教育王國

標題: Any "Pure" Hong Kong Kid being accepted by ESF Primary School ? [打印本頁]

作者: tpoon 時間: 09-2-5 22:05 標題: Any "Pure" Hong Kong Kid being accepted by ESF Primary School ?

Did any kids from pure Hong Kong family being accepted by ESF primary school. (not PIS) Thanks for sharing.

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-5 23:17

Do you mean Cat 2 student with no overseas passport and not native English speaker? I think those applied QBS has higher chance as I saw in this forum, since there are less foreigners living in that place I believed, compare to other place like Sai Kung or Mid-Level....

作者: Mornington 時間: 09-2-6 02:35

Dear Popolung

I agreed with your point.  I am interested in knowing how does ESF deal with students for Cat 1 or Cat 2 with regard to the subject matter (i.e. kids from pure Hong Kong family)

Do you know how does ESF classify Cat 1 or Cat 2 for the following students from a pure Hong Kong family:

1) Student born in HK & holding both HKSAR &  foreign passport (by descent)
2) Student born overseas holding both HKSAR passport (by descent) & a foreign passport
3) Student born in HK & holding HKSAR passport;

Does it give a merit to enter into ESF if a student born in HK and holds both local & foreign passport?

From what I learnt at this forum, ESF does count a pure HK student who is also holding foreign passport. The student must be good at speaking English.

My son applies to item 1 above and he is studying at TT Kinder, speaks English & little mandarine at school.  When he is home, he will speaks both English and cantonese.  As time goes by, I want him to speak more English to cope with ESF P1 interview.

When will I know my son be classified as Cat 1 or Cat 2 by ESF?  Before or after the interview?

BR

作者: kohuei 時間: 09-2-6 07:34

My son goes to TY and I know for sure there is a very high percentage of kids who are from local families. According to the school, more than 90% (I cannot recall the exact percentage) of the kids get their places at various ESF Primary schools.

I hope this remains true for the years to come.

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-6 10:18

This is how they classified Cat 1 & Cat 2:

http://www.esf.edu.hk/index.aspx?nodeID=1039&langNo=1

Category One

Children who speak English as a first or alternative language but do not speak Cantonese and/or read and write Chinese characters.

Category Two

Children who can access the local system but who also meet ESF's entrance requirements.

Within each category priority will be given to students who:

are siblings of children already attending an ESF school;
are attending an ESF Educational Services Ltd Kindergarten (for Year One only);
are former students returning from a period overseas;
have a parent who is a full-time employee of ESF;
are the children of former ESF students.

Your kid should be Cat 1, if he / she has overseas birth certificate it is much better, but I guess passport will do. Also speaking english only as native english speaker is important too! So start your training from now on until the P1 interview finish.....

原帖由 Mornington 於 09-2-6 02:35 發表
Dear Popolung

I agreed with your point. I am interested in knowing how does ESF deal with students for Cat 1 or Cat 2 with regard to the subject matter (i.e. kids from pure Hong Kong family)

Do you ...

[ 本帖最後由 popolung 於 09-2-6 10:20 編輯 ]

作者: teresalok620 時間: 09-2-6 10:24

hi, just wanna see for the English standard of ESF students, as majority of the students are from local chinese family, will they allow to chat in Cantonese? cos as heard from the talk of ESF kinder, they said they will allow kids to communicate with their mother language when playing, but not in the class. Cos i am worried, if the majority of students are local Chinese, can my kid develop native accent in ESF?

Tks!

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-6 11:37

原帖由 teresalok620 於 09-2-6 10:24 發表
hi, just wanna see for the English standard of ESF students, as majority of the students are from local chinese family, will they allow to chat in Cantonese? cos as heard from the talk of ESF kinder, ...

While my kid is in ESF Kinder, most of them communicate in Eng. If teacher see group of Cantonese Kids speak in Cantonese, some of the teacher may put those kids in diff sub-group so they will be playing and learning separately. Once again, if you want your kid to speak native English, in Kinder there is only 3 hours per day. You have to create an English speaking environment at home, like watching Eng Channels only (my daughter watch Playhouse Disney Channel for almost 3+ years, now also watch Nick Jr.) and speak to them more in English, read English story book for them, etc. that will help, at least do this until they have gone via the P1 interview....

