Posted by
solomani
18 yrs ago
Hi all,
I will be arriving with my family to HK in late September. My daughter will have just finished pre-school in Australia and should start kindergarten from next year. Our preferred school is the CAIS which is currently full. Can anyone recommend any English speaking/curriculum kindy in the Central or Tuen Mun area?
ESF schools I can not apply for until I land but I expect they will be full as well. What I don’t want to happen is for my daughter to be forced to go to a Chinese speaking Kindergarten. Anyone know if the HK Govt will force us to do this if we can not find an English speaking school? That’s my main concern at the moment.
Thanks in advance.
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Woodland is good, and has several schools scattered about: http://www.woodlandschools.com/new/home.htm. We are very happy with one of the Montessori ones. Also some of the International schools offer pre-school from 3 years of age.
Note that most HK pre-schools don't offer all day programs like kindergartens in "Western" countries.
"ESF schools I can not apply for until I land but I expect they will be full as well. What I don’t want to happen is for my daughter to be forced to go to a Chinese speaking Kindergarten. Anyone know if the HK Govt will force us to do this if we can not find an English speaking school? That’s my main concern at the moment."
There are plenty of alternatives to ESF. For example CDNIS (Canadian), FIS (French which does have an International Section in English), HKIS (American), HKA... The cost is higher, but in my opinion not prohibitive.
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but most of them are quite full as well though...
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Is there a comprehensive list anywhere? Would just like to apply to as many as possible before we leave. My daughter would also be joining in the middle of the Northern Hemispehre school year.
Thanks for the info though.
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Woodlands looks like preshcool only. Be looking for kindergarten as my daughter will finish pre-school in September in Australia. So needs to go to Kindy next.
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"but most of them are quite full as well though..."
Yes. But if you apply to 3 or 4 the chances of getting in are high. They do have entrance exams.
"Woodlands looks like preshcool only. Be looking for kindergarten as my daughter will finish pre-school in September in Australia. So needs to go to Kindy next."
You are applying foreign labels to HK systems. Those things don't mean the same here. What ages are we talking?
Woodland has classes from 12 months to 5 years. They call it all "pre-school" but certainly "Playgroup" and "Stepping Stones" classes aren't really that.
"Is there a comprehensive list anywhere? Would just like to apply to as many as possible before we leave. My daughter would also be joining in the middle of the Northern Hemispehre school year."
As people log in today you will probably get quite a comprehensive list. I'll kick off:
- Hong Kong International School (American) aka HKIS
- Canadian International School aka CDNIS
- French International School (International Section is in English) aka FIS
- Swiss German International School aka SGIS
- Hong Kong Academy aka HKA
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Thanks AXPTGUY. My daughter is turning 5 this year. She would join formal schooling in Australia from Feb next year in kindergarten (kindy, year 1, year 2 etc up to year 12). Pre-school is optional here.
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At 5 years kids here might go to "Prep" or "pre-school" or something else depending on what label the particular school put on it. I think this is what you are calling "kindy". That is the year before "real school".
The term "kindergarten" is defined by many in HK as "playschool" while "pre-school" implies more "formal" schooling and school preparation. There is no age definition involved in the terms. Also a school chain like Woodland is called "Woodland Pre-Schools" but as I mentioned they have programs for 12 months up until "real school" starts.
You are too late to apply for prep programs (5 year olds) for this fall at the big schools. So your best bet is probably to find a good "pre-school" (HK terminology) like Woodland and apply for "school" this fall for next year. That would be "first form" or whatever else they may call it. The application periods normally end in Oct-Nov so you have time to do the tours and so forth.
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Ok thats great information to know. I didnt calculate that there maybe a "dead zone" due to the southern hemisphere schooling will be 6 months off the northern hemisphere.
Thanks.
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As you are on the way to Hong Kong, I think you shld switch your mind a little bit to the system here. Dont get me wrong.. I am not here to criticise you but that way, you will get less confused later. As you mentioned Tuen Mun earlier, there is a place called Gigamind - it is not purely an english school but quite a few western kids do go there and most importanly, very small sized classes. May be you can give a try. I also think the entrance is less competitive.
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Sent you a pm for the school site. Good luck.
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If you are coming from Australia and you are looking at something in Tuen Mun I think you should take a look at Hong Lok Yuen International School website.
Many children in the Tuen Mun area go to that kindergarten and it is as close to what you would get in Australia as possible, nice outdoor space, excellent qualified teachers and lovely reception year and play area (oh yes plently of kindergartens don't have play areas!).
Take a look at the website, your child would probably need to take a bus but I think there are at least 20 little ones that all head there for kindergarten, it is a well established school and probably more along the lines of what you are expecting I think.
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GCoaster, thank you. Looking at the site now.
I am not commited to Tuen Man or the Gold Coast just yet but since I put a higher value on nice living environment than short commute times I expect I will end up living outside of central/HK Island.
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solomani, in that case you might also want to consider the Eastern regions of South Side, for example Tai Tam. Larger homes, more nature, etc... Commute to Central would still be under an hour and prices are lower than Repulse Bay.
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As GCoaster mentioned about Hong Lok Yuen school, Tai Po / Tai Wo areas can also provide the environment that you want - fresh air and greenery - but much cheaper than things in Hong Kong Island. I dont know your budget but houses there are very reasonable. My daughter went to Hong Lok Yuen's playgroup and definitely it is a good school and well equipped but just that the primary school is too expensive for us.
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Hi Mighty,
Hong Lok Yuen is more expensive than Australian school by more than 10k/year and I consider Australian school expensive already. However we will check out the area as well. Since if rent is cheap that will free up more money for school etc.
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I hope my information did not mislead you. Rent inside Hong Lok Yuen Complex is not cheap. But rent for village houses around Tai Po / Tai Wo / Sheung Shui are comparatively cheaper than other places in Hong Kong. As you mentioned, you dont mind sacrificing the commute time so I think it might be a good choice for you. A budget of 7-8K can get you a 700 sq. ft flat with garden. Or if you can stretch a bit more, 12-13K can get you 2 floors (1,400 sq. ft) of a village house. But I dont know how that compares to the rent in Gold Coast / Tuen Mun. Again it is very different, Gold Coast you hv the sea, but Tai Po you have mountains. It is a very personal choice. Do you know the Norweigian school? I think it is slightly cheaper than Hong Lok Yuen. Chrisitan school and small sized classes.
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