Posted by
crj
19 yrs ago
http://www.victoria.edu.hk/
Can anyone share their experience with this school? (Preschool - Kindy - Primary - Secondary is being built now)
We are considering it because it is English/Mandarin and IB.
We also are considering KCS.
We also really like Montessori in Wan Chai and ISF, but they are quite a lot more expensive and harder to get into it seems.
Thanks very much.
BTW - This is the only thread I have found, and it is quite old:
http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/forums/momsdads/threads/45768.asp
Please support our advertisers:
Ed
19 yrs ago
Please see the rules for the forums before you post... if you break them an ban will result
Please support our advertisers:
Please support our advertisers:
crj
19 yrs ago
Ellie - how old are your kids? What years are they in?
Please support our advertisers:
I've sent both my kids to the English/Cantonese streams in their Kornhill campus and have had no problem with the school (I'm rather easy-going though). My older boy was able to go on to a local government school even though I don't read/write Chinese, but he does need a lot of help from his Chinese grandmother. My younger boy will be starting K3 there.
If you want to prepare your kids for local schools while exposing them to more English, I would say Victoria is a good choice.
Please support our advertisers:
HiRjwong,
What local government primary school did your older boy go onto? I am trying to find good local schools?
Please support our advertisers:
He goes to Wah Yan Primary School in Wanchai. Apparently it has quite a good reputation, as it is affiliated with an English-medium secondary school (although admission to the secondary school is not automatic for all its primary school students). Our son got into the school through the government central allocation, which friends have compared to winning the lottery. Teaching method is VERY traditional (weekly dictation, 42 kids in a class, and student ranking in the class based purely on exam results).
Please support our advertisers:
thanks Rjwong, do you have to live in Wanchai to get into that school?
do u know of any coed local schools in the area? i have a girl.
thanks
Please support our advertisers:
cri-
my kid is 3 and half and have just finished her pre nursery,and starting the putonghua/english class in aug for k1.i have her switched from cantonese/english.i find the school takes care of the children welfare well,i dont say very well,of course you cant compare it to schools like german -swiss etc.,but for the money you paid,you do get a certain amount of services,feedbacks from teachers etc.her class has many westerners too.Vic has many branches around hk,mabbe thats why is easier to get in,however,the waiting lists on the other hand is long too.But you'll wait and get in somehow:)
then there's the cleaniness,food is so-so.
a friend of mine said canadian intl school serves better food for their kids age 4 above.And parents-wise-most speaks english.my girl is happy there and she enjoys most of her activites.Good choice of school.
Please support our advertisers:
crj
19 yrs ago
Thanks Ellie.
Your post is very helpful.
We really want a billingual school, and there are not too many options. IMS is our first choice, but too expensive for us :( so we are looking at Victoria and KCS. We live closer to branches of Victoria, so shorter commute is an attraction. I agree that we will not expect the same 'service' as German-Swiss or IMS as they cost twice what Victoria costs!
We want our son to learn Mandarin and English (we speak English at home).
Do you mean Cleanliness is only so-so and Food is only so-so? Can child opt to bring their own lunch and snack?
Do you think Victoria is good for a billingual programme?
Do you feel your girl gets enough attention? Does she get the chance to be creative or is it all work and homework?
(sorry for so many questions!)
Please support our advertisers:
cri-
a shorter commute is more of an attraction for us for my husband doesnt want to send her too far away on a bus ride and having to waking her up at 6.30am just for the morning ride.your child will leave home early and leave school 10mins before bells rings.
my daughter does get enough attention,and what;s with 2 teachers,there are 2 more assistants in the class,excl the piano teacher.i noticed they were very caring to pupils on the very first day of school when so many of them were crying.that was last year.on the last day of school last week,the teachers were in tears..lol..
i mean the school is clean,they mop after the parents left the school,but food menu is really simple.i guess you can opt to bring his food to school but then it defeats the purpose of...attending a school,sharing with people...you know what i mean..sorri,i cant put my thoughts to words right now,but i wouldnt opt bringing nice homecooked food for him...unless the kid is sick and he cant eat schoolfood on that particular day.
creativity-personally i felt they are not as creative as some local schools.they do artworks,playing with sand etc.pre nursery is basically playtime.no homework.not sure about k1.how many kids you have?i thought you just had a baby?
