Esf

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zhumgg

Registered User
Dear all,

I am from the US and plan to enroll my kid to ESF for P1 for 2012. We are now still in the US and will return in June next year. I heard that there is a central application which they allocate the kids to school according to where you live. As we havent decided where to live yet, may I ask the following:

1. Which ESF is the best in HK??
2. Anyone can give some comment on Quarry Bay school and Beacon Hill school??
3. How difficult is the written test and its normal content??
4. Anyone can share anything about interview process?? How long is it??
5. I am not sure if a certain school will be more competitive (more difficult/easy to get in) than the others within ESF system. Any comment??
6. Any sharing or advice on how to maximise the chance of getting into ESF??
7. Does either parent MUST have HKID to enroll the kid to ESF as this is government subsidised??

Thanks so much in advance for any info.
 
to answer some of your questions:

1) they are all more or less the same. there is no "best" esf school. they are ALL VERY VERY VERY oversubscribed. it will not be a matter of YOU choosing the school... it's more a matter of which school has space.
2) see above
3) if your child is a native english speaker, there shouldn't be any problems
4)
5)see above
6) no, there is no way to "maximise" your chances. i've heard that some of the schools are so full they are even having a difficult time accepting all of the siblings that want to go to the same school
7) EVERYONE who lives in hk for more than 180 days MUST apply for a HKID, so that is a moot point, really. once you are here, you MUST apply within 30 days for your HKID, so it should be one of the first things you do after you get off the plane.
 
To add onto to carang's comments. Places are very hard to get into this year - it is best to apply to maybe 4+ schools especially for P1 places.

For ESF, you can look at buying a corporate surety which means you do not have to have chosen where you live just indicate where - see below info and link. This has to be submitted by the company that is bringing you over but it puts you on the list now instead of having to wait until you arrive.

The interview was not as hard as some schools I have heard about where they have to sit a written test. They just read a book with the child and discussed it - it takes about half an hour. At least that was the case 12 months ago.

Good luck.

http://www.esf.edu.hk/admission
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 runs from 1 January to 30 June of each year. There are limited surety places. The surety scheme will be open in January 2011 for application for August 2011 admissions. The surety scheme is currently not applicable for the ESF private Independent Schools or Kindergartens. Please click HERE for the application form. For queries, please email [email protected].
 
Obiwan said:
Any legacy priority for esf if either of the parent is an alumni?
Click to expand...

Yes, the esf application includes a section for you to add older siblings info if they are in esf and parents info if the are ex students.
 
You need a proof of address to apply to allocate catchment school. Are you aware of this? AND, you will need to submit your HKID copy of at least one parent.

Apply to all under the ESF umbrella:
- one ESF application (centralised)
- Discovery College (Private Independent School under the ESF umbrella, the difference is in funding therefore fees)
- Renaissance College (See note above)

So you need to submit 3 applications. Your child HAS to be here for interviews. ESF will not allocate a place for P1 without passing an interview. Unlike other schools, for ESF, you stand virtually no chance if you aren't here!
 
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Thanks TheQuasimother. I plan to submit the centralise application in Sept. I called my targeted ESF and they told me I just need to put the area I intend to live in the application. And if I get the interview in Jan, I will need to have an exact address by then and need to provide address prove. I plan to fly back for the interview. My difficulty is to have an exact address by Jan before I move back in June. Does that means I have to pay rent for several months without living there???.....any other choice??....

I was trying to read as much information/comment as I can on different ESF and then choose to live in the region which feed to my preferred ESF. This is what I meant my choice of school.

I have a HKID as I was born in HK. When I called different ESF schools to get information. Seems like they gave me different information. One of the preferred ESF said they dont need either parent to have HKID, they just need a visa. Another one said either one of the parents must have a HKID. Actually, this make more sense to me as ESF is subsidized by the HK govt and they shouldnt only subsidise PR (HKID with 3 stars), not any other just a HKID after staying in HK for a short period of time.

I didnt read much about the private indepent school under ESF as I thought they are much more expensive?? Is that really compared with other private interantional school outside of ESF?? I have to start thinking what other 2 international school I have to apply as a forth back. Any idea of a good international school which is not too expensive.....?? I came back to HK in May this year and toured several international schools. American international school is definitely NOT my cup of tea. I like Canadian international school but they are very expensive. Corporate debenture is not our option...sigh....What heard something good and bad about Yew Chung. Is that really they have a lot of mainland chinese in the school which lower the student quality?? Heard from a friend whose kids studying there and their mainland classmates and parents are very rude....not sure if I want my kid study with people in this behaviour. Not sure if any of you have any comment on Yew Chung though....


Any more comment and advice is much appreciated...
 
No, they ONLY need a visa. the problem is your use of the term "HKID"... EVERYONE has that. they must have it by law.... what you are referring to is a PERMANENT HKID, as in the holder is a permanent resident of hk.

in order to apply for school, parents must have a HKID but not a PERMANENT HKID.
 
