Recommendations for enrolling babies in schools around Pokfulam

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AussieMum

Registered User
We arrived in Pokfulam around 3 months ago with our now 10 month old daughter. Since arriving, everyone keeps telling me how important it is to get her enrolled into school now as we might run the risk of not getting her in.
Unfortunately my knowledge of schools in Hong Kong is vertually non existant. Would appreciate someone explaining the system to me (what age they start etc), and even some recommendations for where to start looking. We are from Australia and would prefer an English speaking school.
:thanks
 
Hi - We're in Pokfulam too and expecting our first, having been told that we need to send our ultrasound pictures to schools to get a place (!??) we looked into this a bit. We are going to go for the English Schools Foundation system, if you google it you will find all the info. and you don't need to worry about the enrollment process for kindergarden until 3 years (I think it was). There is apparently a good ESF primary in Kennedy Town and I understand from parents who send their kids there that the children of native English speakers stand a better than average chance of getting a place. They follow the British curriculum, which works for us as we are British. If however you would like your little one to go to one of the 'international' schools then the situation may be a little different.
 
We're in Pokfulam also and have already decided to side step the whole issue and go for ESF Kennedy primary which is just down the road. You need to apply the year before they go for ESF primary and kindie. The urgency for applying really early, going through a rigourous interview process virtually from birth etc. is more for those trying to get into International schools or the highly competitive local system. As Neha says, some of the private kindies and pre-schools have wait lists, but it's not so bad. Think we are opting for Woodlands Pokfulam prior to prmary as they have a number of programmes of different kinds/ages. People do tend to send their kids very early to kindie here, which is totally fine but not what I'm personally used to. Think we will wait til 2 or 3 for anything that organised. Playgroups and little classes will be ok until then I think.
 
Kellet School (UK) is in Pok Fu Lam.
I really wouldn't put all your eggs in the ESF basket - they have tremendous waiting lists every year. Apply, by all means, but I would also put your child down at every other school in the vicinity (and maybe a few further afield just in case!)..............
 
Dear AussieMom,

As expats, you don't need to compete with locals in case of ESF kindie although there is only one on the HK side (i.e. in Sheung Wan, which is quite near Central). Since your baby is only 11 months old, I guess he/she was born early this year (2008). All you need to do is to submit an application when your kid turns 2 (i.e. early 2010). The chance of admission should be high (unless you are Chinese since ESF gives priority to those who don't speak the local language). Go to the ESF website for more details.

Btw, have you considered sending your kid to get exposure to Chinese (I main mandarin, not Cantonese) before kindie? Some of my friends would take the opportunity of being here in HK to let their kids learn the language. You know, mandarin (the official language of China) will be getting more and more popular, and many gwailos learn it too nowadays.
 
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