kellett, French International , SIs, CDNIS, etc.

2

2mums

Registered User
I am a mother of 2 and so frustrated to find out that it is so hard to get kids in to kindergartens and Primary yrs in hk! I am new to the application processes and schools. Can u please write down your top 10 international schools to apply? the reasons for it and how easy to get in and how rich you have to be to get in?

the application fee is not cheap ,( although comparing to the fees and debentures , they are nothing.) do u all apply a lot of schools ? I think it is kind of mad to through out money for the sake of getting into a waiting list.

It seems not many people mentioned Kellett here. Why ? is it very hard to get in? my Kid is 2, If I apply now, any chance to get in ? is it a culturally diverse school or it is Anglo-British dominated single culture school?

help!
 
I can't comment on all your questions, but on Kellett I am not sure why it hasn't been talked about as much and I know a bit about the school as we plan to send our kids there and have a lot of friends with kids there. The school follows the British National Curriculum so it is very popular with British expat families, but there are Asian families with kids there too. I think with a two year old it would be hard to get in as it is one of the few schools with a waiting list from birth and it is popular. I applied for my now 18 month old when he was 4 weeks old and I know he is around 50th on the list (May born!) However in 2013 they will open a second campus in Kowloon Bay which will mean a lot more places. If you are willing to go to that campus (purpose built and looks fantastic from the plans) then there might be a place.
 
thanks for your sharing newbiekt. after your post i called them and they say that the waiting list is over 200 already and there r only 110 capacity even with opening of the new campus! oh.... it seems hopeless for my kid.

does anyone has any positive experiences to encourage me to go ahead with the application?
 
I would work out which schools you really like and then do a number of applications (we have done 3 for both our kids). The population here is so transient and so many people do multiple applications that the waiting lists don't give a true picture. It is undoubtedly competitive though.
 
Naming "top 10" schools would be meaningless. What criteria would you judge top 10 by?

It would equally be irresponsible to recommend school to you without knowing your motivation and desires for the future of your child. There are plenty of good schools but they each have their own strengths and weaknesses.

Since you mentioned Kellett, I will make specific comments about it : Its a lovely school with a very nice campus and very accomplished teachers. If you visit the campus you will note that the student body looks like England. Lots of western-expats and blonde haired kids and very few other nationalities. They teach British curriculum strictly. Kids learn about Pounds and pence (not HKDollars and cents) and miles and yards (instead of meters and kilometers). It has a relatively weak Mandarin programme. Most of the kids there will end up in England schools eventually and Kellett provides them a very good education towards that goal. As you have found out, it is very popular and it is also fairly expensive.

If you are intending on sending your kids to schools outside of England, I would not recommend Kellett as a first choice.
 
well, we actually moved from UK to here last year. I have been looking for schools which are not too academic in early years, basically it should be like a UK school. I would like a school that is able to provide good facilities in arts, music, sports as well as academic. For me, HKA and ISF seem quite academic orientated. For Marianne, I am not sure as I am a native Mandarin speaker so I guess I can teach kids at home? but I am not confident on this. I have many friends whose kids has lost ability to use Chinese as their main language environment is English.
 
newbiekt said:
I would work out which schools you really like and then do a number of applications (we have done 3 for both our kids). The population here is so transient and so many people do multiple applications that the waiting lists don't give a true picture. It is undoubtedly competitive though.
Click to expand...

this is really encouraging!... I am so frustrated now. I am thinking that I have not done a good job as a mum-- why didn't I apply last year when I just arrived!
 
2mums said:
well, we actually moved from UK to here last year. I have been looking for schools which are not too academic in early years, basically it should be like a UK school. I would like a school that is able to provide good facilities in arts, music, sports as well as academic. For me, HKA and ISF seem quite academic orientated.
Click to expand...
I would not classify ISF nor HKA as quite academic. I dont know where you got that impression from but I would encourage you to visit them both and also talk to some parents to get multiple perspectives.
I have one child at ISF and our good friends have 2 kids as HKA.
ISF is not easy due to their Mandarin language but I would definitely not call it academic.

