HK v Singapore for schools?

R

riseandshine

Registered User
We may have the option of moving to Singapore from HK next summer, just before my son is due to start school (he is currently 4, my daughter is nearly 2). I would be interested to hear from people who have lived in Singapore as well as HK, what is your opinion of the schooling there compared to here? I know each school is obviously individual but if you had a choice where would you prefer your child to be educated? We will be applying to the ESF schools here, but are not sure of the options in Singapore and would probably prefer an International School rather than a Local School from what I have read so far. Should we be looking at schools in Singapore and applying now just in case? Thanks for your advice.

(Background - we are from the UK, English speaking western family though my son will have attended a bilingual Mandarin / English preschool for a couple of years before he is due to start school).
 
International school are definitely better in Sg, imo, UWC is one of the best in Asia and also just from friends who have lived in both countries, they found better options in Sg. I only have a 3 mth old so no real experience to speak of, just from hear say.
 
Singapore has some of the best international schools in the world. The Singapore American School (SAS), the Tanglin Trust School (UK system), UWC, OFS all are the best in the world. I have a 2 year old, but have friends with older kids enrolled everywhere and some have lived in both HK and SG, have said SAS is far superior here then HKIS and they rave about Tanglin Trust. The school facilities are abundant and lush with greenery. All the international schools whether American system or IB curriculum feed into UK, AMerican and Australian universities after.

As an ex-pat family, it is harder to go the local route here as priority is given to singaporeans, then permanent residents and then ex-pats. There is a huge difference in learning environment, teachers and curriculum.
 
An added bonus is that Mandarin is more widely taught and spoken in Singapore compared to HK. Singaporean children learn Mandarin in simplified characters, the same as Mainland China. In HK written Chinese is still in traditional characters. It is the exception rather than the norm for Mandarin teaching schools/classes in HK to teach simplified characters. All this may not be terribly important for a young child starting out in Mandarin but it does make sense to start on the right footing instead of having to re-learn the characters. In HK, unless Mandarin is taught by mainland teachers, Mandarin here is often spoken with a strong Cantonese accent.
 
I know of Singaporean expats working in HK who have moved back to Singapore because they felt the standard of education was higher there.
 
I think the best schools in Singapore are not the internationsl schools though, but the 'local' ones like Raffles.
 
schools are obviously subjective, but the local schools are extremely different than the international ones and from what I have heard from those living in singapore, they are often disorganized, poorly managed and extremely rigid.
 
can anyone elaborate a bit more please (except mandarin)?

what's really the 'better' thing about SG schools? if you compare say GSIS or CIS with top SG schools, where do they excel?
 
i'm singaporean so I'm biased and subjective but here's my 2cents... Sg local schools in general are all CONSISTENT. you will get a solid education in all subjects and u know that its regulated whereas local schools here are so varied, are not regulated to the extent such that you dont really know what minimum quality you're getting.

Cost of Local (NOT Expat) schools are so cheap its ridiculous, you pay less than $20USD a mth for Secondary (13-16yrs) school fees and your child is guaranteed to learn 8 subjects, have access to great facilities (computer labs, gyms, running tracks) etc....

It boils down to transparency, consistency in sg vs highly varied quality in hk.

just my opinion.
 
1stimemum said:
i'm singaporean so I'm biased and subjective but here's my 2cents... Sg local schools in general are all CONSISTENT. you will get a solid education in all subjects and u know that its regulated whereas local schools here are so varied, are not regulated to the extent such that you dont really know what minimum quality you're getting.

Cost of Local (NOT Expat) schools are so cheap its ridiculous, you pay less than $20USD a mth for Secondary (13-16yrs) school fees and your child is guaranteed to learn 8 subjects, have access to great facilities (computer labs, gyms, running tracks) etc....

It boils down to transparency, consistency in sg vs highly varied quality in hk.

just my opinion.
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thanks for your feedback 1sttimemum. do you kow how it is for top international schools?
 
We just moved here last month from Singapore & had lived there for 5 yrs. My son was in Eton House International since he was 3 yrs old until he was 5, it's great school & teachers are nice most of them are westeners. they also provide children's meal & very high standard. the school fee is also very high, Singapore $8,500 per semester. they can only accomodate children up to 6yrs old. tanglin trust is the best school for Primary to high school. Chatsworth international school also is one of the best. The standard of education in Singapore is so much better than anywhere else in Asia & international school system is great. easy to make friends to expat people too.
 
moving from HK to Singapore - school dilemma!

hi there,

Just wondered if you are going ahead with your move to Singapore? We are now in the exact same situation as you. We are potentially moving in Sep to Singapore, but we have a problem with the school we like. Tanglin looks amazing but cannot confirm a place for my 4.7yr old until Sep 2011! I also have a 2.1yr old. Can anyone recommend another school that is good? We would prefere the English system or IB?

Any information would be fantastic!
 
hbw10 said:
schools are obviously subjective, but the local schools are extremely different than the international ones and from what I have heard from those living in singapore, they are often disorganized, poorly managed and extremely rigid.
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I very strongly disagree. I see many students from Raffles at Ivy league schools, Oxford, Cambridge etc.and they are quite smart. Any school that can send so many students to top universities cannot be all that bad.
 
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