作者: teresalok620 時間: 09-2-6 11:44

tks popolung. Yes, we are doing the same things as u now....But just thinking for moving to primary, can they actually develop native accent....

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-6 11:54

原帖由 teresalok620 於 09-2-6 11:44 發表
tks popolung. Yes, we are doing the same things as u now....But just thinking for moving to primary, can they actually develop native accent....

Don't worry. If you are in normal ESF, they will have more program to develop language skill. They will learn more than Eng as they will mix up with kids from all around the world. I have relative graduated in SC that know even French / Italian / Japanese and a bit Russian. At least they have better chance to expose to Eng more than in local school. By then you should start to worry about teaching them Chinese like other parents are worrying about ......

作者: Annie123 時間: 09-2-6 12:05

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作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-6 12:15

原帖由 Annie123 於 09-2-6 12:05 發表
As far as I know, the majority of ESF students are local Chinese kids.

Not really, depends on which ESF school you are talking about. The ESF kinder my daughter is studying is still 80% foreigners for her class (K2). But looks like K1 has dropped to 50-60% only.

作者: oooray 時間: 09-2-6 13:40

I've read some threads in a expats' forum...They do concern the % of Local Hong Kong Chinese kids when choosing an IS...they don't prefer too many Chinese in an IS...haha...
Thanks to the Change and Change and Change from our Hong Kong Education Bureau, more and more Chinese will rush to IS (me too)...

原帖由 popolung 於 09-2-6 12:15 發表

Not really, depends on which ESF school you are talking about. The ESF kinder my daughter is studying is still 80% foreigners for her class (K2). But looks like K1 has dropped to 50-60% only.

作者: Annie123 時間: 09-2-6 13:52

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作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-6 13:52

原帖由 oooray 於 09-2-6 13:40 發表
I've read some threads in a expats' forum...They do concern the % of Local Hong Kong Chinese kids when choosing an IS...they don't prefer too many Chinese in an IS...haha...
Thanks to the Change and C ...

Me 3!

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-6 13:58

原帖由 Annie123 於 09-2-6 13:52 發表

I would not want to comment on which school or which class. But the general situation is that ESF has mostly local kids. I do not think there is anything wrong with admitting this fact.

I think th ...

it really varied from School to School. Take an example for primary, you will see more local chinese in QBS but lesser in BHS or IS. It would depend on if there are more foreigners in that placement zone. See even Cat 2 has chance for interview in first round for QBS but forget it in CWBS or BHS, SC, etc. Just my 2 cents only.

For me I don't mind they have more local kids in ESF, as long as they can keep the teacher and teaching standards. And we can't control that happen anyway, and I can't afford to go to school like GSIS or HKIS anyway....

作者: birdbird 時間: 09-2-6 21:19

原帖由 Mornington 於 09-2-6 02:35 發表
1) Student born in HK & holding both HKSAR & foreign passport (by descent)

Mornington,
Your kid was born in HK holding both HKSAR & foreign passports. If you & your husband are also Chinese, I think you kid would be very likely classified as Cat.2. students under ESF admission priority. Local Chinese holding foreign passports are treated more or less the same way as ones with just HKSAR passports since the mother tongue of these children is still considered to be Chinese, in spite that they attend international kindergartens.

[ 本帖最後由 birdbird 於 09-2-6 21:53 編輯 ]

作者: Miclint 時間: 09-2-9 23:59

My son has been studying at the international class at Hong Kong (Ascot) Preschool and offered a place by SJS. He speaks good English and some Mandarin.

作者: Mornington 時間: 09-2-10 01:27

Dear Miclint

Great to hear that you son can speak good English. Can you share some view to us? It sounded like your son was treated as Cat 1. Do you speak in English all the time to you son? How did you get managed your son spoke in English during the ESP P1 interview?