For Marianne, I am not sure as I am a native Mandarin speaker so I guess I can teach kids at home? but I am not confident on this. I have many friends whose kids has lost ability to use Chinese as their main language environment is English.
Click to expand...

If you wish to have your children to maintain their Chinese language the you should be looking at schools such as CIS, ISF, YewChung, KCS etc. If they are not immersed in the language for many hours a day, they will not be able to excel in it.
 
I have my kids in ESF so I can give you some insights there. Applications for Y1 and KG have just passed (September and October). Next September you'll have to apply for Y1 for children born in 2008 and in October for K1 children born in 2010 to start August 2013. ESF is not truly British as they follow the IB however the majority of teachers is from the UK with some Australians, NZ and Canadians (very few Americans, we have none in our school). You cannot apply before but the number of applications far exceeds the number of spaces no matter the school (they go by catchment). For next year Y1 there are over 3000 applications for 1000 spots. Because siblings but also ESF Kindy children will get priority for an interview (no guarantee), wait lists for ESF Kindy are also very very long at this point as it is (for most parents) the best chance to get in. Mandarin is OK but nothing compared to some of the other schools mentioned but fairly solid with one session a day (4 sessions a week in Y1), sufficient for us, at least.
 
thanks hawardcooms my son is in Yewchung 2s and he is very happy to go to school everyday. however, I don't think he got enough English expose as class is done by Cantonese and English. he is there for 3 mths already, it seems that he has not increased much vocabulary in both languages, although I don't understand any cantonese.

Mommyto3 do you know if WKS is easier to get in than Abucus?
 
A "top schools" a ranking is somewhat meaningless. You're going to get a good education at any of the ones that are currently way oversubscribed but what you should really be looking at is what is in the best interest of your specific child and the way they learn, along with your long term plans for the future.

For example, ISF Academy is a bilingual school, and even the teachers and administrators there would caution you "come here if you are ready to commit to a bilingual education until at least age 12 or so. The reason being they don't want to have a child move over to a fully-English language school midway through their primary years as they might not be on par with their peers in their language development by then.

Some children want to be on a path that is not going to disrupt them that far from their path "back home", so you see many British students at Kellett, many American students at HKIS, French children at the French International, etc. If you foresee yourself moving away in a few years you might be better suited at a school on the same curriculum rather than one that some others might perceive to be "a few notches higher" than others.

You might also have a child who needs a smaller class size as they don't stand out as well in say the 30 kids in ESF, or conversely, would be better suited in an ESF with 30 as that will be good preparation for their future schooling somewhere else with similar class sizes. You might also want to choose a school physically closer to where you are living rather than a supposedly 'better' school on the other side of the island, given the commuting difficulties and the chance for more play dates and out of school interaction with classmates. Some people don't like schools that have religious overtones, others don't really mind it (or actively seek them out).

My advice is to treat it a bit like you treated university applications. Apply for a few of the "reach" schools (schools you might not really have that much of a chance of getting into), a few "likely" schools (schools you might have a leg up on via passport or debenture or some other connection) and a few "safety" schools (schools you have a very good chance at getting into based on location, passport, debenture, etc).
 
Last edited:
Kellett has a huge mix of nationalities - it is not all little blonde haired children" it has a healthy proportion of Asian/Chinese families and has had so for quite some time.

HKA is not academic? They run the IB, which is much more academically demanding than the UK(A-levels)or US-style curricula.

As for Mandarin: you need to decide whether you want a bi-lingual school or not: but I disagree that you have to attend a bilingual school to excel in Mandarin. There are many schools in HK where students go in knowing no Mandarin and come out fluent.

I agree with the comments about treating schools like universities - decide what you want and apply based on that.

Also keep in mind that many parents have the one child on a dozen waiting lists - so I would still register for Kellett if you want to. A lot of families move before their kids go to school or accept a place elsewhere.