If you are Chinese, and may or may not be Cantonese speaking, with a permanent HKID, your child would automatically be placed in Cat. 2 so priority for an ESF school and chances are slim. It doesn't matter that your child doesn't speak Cantonese. Beacon Hill is probably your best bet as it is the least subscribed. Everyone I know who did not attend an ESF school and even in Cat. 2 got in.

PIS is more expensive by a little over $1000 and in the future, you'll have to pay a one off capital levy (Renaissance College) or a yearly capital levy (Discovery College). As a permanent HKID card holder, you're more likely to get into a PIS than an ESF as there there is a rule mandated by the Education Board (EDB) that 70% of students at a PIS must be a permanent resident of HK.
 
Thanks for the very useful info. May I ask the following:

1. I have HKID with 3 stars (permanent ID) and US green card and my hubby is native American. My kid never live in HK and cannot speak cantonese. According to the difinition on-line, we should be in category 1?? I should just use my hubby's HKID to apply instead of mine??

2. Why Beacon Hill is normally undersubscribed?? Any reason behind it?? I visited it in May too and the school is a little old and small. Quarry Bay school is much bigger and new. I only visited these 2 ESF so have no ideas of the others

3. When you say PIS, are you referrring to ONLY the private schools within the ESF system?? What is the quality of the ESF private school compared with other international school like Canadian international school??

Thanks for any advice
 
Try the overseas application which requires your address proof in the States.

The Central application usually starts on 1st Sept and finishs by 30th Sept each year.

Live on the Island side as the competition on the Kowloon side and New Territories side are super-keen! My fd returned from the States with her boy born and raise there, the application was turned down by the Kowloon Junior (ie not even a chance of interview!). The choice of ESF school is based on where u live, ie catchment area (except for the 2 private independent schools). Good Luck :)

Hey, the very hungry caterpillar is still very popular in the ESF interview :)
 
There were more than one family whereby one parent is Chinese and the other is non-Chinese (in my child's cohort). The child was always categorised as Category 2.

It has to do with catchment areas. Kowloon Junior includes catchment areas where there are LOTS of expats, specifically Category 1 expats. KJS is terribly hard to get into. Beacon Hill on the other hand, not so much. And, it isn't a through school (as I've been told). Re-application for high school places apply. I know parents who chose RC over Beacon Hill because they do not want to go through the application process later for high school. I don't know about how over-subscribed schools on the Island are as we live over on the Kowloon/N.T. side.
 
Wow, I heard the opposite thing. We were asked to avoid the Island side as competition is keen while choose to live in Kowloon or NT!!! I am not sure about overseas application niether as it seems that our presence in HK is very important. I will call different ESF to clarify whether we are in Category 1 or 2. Thanks for all the comments :)
 
Thanks Quasimother again. If you dont mind, I may send message to you if I have more questions. Have a good night :)
 
My children are all in ESF this coming school year. A lot of answers have been answered already. Mine are at QBS and we're very happy with the school. Good teachers, cosy feel, friendly, very mixed so kids from everywhere but still quite an Asian look and feel (but kids have different nationalities, backgrounds, etc.). Wouldn't call the school new (at all) but they will start renovation / expansion in 2013 I think. Interview is quite simple, basically to check English language skills and social skills (and ability to be part of a 30 child class, etc.).

I am pretty sure you'll be placed into Cat 1 (but check). I know quite a few local parents (even both parents) who have raised their children in English, been through English preschools, speak English at home and their children are completely unable to enter local education as they only understand very basic Cantonese, they will be Cat 1, at least I know a few examples and they were put in Cat 1 and did get accepted. Some schools have Cantonese staff in the interview room to check for Cantonese ability and if sufficient, they'll be denied a spot (SJS has done this, from what I have heard). I think this is also the main problem of the oversubscription, more and more locals are entering ESF (currently around 75% are permanent HKID, although this could obviously include long term expats, etc.), and raising their children completely in English, with very little or no Cantonese. That's why SJS, KJS, etc. are just as bad! CWB has always been very bad, with many expats living in CWB/SK.

I still have many Caucasian friends, Cat 1, who did not get offered a spot and had to look for alternatives. As many have said on this website, never put your eggs in one basket and apply for multiple schools. ESF used to be a "back up" for expats if other international schools failed, it no longer offers any guarantee, so it has only become harder and harder to get a spot. And it's likely to get any better.
 
Thanks so much for the very useful information. I like QBS too but not sure if we can get in. Seems like Beacon hill school is our better bet......Also, I dont know how their random number works. I called QBS before, they said when people apply on-line, everyone has a random number which determine whether they get an interview....if so, 50% of this whole application is based on luck?? Did all your children studied in ESF kindergarten?? Make me wonder whether we should come back earlier to get into the kinddie which will give us priority for an interview for P1....but I think all the kinddie should be full too for 2011/2012....?? Any idea?? Thanks again
 
My twins got priority because my oldest was already there. We applied in 2008 for her, and that was actually no problem back then for QBS (Bradbury was already an issue). As a clear Cat 1 she was accepted without problems and so were her brother and sister earlier this year. ESF Kindies are also oversubscribed now in order to at least try to get a priority interview. It doesn't guarantee anything.
 
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