriate employees before their arrival in Hong Kong over the summer months. The scheme commences 1 January to 30 June 2009. There are limited Surety places. Following a review in March 2009 of Year 1(born 2004) and Year 7 (born 1998), availability of Surety places will be very limited for these two year groups.
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There are plenty of stories (and I have heard some from the actual people involved) of parents who were told that the waiting list was 6-18 months, and their kid got in a month later. I think schools don't want to sound too optimistic.
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Well, the last people to find out always seem to be helpers and schools. I think if there will be movement it will be at the deadline for informing the school. If that deadline is 60 days before for school x, there will be movement at the latest 60 days before school start to avoid paying fees for next term.
I have friends who've been told their kid is #50 on the waiting list and two weeks later they get offered a spot. This was at Bradbury.
In my opinion you never know and it's worth being on the waiting list for any school you would consider.
"I guess the schools I am looking at are not for those in the financial sector!"
Quite possible. But while finance has been hardest hit, other sectors are hurting too.
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lmcf
16 yrs ago
At ESF "incoming, new to HK, and requiring English education" have higher priority than anyone already resident in HK (excluding siblings). P1/P2 and Y7 are the most oversubscribed... and so anyone waiting for spaces in these years may wait much longer than other years. Since OP has at least 2 kids that are not in these years, it is definitely worth the application.
Compared to other options mentioned, Delia School of Canada is usually considered more "second-language" and is not necessarily a good choice for native-English speakers.
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cd
16 yrs ago
To Oze-kid, certainly at our kids ESF primary, there are lots of people leaving, many with very short notice. It seems every week I hear of another family going.
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"you should look at clearwater bay school and living in sai kung....nudge nudge, wink wink!"
What? Leave The Island?!? ;)
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