Help! Advice on pre-schools please

S

Sunshinebaby

Registered User
We just moved here and had a baby girl in Nov. Since then, I've been a bit overwhelmed by how far in advance one has to book everything (eg., booking a hospital when I was only 6 weeks pregnant).

My baby is not even 4 months old and I've been told that I need to get started on preparing my baby for kindergarten applications as the process is super tough. Would really appreciate it if any of you could provide me with some guidance

1) Is there a resource that provides a list of local pre-schools and entry requirements? I live in the mid-levels and have no clue what schools are nearby or how to get started. Can anyone suggest some schools?

2) Is it true that local schools are a lot more stressful than international schools? I have heard that local schools require kids to play musical instruments and have a portfolio of achievements by the time they are 3.
On the other hand, I have heard that schools like GSIS, HKIS are super expensive and impossible to get into unless you have a debenture so one should not even bother to apply. How then do normal kids get into a good school?

3) What is your experience with interviews for kindergarten? I called SIS which told me my daughter would need to be interviewed one-on-one in both mandarin and English when she is 2. Am i the only parent who thinks that seems like an impossible target?

Any insights or pearls of wisdom would be much appreciated as I get started on this journey. Thanks so much!!
 
Hi Sunshinebaby,

Go to the South China Morning Post, Good Schools Guide under Specials (Free Content). It is a comprehensive guide that is very useful where you can read all the articles and get a list of schools by residential area. See if this link works: (http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCM...00000360a0a0aRCRD&specName=Good+Schools+Guide)

Regarding your other concerns, yes, generally that's what I have heard too. Try to not let it bother you. Do your research and find a fit that suits your child, to the extent possible.
 
i think you have been a little misled by what you've heard about local schools. yes, there are some schools like that, but that is the exception, not the rule.

both of my kids go to local schools.
 
Hi, I felt the same way when I moved here a year ago with a 2-year old. Since your baby is so young, you definitely have time to do plenty of research, so try not to worry too much! I'd say you can get started by reading the geobaby/geoschool forums extensively, to get an idea of what the options are out there, as well as what are the school names/schooling paths people talk about. Of course take everything with a grain of salt since these are public forums after all, and people express their own individual opinions. After getting a general idea, you can then go through your own list of what you want in a school/education for your child, and start narrowing down choices from there. And finally, you should do your own in-depth research of your schools of interest by visiting the schools and perusing their websites as well as the Education Department's. I must note that I haven't found many discussions on local schools on these forums, so if you decide to go down that path, perhaps you can chat with several local individuals or other expats who have gone down this route.

Hope this helps!
 
Another thing to consider is where you think you might want to live in 2.5 years time (I know, crazy). We were living in Midlevels until our son was 2 years old and when we moved to DB when he was 2, we had totally missed the boat on applying to the international school out there. We are still on the waitlist for DBIS and he is 4 now! So, if possible, take that into consideration when you are looking at school options. If there is a chance you may want to move out of the city to somewhere like DB, Clearwater Bay or Sai Kung, your preferred school may change unless you are prepared to send them on a long bus journey (at least in the case of international schools, ESF schools are zoned).
 
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