Have you got other older son/daughter admitted by ESF before?

BR

作者: tpoon 時間: 09-2-10 12:44

Dear Miclint,

Did your son got a foreign passport?

作者: bbtung 時間: 09-2-10 13:30

Dear all,

My whole family ( i.e. my husband, my daughter and me ) are all born in Hong Kong and held HKSAR passport. We don't have any foreign passport.

My daughter was accepted by Kowloon Junior School.  Now she is P5.

I have seen a lot discussions/questions from Moms or Dads in various forums asking for the methods, tricks, tips to enter ESF.

I have also disucssed with many ESF parents,  teachers and admission officers during school events like sports day, music concert and outings for many mant times in the past years.

I would like to share my findings with you all.

In fact, your kids is required to communicate including listerning and talking in English as if a native speaker at year five ( for P1) during the interview. Besides, DON'T say Cantonese even a WORD in the interview.  IF you kid shows that he can understand Cantonese, he will most likely be failure in this interview.

Which passport you held is not considered by te interview board. GOOD ENGLISH is the most most important assessment criterion.

Hope it can help.

bbtung

[ 本帖最後由 bbtung 於 09-2-10 13:36 編輯 ]

作者: chaonngy 時間: 09-2-10 13:51

Dear bbtung,

Thanks for your information! Could U mind to tell us that Cat2 students are more difficult to enter ESF Primary now? especially KJS!

Thanks a lot!

原帖由 bbtung 於 09-2-10 13:30 發表
Dear all,

My whole family ( i.e. my husband, my daughter and me ) are all born in Hong Kong and held HKSAR passport. We don't have any foreign passport.

My daughter was accepted by Kowloon Junior Sc ...

作者: oooray 時間: 09-2-10 14:08

Your comment sounds realistic.
Your tips for interview are good but the first problem we are encountering now (as a parent of ESF Year 1 applicant this year) is not the performance of interview, but is the low (or no) "chance" for interview as a Cat. 2 applicant.
What I learnt is that there are so many Cat. 1 applicants this year (also in the recent years). Here the possible reasons:
A. more expats who did not go to ESF system before (HKIS, GSIS, ...) apply ESF now due to economic reasons (less expensive tuition fee;
B. "Clever" local parents pretend to be a Cat. 1 applicants (then get a chance for interview in the first round) by declaring their children do not speak Cantonese [I believe ESF tends to believe what you declared in the application form. There is no point for them to "investigate" languages proficiency for so many applicants]. Although it is immoral, I believe quite a lot of people are doing this[ Of course, % of success is another issue]. "Traveling by Shortcut" is from the "gene" of Chinese people (I'm a Chinese, too)
For Kindergarten, there is no interview at all so that they should 100% rely upon what you filled in the application form.

As a local Chinese (no matter u have a foreign passport), it is our destiny to be a Cat. 2 parents. It is the rule of game. As long as you join the game, u need to follow it strictly (unless u are thinking of immoral tricks to be a Cat. 1 applicants)

原帖由 bbtung 於 09-2-10 13:30 發表
Dear all,

My whole family ( i.e. my husband, my daughter and me ) are all born in Hong Kong and held HKSAR passport. We don't have any foreign passport.

My daughter was accepted by Kowloon Junior Sc ...

作者: bbtung 時間: 09-2-10 16:30

Dear oooray,

"Clever" local parents pretend to be a Cat. 1 applicants (then get a chance for interview in the first round) by declaring their children do not speak Cantonese......... Ha Ha Ha !!

This is a very very old treats for over tens years. It could be traced back to 1984. I understand that all CHINESE ( i.e. there is a Chinese Surname like CHAN, Chen, HO ,WONG, Lee and etc shown in their passport or birth certificate) will be in the Cat 2 even the mix. ESF do not believe what you declare in the application form at all for many many years.

Cat 2 is for the kids studied at the real international kindergadens in Hong Kong with a Chinese Surname.

