Applying for schools

N

notmyaisle

Registered User
Hi all,

Well it looks like it is decided that we will move to Repulse Bay next Feb/Mar (not Stanley as previously suggested) and I've been doing some light research into schools (ha ha!).
My hopes for Kellett and FIS have been shot down in flames as I won't get dd into those for years as she hasn't been on the waitlist since birth!

So I'm looking at ESF.
What I need to know is....will she definitely get a place at an ESF school (we are English speaking born and bred in UK) and if not, where else should I be applying to?

FYI, my daughter is 5 at the end of March and is already in Reception in UK so she needs to be in school!
 
You can still put your name down for FIS. My friend arrived in HK in Feb and by Sep was offered a place at FIS (French stream, though). She initially turned it down (wanting to hold out for the bilingual stream instead), enrolled in another school... and then was offered a place again with the French stream, which she eventually took.
 
You can apply to ESF thru the CSS. Details below:

Corporate Surety Scheme

ESF introduced a new Corporate Surety scheme in 2007 to enable companies to secure school places for expatriate employees before their arrival in Hong Kong over the summer months. The scheme for 2008/09 ran from 1 January to 30 June 2008. The scheme is now closed. Application for 2009/10 will be available from January- June 2009. Please refer to this website in December 2008 for details. For queries or further information please email [email protected].

http://www.esf.edu.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=1039&langno=1
 
Priority for ESF schools goes to children who speak only English (and who can not attend local schools) and so technically your child would have the highest priority- however ESF schs, like all international schs in HK are oversubscribed, and it would be a case of applying and waiting to see if you could get in.

The chances of them having a place available in Feb/March is unlikely and I would consider contacting them asap and explaining your situation.
Children do leave mid term or throughout the school year but there is probably already a waiting list for those places.
 
Thanks for your replies.

Rani - Husband's company does not pay debentures so I'm hoping this "Surety" scheme is something different?

I just don't want to be in the situation of not having any school for her when we arrive. In the UK it is law that she must be in school when she turns 5; is it not the same in HK?

The move is unsettling enough for her. I'd feel rotten having to put her in Kindy again after she has already started school in HK.

Oh, well - I'll just have to keep everything crossed!
 
The law in HK is that all children must be in school once they turn 6 but that is based on local schools, not over subscribed international schools.

For example, no international school place for a child unable to attend a local school is legally a valid reason for home schooling.
 
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