Please support our advertisers:
however on the whole,let's assume we want pre nursery as a playtime ,with good quality teachers,given services and no fuss since is near your home,you can try opting for victoria.try switching to other branded schools when the kid a little bit older.
Please support our advertisers:
crj
19 yrs ago
Ellie - thank y0ou so much.
You are right we just have a baby, but because so many schools have waiting lists I have been corresponding with schools and finding out when to apply.
We are thinking of Victoria for Preschool and Kindy. And if we like it we could continue (especially as the new campus they are building sounds amazing), and if we don't we could change. And if we have more finances at the time we could change for that reason too.
The billingual part is what is important to us.
Your post really helps as I don't know anybody (except you) who sends their children there.
Thanks again!
Please support our advertisers:
no really,there are a few mothers in this post who have sent their kids there.i post this same thread once 2 yrs back,and many replied.
many of my friends applied for pre nursery,and amazingly ,they got in after the interviews.
they always tell you there s waiting lists..:)so...
and..if you are worried,try their playgroup first.however is 2 hrs each session and cantonese/english.
Please support our advertisers:
Zapi
19 yrs ago
Crj, saw your post before on maternity clothes a while ago. I thought you might find my input helpful as my daughter went to their prenursery and nursery school in the english/cantonese streams a few years ago. I think its a fantastic school. they have two teachers, one the native english speaker and one a native cantonese teacher. if its mandarin, then they have a native mandarin teacher instead of the native english teacher. They are mainly highly regarded in the prenursery and kindy levels but most parents change to primary schools elsewhere. They have very high standards, as mainly local families from better backgrounds tend to bring their kids their, and so the teachers take very good care of the kids as HK parents do have high expectations in terms of security, cleanliness etc. They are also reasonable and don't charge the ridiculous prices some international schools charge. If the bilingual part is important to you, Victoria will be very suitable. I always think its really important that my kids know two languages and if they have the opportunity to learn another language while in HK, why not? Also, I have local friends whose kids go to international schools and they don't speak either canto/mandarin and I find that so strange. Re the service being better in international schools because they cost more, I was completely satisfied with Victoria. The teachers were wonderful, classes were clean, lots of feedback, toys were new and they had good books. Not sure if the above is helpful but let me know if you have further questions.
Please support our advertisers:
Zapi
19 yrs ago
sorry, typo above - if it is a mandarin stream, they replace the cantonese teacher with the mandarin teacher.
Please support our advertisers:
crj
19 yrs ago
Wow Zapi - excellent feedback, thanks!
Unfortuantely we feel the pre-nursery class is too far a commute for us, but nursery and K1 are closer (either Belchers, South Horizons or the new one in Aberdeen)
Please support our advertisers:
Please support our advertisers:
crj
19 yrs ago
Ellie - I am specifically looking for a mandarin/english billingual programme. I thought the woodlands in pokfulam was English only?
Please support our advertisers:
Hi all,
We will apply for Woodland for my 12 months old for the start of their playgroup which is once/week = one hour only.
There is anyone knows about Woodland ?
Iam from Sweden and my husband local so yes we love our son to join the billingual programme in K1 and have a good base of the native english from start.
Appreciate all advises..
thanks !
Angie
Please support our advertisers:
mrsl
18 yrs ago
Crj, and others - did you decide on Victoria in the end? If you were to take money out of the equation (say the fees were the same as GSIS, CIS etc.), would Victoria be your first choice? The new campus in Aberdeen looks as if it will be amazing.
Please support our advertisers:
I'd be grateful for feedback too. The new site looks great, but I cannot find much info on teacher:student ratios etc. If you were offered places at, for example Victoria and GSIS (or CIS mighyt be a better example for Mandarin) and both were on full scholarships, which would you choose?
Please support our advertisers:
crj
18 yrs ago
Ok, if I had lots of money, I would choose IMS (Wan Chai) or ISF (soon to be Cyberport) - but both are over 100k per year. For preschool I would also shortlist TutorTime in RedHill/Tai Tam.
