help a foreign mom choose a local primary school

lenima

Registered User
Hello,

I have a 4 year old daughter and in a few months we must apply to primary schools for her. We want to apply to local schools and will go through the central allocation but also probably will apply to some private or DSS schools. But it's not easy to get info in English which I can read! Can anyone give advice on local schools? Or offer any websites with 'chat' regarding schools, in English?

I am in Ma On Shan and prefer schools close to here but would consider schools a bit further such as in Yau Tong.

Does anyone know about these schools, their good and bad points? Pegasus Philip Wong Primary School at Yau Tong, Logos Academy in Tseung Kwan O, Pui Kiu in Tai Wai, Ma On Shan Methodist Primary, CAHC Chan Primary in Shatin...

I prefer a school where the teachers and principal truly care about the students and are open to new and healthy/humane/well-rounded teaching methods and curriculum. And are sincere in communicating with parents.
There must be schools like this but it's hard for me to get the info.

Thanks.
 
i will prefer the school in Shatin rather than Ma On Shan and would u like to send your kid to boy/girl school or both?
 
I do prefer that my child goes to school as close to home as possible...but if I cannot find schools in Ma On Shan, then I am willing to try schools in Shatin, or elsewhere in NT or Kowloon side. I don't mind whether she goes to an all-girl or co-ed school.

Rani thanks for the welcome and the link, I read it and it was informative! Gives me a start at least. It really is kind of weird the way the EMB pits schools against each other in such destructive competition, to attract students or be closed down. Not healthy or constructive at all.

I think I will look seriously at DSS schools but if anyone hears of any purely local public schools which manage to "do well" (student number, academics) while ALSO staying open and innovative in terms of teaching creatively and with sincere feelings for the students...I would love to hear about them, just to know how much scope public schools really have for being student-centered yet still "successful" in EMB terms.
 
Hi,

I'm considering Pui Kiu but it seems to have a rather strong pro-China bent, which I'm not sure I favor. first of all my child only has one Chinese parent--would the culture of the exclude make her a sort of "second class" Chinese? Then there is the aspect of association with the DAB (pro-China political party) which I am not a fan of. I prefer an environment where healthy questioning is encouraged, not unqualified submission to authority. So. That might be alot of questions for a new school, but there it is.

For kindies, Think international in Ma On Shan and HK Preschool (in Royal Ascot, Fo Tan) come to mind.

In my case we speak mostly English at home and have lots of books and other English input so I chose to put my girl in a local kindergarten, where the teaching's all in Cantonese and they just have a bit of English and Putonghua. It's fine so far.
 
Hi

What you try "Renaissance College (啓新書院) " in Ma On Shan,

A new school with the ESF tradition of excellence

http://renaissance.esf.edu.hk/home.htm

It will open for students in September 2006, focus both English and Chinese.

Hope it might help!

Bye


lenima said:
I do prefer that my child goes to school as close to home as possible...but if I cannot find schools in Ma On Shan, then I am willing to try schools in Shatin, or elsewhere in NT or Kowloon side. I don't mind whether she goes to an all-girl or co-ed school.

Rani thanks for the welcome and the link, I read it and it was informative! Gives me a start at least. It really is kind of weird the way the EMB pits schools against each other in such destructive competition, to attract students or be closed down. Not healthy or constructive at all.

I think I will look seriously at DSS schools but if anyone hears of any purely local public schools which manage to "do well" (student number, academics) while ALSO staying open and innovative in terms of teaching creatively and with sincere feelings for the students...I would love to hear about them, just to know how much scope public schools really have for being student-centered yet still "successful" in EMB terms.
 
school band

Hi
I was wondering if anyone had any information as to which schools belong to which band? is there a website that lists which are the best local primary schools. My daughter is 5 this september and i want to send her to a local kindergarten close to a good local primary school

thanks

MM
 
I don't think there is such a banding list in HK. I do see a list of schools for expats, mostly international schools. You may try to look into one local kindie in North Point, Kiangsu & Chekiang Primary School. Mandarin is used with English second.
 
I don't want to hijack your thread, but I am in much the same situation, only on HK Island. I can not find hardly any info online in English. Can anyone help me find a listing of local school close to Pokfulam (or surrounding areas), or have any they could recommend? My daughter just turned 3 and we would really like to enrol her for September...
 
Kiangsu & Chekiang Primary ( Kindergartens) School has both a local section and an international section. Of course, the local section is much cheaper and more to budget to most. It's on the Hong Kong side. School bus can take care of all location problems.

To consider one closer to Pokfulam, Rightmind Kindergarten may be good to try.
 
classmate asia

this website seems to be closed?? thanks, also, the government education website does provide a list of primary schools, but there is no way of finding which schools are good and which secondary schools are band one schools
 
band one schools

i live near Tai Koo, and need information on local and international kindergarten and primary school as my daughter will be in kindergarten this september and need ot apply for Primary at the same time too
thanks
 
Tai Koo belongs to the HK east area.

Local Kindies, the closer and popular one will be Victoria. The other one is Kiangsu and Chekiang. Both have primary section.

Victoria's primary section will be moving to Sham Wan of Wong chuk hang in 2007. They follow the International Bacculaureate system of education, having 2 teachers in a class using both English and Mandarin. No exams just assessment all through the school years.

Kiangsu and Chekiang (KCS), is a mandarin school with half hour english in the kindie everyday. A multi-nationed kindie section. Japanese, British/Americans, Canadians, Taiwanese. The primary section, however, has less of the mixed nations. Most of them must have gone to ESF or other international schools. KCS, however, has an international section (KCIS) for Kindie, primary and secondary using the British Curr., similar to ESF. Previously, the kindies from this international section can go straight to ESF but afer the opening of its own primary section, the connection was cut.

There is only one local english primary school on HK east i.e.Salesian english school. If english is not an issue, there are a few band one local school for you to review, like North Point Government School, CCC Kei Wan Primary Sch (Aldrich Bay) and HKUGA Primary School.

The nearest International school will be Delia School of Canada but I don't think it has a kindie section. The other closer ones will be Korean Intenational Sch, KCIS (just mentioned above) and the Chinese International Sch. These 3 have Kindie sections.

See if this helps.
 
lenima,

u can check out this website for Shatin district.

http://embhsc.hkedcity.net/primary/

For local primary school, I will recommend the following,

Baptist Lui Ming Choi Primary School

Hong Kong Baptist University Affiliated School Wong Kam Fai Secondary and Primary School

C.U.H.K. F.A.A. Thomas Cheung School

Immaculate Heart Of Mary School

Ma On Shan St. Joseph's Primary School (Catholic schoo, don't know about the comment, as I prefer christian and catholic school )

S.K.H. Ma On Shan Holy Spirit Primary School

Shatin Methodist Primary School

For DSS

Alliance Primary School, Kowloon Tong
Creative Primary School
Diocesan Girls' Junior School
Good Hope School (Primary Section)
Kowloon Rhenish School
Pooi To Primary School
Sacred Heart Canossian School Private Section
Tak Nga Primary School
Victoria Shanghai Academy
Victoria English Primary School (Causeway Bay)
 
hang fa chuen still belongs to the HK east area. Those schools that I mentioned earlier applies to you too. Of course, the closer one will be HKUGA primary school. Same school recommended by Melohk.
 
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