KCIS vs ESF.

W

Wongdym

Registered User
I got offer of k1 from both schools. We are HK local family and have been looking for int'l school education for my kid. We went to both school for interview (kcs) and informal visit (ESF) months ago.
To be honest, the impression of the teachers and the workers of KCS to us was just fair.
However, there are far lots more good comments in KCS and KCIS than ESF from different forum (like babykingdom - a popular forum in HK) and lots of parents are so keen to put their children in kCS or KCIS. So it is not easy to make a decision. Other than good mandarin exposure offered by KCIS (we don't speak Mandarin but we do think we can teach our child mandarin by ourselves) and a through-train system, is KCIS a better choice than ESF? Can anyone which has experience in both schools share the comment?
 
if you don't speak mandarin, how do you propose to teach your kids mandarin? it's impossible unless you are fluent yourself.
 
I think the debate on which school is more suited for the child very much depends on the opportunities that are available to the child in the future. If you are a local HK family with just a HK passport and your child's future market is simply China/Hong Kong, then why bother with ESF?

My child has two passports (a European and an Australian) plus he will receive his HK residency. So essentially, his future market exists in 3 different continents. Mandarin would be a plus for him but not essential. There are other markets in his horizon. Besides, it is not his in his culture/mother-tongue.

So you have to consider what opportunities can you provide or his current situation provides for his future.

Babykingdom is essentially a site for local HK families - the fact that you need to read Cantonese to access that site. So these families have very different priorities and circumstances to many families on this site.

Comparing ESF/KCIS/KCS is like comparing oranges and apples. Incidentally, I have friends who graduated from KCIS/KCS - neither their putonghua nor their English is very good. One of them is originally from Shanghai and came into the system at 8 - it makes you wonder doesn't it when there's local interference in a school system. Most local HK families my husband tutors choose either an international school with no local influence e.g. the Australian International/GSIS or ESF.
 
Last edited:
Interesting, I would have thought studens from KCIS will be fluent in both English and Mandarin.

I'm also deciding between these two schools.
 
kcis - my b-i-l went there about 25 years ago (Cantonese speaking family). From there went on to Queens College and from there to Univ of Toronto.

His English is great and it was also useful for his Mandarin.

I also have friends who sends their son there. One parent's mother tongue is English and the other's mother tongue is Mandarin. The child appears to be quite content and doing well in both languages.

My own kids go to ESF and their Mandarin is basically that of second language speakers. It's good enough that my husband and I cannot confidently use it as a "secret" language in front of them - but by no means fluent.
 
A hk local family with hk passport 's future is just Hk/China market? I just cannot count the number of chinese families who have moved on to other countries to live/work, and come back to Hk/china and being able to adjust and survive in all these different cultures. passports don't define where and how far we can do.

All I am saying is the world is so small now,we just don't know where we would end up, I don't see why local families cannot go for an international school education if they can afford it, and the methodology and approach to their child's education is something they subscribe to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top