Please note that the teachers and management of ESF are of very high quality ( not so simple minded !!!).

bbtung

[ 本帖最後由 bbtung 於 09-2-10 16:35 編輯 ]

作者: bbtung 時間: 09-2-10 16:38

Dear chaonngy,

I don't think that there will be so many Cat 1 student to fill up the P1 seats.

The difficulty for cat 2 student is your kinder is not a real international kinder.

bbtung

原帖由 chaonngy 於 09-2-10 13:51 發表
Dear bbtung,

Thanks for your information! Could U mind to tell us that Cat2 students are more difficult to enter ESF Primary now? especially KJS!

Thanks a lot!

作者: maumiu 時間: 09-2-10 16:44

hi bbtung,
Thanks for your advice but I just wonder how about the kids say a word in Mandarin?
As we know even ESF kinder also have Mandarin class. So will they fail the kids if he just say /show their understanding of Mandarin?

原帖由 bbtung 於 09-2-10 13:30 發表
Dear all,

My whole family ( i.e. my husband, my daughter and me ) are all born in Hong Kong and held HKSAR passport. We don't have any foreign passport.

My daughter was accepted by Kowloon Junior Sc ...

作者: bbtung 時間: 09-2-10 16:51

My understanding is Cantonese.

原帖由 maumiu 於 09-2-10 16:44 發表
hi bbtung,
Thanks for your advice but I just wonder how about the kids say a word in Mandarin?
As we know even ESF kinder also have Mandarin class. So will they fail the kids if he just say /show th ...

作者: s_s 時間: 09-2-10 16:53

其實係depends咩 catchment area先岩!
cat 2 or even 講緊pure hk family都可以入esf school, 大都在少cat 1 的area

clearwater bay school係一個好例子, 佢地大部份的學生都是老外, 或者mom or dad係外國人, cat 2 學生如我地, 真係連interview都無chance.
我現在唯一可做的, 就係報year 1 時要搬屋, 搬去比較少cat 1 爭的地區, 入佢地個catchment area.

我有個老外朋友佢地3個kids都在clearwater bay讀, 佢幫我問左個admission officer, admission recommend我最好apply另一些esf primary instead, 因為clearwater bay真係好多cat 1, 今年cat 2 有得interview不多於10%。

cat 1, cat 2, 分別在於識唔識講中文, 識唔識寫中文, 就算你有foreign passport, mom & dad 有填second language 係chinese or cantonese都一定係cat 2 啦!
一係你地就要扮到係一個中文字都唔識的家長, 拱個小朋友就有chance叫cat 1 囉!

如果真係cat 2, 就不如打聽下邊區少 cat 1, 起碼 cat 2 vs cat 2 , chance一定大過 vs cat 1 先啦!

作者: tpoon 時間: 09-2-10 17:14

s_s

可以報幾間ESF小學咩?

原帖由 s_s 於 09-2-10 16:53 發表
其實係depends咩 catchment area先岩!
cat 2 or even 講緊pure hk family都可以入esf school, 大都在少cat 1 的area

clearwater bay school係一個好例子, 佢地大部份的學生都是老外, 或者mom or dad係外國人, cat 2 ...

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-10 18:55

原帖由 s_s 於 09-2-10 16:53 發表
其實係depends咩 catchment area先岩!
cat 2 or even 講緊pure hk family都可以入esf school, 大都在少cat 1 的area

clearwater bay school係一個好例子, 佢地大部份的學生都是老外, 或者mom or dad係外國人, cat 2 ...

1. The case with more cat 2 is like QBS (Quarry Bay)

2. You can write your kid can only speak Eng in the form, but can you ask your kid to pretend they only speak eng? This is the problem. And I heard from this forum said if the interviewer found that your kid can speak Cantonese they will fail your kid. So do you want to bet?

Anyway originally ESF is not designed for local kids to study, so if you want to get your kid into ESF, should be well prepared. For example, soak them in almost complete English environment, but how many local families can do this?

作者: oooray 時間: 09-2-10 22:07

just my wild guess...haha...

