Kiangsu & Chekiang Primary School & Kindergarten

S

Sooney

Registered User
Hello. Does anyone have their child at Kiangsu & Chekiang International? If so, are you happy with the kindergarten/school? I went for a tour there today and was surprised that there were not many expat kids. The staff were so friendly and my first impression of the school was very positive. I am keen to hear other's thoughts / experiences. Thanks so much!
 
I'm just guessing, but maybe there aren't many expat kids because they teach Chinese immersion so it's less accessible for the parents? At least, I know the regular section does...not sure about how much Chinese is spoken in the international section. I know all the forms being in Chinese deterred some parents from the local section, as well as the older condition of the buildings.
 
Hi, I have placed my child on the waitlist for the school. But I think there is low chance of getting in since the administrator told me we are on queue number 300 and there are only 80 spots. Would appreciate any feedback on the school as well. Thanks so much!
 
trttrt said:
Hi, I have placed my child on the waitlist for the school. But I think there is low chance of getting in since the administrator told me we are on queue number 300 and there are only 80 spots. Would appreciate any feedback on the school as well. Thanks so much!
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That's a long waiting list! Is that for this year's admission to K-1?
 
Yes, hahaha! Sounds insane right? But I still paid the hkd 500 application fee in case there is a chance...
 
KCIS is a very good choice. Being a non-profit school organisation, it charges affordable school fees as compared with other international schools. It does not require debenture. It follows the British National Curriculum with strong emphasis on its Mandarin program. Competition has intensified substantially as the school begins to gain reputation. Most of the students are local whose parents would like to their kids to achieve native/near-native Mandarin skill. However, there are students from other countries including Taiwanese, Japanese and other western countries.
 
Littleho,

I am a KCIS parent as well. I read from your other post that there are 5 spots in P1, do you mean right now? I am wondering why the school doesn't fill the openings up right away. So far, I am very happy with the school. I am a little surprised that there isn't any homework yet.
 
Hi Wegetable,

Sorry for the misunderstanding. What I refered to was the spaces available in Mar/Apr 2011 for academic year 2011. Those spaces were taken up before school starts. Looking to the current trend/demand , if the school does not create more spaces for P1, there will not be any spots for outsider to get in P1. entry into KCS mainstream section is also very competitive. I just heard from a parent of KCS P2 student that starting from P2 onwards all English lessons are taught by native English teacher versus P4 in the past. Hence, it is a viable alternative versus ISF in Cyberport in view of its more afforable school fee (HK$3,XXX per month).

wegetable said:
Littleho,

I am a KCIS parent as well. I read from your other post that there are 5 spots in P1, do you mean right now? I am wondering why the school doesn't fill the openings up right away. So far, I am very happy with the school. I am a little surprised that there isn't any homework yet.
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Im a mandarin teacher, If possible, let children learn simplified Chinese, not only because it's easier to learn, also because there are much more and better reading matiarals in simplyfied Chinese.
 
Hi, anyone has any idea which schools provide teaching in simplified Chinese? I am only aware of SIS and I think CIS. What about ESF? I was taught in simplified Chinese and I would love my child to learn the same.
 
Majority of the international schools (ESF, GSIS, etc) teach simplified Chinese except for CIS and KCIS. I heard some of the classes in Cdnis are taught in simplified.

trttrt said:
Hi, anyone has any idea which schools provide teaching in simplified Chinese? I am only aware of SIS and I think CIS. What about ESF? I was taught in simplified Chinese and I would love my child to learn the same.
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I have students in ISF, they learn putonghua but in traditional chinese, should write very complicated characters for just 5 years old children, its very hard for children,and spend a lot of time on it everyday, they will lose intrest to learn chinese.
 
Yes, can totally imagine... Also if eventually we head back home, the traditional Chinese would not b of use and I would have to spend time converting my child back to simplified. Though probably easier than the other way round, why bother? :)
 
I am very interested in KCS and KCIS for my son too, mainly because of its apparently stronger Mandarin emphasis. Would anyone have any comments about both the local KCS path and the international KCIS path please?
 
You need to first decide whether you are looking for mandarin as a first language or second.

KCS : this is a Mandarin school. All classes except for English are taught in Mandarin which translates to around 85% of the time.

KCIS : this is an English school. They have a very decent Mandarin programme with daily lessons in Mandarin which translates to around 15-20% of the time

All 3 of my kids attended KCS. One of my kids has left KCS to join KCIS at year 5. I still have one in P4 KCS
 
Most KCS primary graduates will study in other local secondary schools. That said, some of them will switch to KCIS or study aboard.

KCIS primary students will either stay with KCIS, switch to other international schools, study aboard or go to study in the local system.

Hence, there are many possibilities.

rosachan said:
I am very interested in KCS and KCIS for my son too, mainly because of its apparently stronger Mandarin emphasis. Would anyone have any comments about both the local KCS path and the international KCIS path please?
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Hi . My son is currently attending K3 at Cks , we still need to wait two more months to see if my son can keep with its mandarin requirement before the school would consider our admittance to their primary 1, they do this to late transferee. We hv been taking tutorial classes and doing a lot of studying. I think he deserve to relax sometimes and just hv friends over. We live beside d school. He is 5.5 yrs old, if any mom is interested to meet up for play. Let me know. I can also speak Mandarin to them sometimes if it is helpful.
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Is it true that a lot of KCS students are local Cantonese speaking, and therefore the playground language is Cantonese? Just wondering how my kid would do there in terms of making friends since she speaks English and only some Mandarin. Also curious about the quality of the Mandarin instruction in terms of accents - I have a friend from Beijing who told me most people in HK speak Mandarin with a strong Cantonese accent; of course I can't tell (and honestly not sure if I care), but would that be an issue for KCS?

Lastly, does anyone know how much the fees are for KCS and KCIS? I find their websites hard to navigate. :) Thanks in advance!
 
The school population is majority local Cantonese speaking kids along with a very sizable Chinese Expat (Sing, Taiwan, Mainland etc) group. Cantonese is forbidden in school therefore you wont hear it very much.

Only way to tell about the accent is to visit and talk to a few kids. I think this is a non-issue.

KCS primary is around 40,000 per year
KCIS primary is around 60,000 per year
These amounts are from my memory - it would be best to check directly with the school for the latest figures.
 
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