Island School/West Island School

Looking into sending my child to either one of these schools next year - we are in the catchment area for both. Does anyone on this forum have children at either of these schools to help guide me as to what I should look for when making the choice.


Does one school lean towards being more sports orientated than the other - my daughter loves sports? She knows children going to both schools next year.

Not sure how you can be in the catchment area for both as there should be clear cut-off points even if it's a street number. Luck you if you are!


Both schools have good reputations.


Island School is facing a major overhaul in the near future which could be very disruptive for the kids there. West Island may be in line for some work but not to the same extent.


West Island probably has better sports facilities having accesss to the sports grounds opposite the school.


Why not visit them and see which you thing would be right for your daughter.


Hope this helps.

Have to agree with Yardie, it is most unlikely that you would be in the catchment area of both schools. I would advise that you check this again as there are very clearly defined catchment areas and it would be doubtful that you would have a choice of either school. You can either call ESF or check out the catchment areas on their website.


Both schools have excellent acedemic results. West Island had excellent results this year the best ever. Both schools have excellent reputations. Facilities in both schools are very different, Island School is very old and as mentioned earlier is in line for a complete renovation. West Island is the smallest of all the high schools in regards to students and has the newest facilities. WI school has a very good PE Department and as well as having its own facilities benefits from the use of the Stanley Ho sportsground which is with in walking distance from the school. I'm not sure that this make any difference although I would like to think so but the school and the sports facilities are by the sea so hopefully the polution is not as bad as other areas in HK.


You could ring up, make an appointment and visit the schools. Both schools have yearly open days and I would recommend going on these days as you can actually go into the class rooms when the students are in school and you then get a real real for the schools this way.


In regards to both schools they do have long waiting lists and unless your child is comming from an ESF Primary who automatically get spaces you may find that it is doubtful that your child will be able to gain a spot in Year 7 or 8 and they would need to take an entrance exam which is not a walk in the park.


Good luck with it all.

maz27, Perhaps you live in DB or on of the outer islands? In the past, these areas were allowed to select either WIS or IS, but think this is changing with the Discovery School which opens in 2008; you should check.


My son attends IS, and loves it. However, he also has friends at WIS, who are equally happy. Though WIS has better facilities than IS because it is much newer, this "lack" does not seem to negatively impact either the learning or activity environment at IS.


In terms of sports, IS has some of the best PE and sport coaches. They are long-term contenders for the Bauhinia sports cup in the A league every year. Last seaon, IS won again..... up against all the ESF, other international schools, and the elite local schools.


IS is a very diverse school with kids from many, many countries, along with the local Chinese and Indian communities, and long-term expats. It resembles the United Nations in ethnic mix, and truly purports a UN ethos.


Academic results are always at the top for the ESF, and for all the international schools. Kids attend elite UK, US and other countries' universities. Quality of teaching is very high, along with general pastoral care for the students.


Probably much of the same can be said about any ESF school. IS difference is that it has 40 years of history, and many students are children of alumni. Major negative point is that the school will undergo serious renovation in the next few years, and the how and when is still not clear.

Hi everyone, thank you for all the interesting comments on IS and WIS. Has anyone had any experiences with South Island and how the school rates in terms of sports or academic results as well?

my 2 daughters r going in is school now they are in y12 y11 and both r very happy and what they told me all esf school r good and mostly same as everything we live in tung chung