Hi-
In the local education system children start kindergarten in the September; they must turn 3 yrs old by the 31st of december of the year they start school.
So if your child is 3 by the 31st of December, 2009 they will start kindergarten in the September of 2009.
The local education system kindergartens have classes as follows,
1). K1 (2.8- 3 Yrs when start)
2). K2 (3.8-4 yrs when start)
3). K3 (4.8-5 yrs when start)
Children then generally go onto P1 when 6yrs old.
In the international system it varies from school to school.
Some international schools follow the local system and children will start nursery when they are 2/8- 3yrs old; others follow the UK system and children will have to be 3 yrs old by the 31st August/ 1st September to attend kindergarten that Sept.
Most international schools have the following,
1). Nursery (start at 2.8yrs- 3yrs, or as late as 3.8 yrs depending on the school)
2). Reception (4-5 yrs)
Then children will go onto primary at 5-6 yrs.
A lot of children actually start pre school at 2 years of age- this can vary from formal half and full day classes without Mummy; or to informal classes with Mummy- it all depends on what you want for your little one. Often it's called playgroup.
You should probably think of applying for schools before your LO is 3 because a lot of the popular kindergartens have waiting lists.
Some require you put the child's name down at birth, some when they are 12 months old; some the year before they will start- this is if you want her to start kindergarten at 3.
Most schools are quite strict on the age criteria and it is rare in HK for children to be held back or put forward a class.