I would highly recommend Kellett, CDNIS, ESF (Bradbury and Quarry Bay in particular are very good for primary), HKA and HKIS. They all have a good 'community' feel about them (particularly Kellett and CDNIS), excellent staff and high academic standards.
 
HappyV said:
Kellett has a huge mix of nationalities - it is not all little blonde haired children" it has a healthy proportion of Asian/Chinese families and has had so for quite some time.
Click to expand...
Since I work near Kellet, I see many students and also see the school buses all the time. Perhaps all the Asian families drive their kids to school, but I can swear that I see 80% or more blond kids whenever I see the Kellet uniforms.
No matter, thats a non issue - If you want a Brit style education, its a fine school.

HKA is not academic? They run the IB, which is much more academically demanding than the UK(A-levels)or US-style curricula.
Click to expand...
You're certainly correct on paper but my observation comes from parents experiences and seeing homework and books that are brought home. It certainly doesnt come anywhere near the kind of "acedemic" that GSIS and similar schools strive to.

As for Mandarin: you need to decide whether you want a bi-lingual school or not: but I disagree that you have to attend a bilingual school to excel in Mandarin. There are many schools in HK where students go in knowing no Mandarin and come out fluent.
Click to expand...
Oh, I was waiting for you to plug CDNIS again... ;-)
*shrug*
If you want Mandarin, you need to go to a decent Mandarin school; otherwise YMMV
 
As someone who has taught in North American, UK and IB curricula I can tell you that the IB is far more demanding than the other two at matriculation standard. It is far more demanding in breadth, as well as in depth.

I didn't plug CDNIS here - you're putting words in my mouth. ESF students who take Mandarin at IB level (not ab initio) are definitely fluent (ie. able to communicate easily with other Mandarin speakers through speaking, writing and listening). Ditto for several other 'non-immersion' schools (including many local schools).
 
HappyV said:
As someone who has taught in North American, UK and IB curricula I can tell you that the IB is far more demanding than the other two at matriculation standard. It is far more demanding in breadth, as well as in depth.
Click to expand...
On paper, certainly.
In practice, it depends entirely on the school as well as its teachers and how they implement the standard in practice.

ESF students who take Mandarin at IB level (not ab initio) are definitely fluent (ie. able to communicate easily with other Mandarin speakers through speaking, writing and listening). Ditto for several other 'non-immersion' schools (including many local schools).
Click to expand...
Bovine Excrement!
On paper, certainly - thats what the literature tells you.
In practice the results are quite different.

A suggestion for parents looking for Mandarin at various schools: Visit the schools in question and while visiting go and find a senior student, ask them quietly without their teacher being able to hear them if they are fluent in Mandarin and how they got to be fluent.
Did they become fluent from this school? Did they become fluent before arriving? Are they fluent because of their parents teaching them?
My personal experience has been : If you are not already fluent when entering one of these fine English schools (eg :ESF, Kellet, CDNIS etc etc) you are not going to come out fluent. The programmes, while looking good on paper are not strong enough and rigorous enough to teach another language effectively.

Lastly here is a link to a student's view on it:
http://www.geobaby.com/forum/thread152181-5.html#post1084305
 
To Howard: I find it difficult to believe that Kellett teaches "miles and yards" rather than the metric system. Given that the UK is now metric and has been since 1972, I doubt that the mathematics of miles and yards, inches and feet, are more than touched upon. Still, don't let facts get in the way of your usual opinionated "what I say is gospel" posts.
 
You can read about UK metric system here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_units#United_Kingdom
UK has not converted fully to metric, ever. Feel free to visit any UK city and you will see all signs in miles.
http://www.bwmaonline.com/Transport - DfT memo.htm

Kellett is a very good school which follows the UK curriculum strictly. They still teach miles and yards over there and Kellett follows suit here.
If you doubt what I'm saying then find a Kellett student and flip thru their math book and you will see who is reciting the gospel and who is telling fairy tales.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top