Victoria is around 50-60K per year right now, and that extra money to us makes a lot of difference.
My priorities for a school are:
Mandarin/English Bilingual
IB or Montessori
Short Commute
I would love to have low teacher:student ratio on my list - but that puts the price up a lot.
Victoria meets all the criterea, is less than 2 kilometers from my house, and is more affordable than the others - so we are sticking with this choice.
Please support our advertisers:
crj,
Given that IMS does not have secondary school and ISF does not have track record, what is your reason for choosing IMS or ISF as your preferred schools, besides they are bilingual and Montessori (IMS)?
Please support our advertisers:
crj
18 yrs ago
I like their educational philosophy, class size and the very positive feedback from parents I have talked to.
But anyway, I don't have the money so it is all theoretical :)
Please support our advertisers:
Hi crj, I checked the website and it says that in order to join their Mandarin/English stream you need to have one native mandarin speaker parent which really means people like me can't send their kids to Victoria to learn Mandarin. Is that similar to what you have found out?
Please support our advertisers:
crj
18 yrs ago
Are you refering to Victoria?
I don't see this on their website.
They didn't tell me that when I spoke with them, and I made it clear it was the Manadarin/English stream I wanted to enroll our son in. I do speak Mandarin although just conversational.
I'll have to check with them again to see if they changed their policy... ugh....
Please support our advertisers:
Sorry, it was not from the website. It was from some information I received from them. It says very clearly you need one parent to be Native speaker of mandarin. You better check quickly as this may mean you need to reconsider....
Please support our advertisers:
crj
18 yrs ago
Your child must be older than mine, they didn't send me anything and just told me to apply in July 2007!
Thanks for the tip, I'll do that.
Please support our advertisers:
crj
18 yrs ago
I wrote to them, and this is what they told me "For apply Mandarin/English Pre-Nursery Class the priority will be given to those children with either parent is natvie Mandarin speaker."
Please support our advertisers:
mrsl
18 yrs ago
Thank you crj, that's very helpful! and disappointing, as it rules us out.
Please support our advertisers:
crj
18 yrs ago
It just says 'priority' I have written back for more clarity - eg: how many families did they turn away this year.
I can't afford the other school, and KCS is too long of a commute for us... ugh...
Please support our advertisers:
We applied for the english/mandarin stream for K1 and were accepted at the South Horizons branch. We speak english and cantonese at home, English being my daughter's first language and that was what I put down on one of the forms I filled out (can't remember which as there were several before the interview).
Although the mandarin teacher and I exchanged a few words in mandarin (not great, but I can get by), I really think that we got in because my kid was speaking english the whole time at the interview and therefore would be learning mandarin as a second language...vice versa, then,it would be for a native mandarin speaker.
A cantonese speaker however would have a lesser chance because that student is essentially learning english and mandarin as a second language and would be totally lost if the kid got in the eng/man stream...know what I mean?
so my point is you will have a very good chance of getting in if you're a native english speaker.
Please support our advertisers:
crj
18 yrs ago
Good point, I am very close to Belchers (walking), but South Horizons is not that far and I know it is a larger campus.
How do you like the school? Any comments?
Please support our advertisers:
I live in South Horizons so the school is naturally our first choice (the other two, Good Health and Rightmind didn't match my criteria).
I'm sure there are schools out there with lower teacher/student ratio and more nurturing teachers, just based on the playgroup we attend once a week (am especially disappointed with one of the teachers, just doesn't have the right attitude or passionate about teaching). But because I'm so uncomfortable with putting my 3 year old on a school bus, I'm just going to end up placing my daughter there.
At the end of the day, all I want is that my little girl learns some discipline and social skills in a bilingual environment...academic wise, I don't expect too much...just hope she'll get a teacher who's more patient and caring. We'll probably decide after K1 if we should place her somewhere else when she's "old" enough to be on a school bus.
Please support our advertisers:
< Back to main category
You must be logged in to be able to reply.
Login now
Copy Link
Facebook
Gmail
Mail