Posted by
mdap
14 yrs ago
I have friends moving from UK to HK, they have four girls, 17months, 5-6-7 years, what is the very best school for them to attend, is it Kellets?
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If they want 50/50 English/Putongua then the best school would probably be Chinese Intl and Singapore Intl. For the local schools then DGS is probably #1 with St Paul's up there.
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I would say that most of the international schools are very good to excellent. There are really no bad choices there when it comes to quality. It comes down to style of teaching, curriculum, fees and location.
One big factor is waiting lists. Many of the schools have waiting lists stretching for years. Unless the family can make use of corporate debentures, it may be hard to get into the desired school. Therefore, apply for several.
One of the exceptions is English Schools Foundation, which has centralized admissions for Year 1 and Year 7 at the same time for everyone. If you come in mid-year, you can apply mid year.
Kellett is by all accounts a great school. The waiting list is looooooooong though.
Here's a list of a few schools to consider. Check the websites. Contact the schools.
- English Schools Foundation (ESF) Schools. Runs 9 primary schools and 5 secondary and is as such the largest non-Chinese speaking school establishment.
- Hong Kong International School. HKIS
- Canadian International School. CDNIS.
- Chinese International School. CIS.
- French International School. FIS. International Section runs English curriculum.
- German Swiss International School. GSIS.
- Kellett School.
- Hong Kong Academy. HKA.
- International Montessori School. IMS.
- Singapore International School.
- Australian International School.
- kiangsu & chekiang international school
- korean international schol (international stream)
- Woodland Pre-Schools. The Harborside School takes 5-6 year olds in a first primary years program. This can be useful if you are in a holding pattern.
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mdap
14 yrs ago
Many thanks .... any comment on Victoria Shanghai in Aberdeen?
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If they want to stay on then UK curriculum then Kellett is the place; I think GSIS are still using it but may be switching to IB?? Also the English section of the Korean International uses some kind of UK curriculum, it would do as a stop gap if they can't get in anywhere else for a while.
I don't know any western kids at Victoria Shanghai and the level of English of the Chinese kids I know there is not great.
Their big challenge will be the 5 year old, as all those places just filled up in September.
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Kellett is a good option if you are looking at Primary Schools and thus in HK for a short while. Long term if higher education is required then you would need to look at all of the options available. Kellett as yet only goes up to year 9/10 and the curriculum is that of GCSE then A'levels. It is the only school in HK that is doing A'Levels or will be doing A'levels. Most schools have replaced A'levels with IB due to the concerns that University's have with A'level results. Most public/private schools in the UK have also moved away from A'levels and are doing the preU or IB. There is not a girls international school in HK they are all mixed. GSIS & ESF do GCSE and IB.
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Apart from the A-levels/IB issues, Kellett will be up to Year 13 way before the 7 year old in question has to enter Secondary.
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ummm! As the posting said as yet, one could deduce that it may be up to Y13 by then axptguy.
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Kellett will be moving the secondary school to their new school site in Kowloon Bay in 2013. This will be a new build with state of the art facilities for every area of the curriculum including sport. It will be a four form entry secondary school and an additional primary school with either 2 or 3 form entry plus nursery. The existing primary school at Pokfulam with continue on their present site and feed into the secondary school.
The plan is to offer A level but that may change depending on the UK University requirements. Contrary to what was said earlier in this thread, the UK universities at present are still more accepting of A levels and the grades offered to students studying IB are substantially higher. Added to which IB only suits those students that are very well rounded and independent learners. This is why ESF has had to add BTEC to its Year 12/13 programme to support those students not capable of taking IB.
Kellett are offering some new corporate debentures to assist the new build so it may be worth checking these out if your friend is really interested. There is a long waiting list but with places available in the secondary school at the moment.
It is a great school - voice of experience here and definitely a cut above ESF.
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flight, what specifically makes you say that Kellett is "a cut above" ESF schools? My kids have been on the Kellett waiting list for a few years now so I am honestly interested in any such information.
The economic factor is not to be frowned upon. Kellett has a reputation for being better than ESF, but is it really HK$45000/year plus a debenture better? Do the test scores support the reputation? Don't get me wrong, I think Kellett is an excellent school, but unless you're doing very well, HK$180000/year more per year total for four kids is no joke.
To take one example, ESF's Bradbury is certainly not a bad school. In fact, unless you compare it specifically to top flight schools international schools like Kellett it is absolutely stellar. And even in that comparison it doesn't come out badly. At a certain point I think parental influence starts having more effect than the difference between schools.
Sorry about the somewhat stream-of-consciousness post, but with our oldest starting school this year I have been thinking about this stuff a lot.
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Flight - I would suggest there are many ESF parents out there that would disagree with you, including those Kellett parents who fight tooth and nail to get their children into an ESF secondary. I guess those who are not successful in getting an ESF place due either to failing the entrance exam or the huge waitlist continue at Kellett or go to boarding school. I'm sure Kellett it is a good school but I do think that to say it is a cut above ESF would be premature as there have to date been no exam results to come out of Kellett. Perhaps when it turns out as good results that ESF does for GCSE or IB you may then want to comment - until they you have nothing to base such a comment on.
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Agree axpat "I think parental influence starts having more effect than the difference between schools."
Universities that specialize in the Sciences/Maths/languages IB is preferable.A'levels will shortly be replaced
Regarding the BTEC flight, you say this is a qualification for students not capable of taking IB. Understand that it is a small percentage of students taking BTEC, surely A'levels would be a better option as A'levels are a recognized qualifiacation at universities. Or is BTEC taken by students who have no desire to go to uni but go on to either technical college or straight into industry?
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