原帖由 bbtung 於 09-2-10 16:30 發表
Dear oooray,

"Clever" local parents pretend to be a Cat. 1 applicants (then get a chance for interview in the first round) by declaring their children do not speak Cantonese......... Ha Ha Ha !!

T ...

作者: s_s 時間: 09-2-10 22:11

所以要搬屋囉!!
我家住西貢, cat 1 太多了!!

原帖由 tpoon 於 09-2-10 17:14 發表
s_s

可以報幾間ESF小學咩?

作者: birdbird 時間: 09-2-10 22:20

From my experience and dicussions among some moms in these 2 years, the ESF P1 interview itself is actually not very difficult if the kids can communicate in English. The interview is to screen out kids who cannot follow class routines, instructions instead of picking outstanding students to fill the P1 seats.

What is more crucial in getting a place in ESF P1 is the interview offer! Local Chinese, regardless of what passports we hold, are generally classified as Cat. 2. In Cat. 2, students of ESF kinder & with siblings in ESF primary will have a higher chance to get the interview offer. For other Cat. 2 applicants, those study in real international kindergartens such as Montessori, Woodland have higher chances then those come from local kindergartens.

Another factor in consideration, as other moms mentioned, is the proportion of cat.1 applicants in the catchment. Cat. 2 applicants on the HK side usually have higher chances to get the interview than those on the Kln side. For Cat.2 kids in Clear Water Bay catchment, their chances of getting the interview offer or a place are also very low even they come from the ESF kindergarten since there are many foreigners in that catchment.

Finally, I'd like to talk about the 'mother tongue' of the kids. For a 'pure' local family with parents raised up in Hong Kong and kid born in Hong Kong, regardless of which kindergarten the kid is studying and that the parents claim in the application form that the kids know no Chinese at all, the ESF admission team will still consider that the kid is in Cat.2! It is not convincing that the kid has no exposure to Chinese in a Chinese dominated community. It also doesn't make any sense to the educators that a local kid cannot speak Chinese as his parents, living in their mother country/city, is supposed to treasure their own mother tongue. The kid's Chinese level may be low, but absolutely should not be zero! It is wiser to check the appropriate boxes regarding the kid's ability /learning progress of different languages in the application form.

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-10 22:49

原帖由 birdbird 於 09-2-10 22:20 發表
From my experience and dicussions among some moms in these 2 years, the ESF P1 interview itself is actually not very difficult if the kids can communicate in English. The interview is to screen out ki ...

quite a good and wise summary of what we have discussed these months! Yes, the conclusion is: it is not easy, but not impossible.

作者: chaonngy 時間: 09-2-10 23:04

Dear bbtung,

Thanks for your reply!

I still think about the chance to get a P1 seat in KJS? Is KJS or SJS has a higher chance to get a seat if I'm a Cat2 student that studying in ESF kinder!!!!

Thanks a lot!!!

原帖由 bbtung 於 09-2-10 16:38 發表
Dear chaonngy,

I don't think that there will be so many Cat 1 student to fill up the P1 seats.

The difficulty for cat 2 student is your kinder is not a real international kinder.

bbtung

作者: maumiu 時間: 09-2-11 09:13

Besides, I also want to know the chance for RC. Is it still high for Cat 2 student in ESF kinder?

Thanks.

原帖由 chaonngy 於 09-2-10 23:04 發表
Dear bbtung,

Thanks for your reply!

I still think about the chance to get a P1 seat in KJS? Is KJS or SJS has a higher chance to get a seat if I'm a Cat2 student that studying in ESF kinder!!!!

Tha ...

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-11 09:46

原帖由 maumiu 於 09-2-11 09:13 發表
Besides, I also want to know the chance for RC. Is it still high for Cat 2 student in ESF kinder?

Thanks.

Yes, this is the case of RC for this year, but only you have better chance for interview. Admission or not still depend on your English Fluency as far as I know.

作者: 502 時間: 09-2-11 10:08

For ESF admission, the critical point is to get a chance for interview. The interview itself, as mentioned by other parents here, is not difficult at all. It is not aimed to "fail" the kids but just to re-confirm their ability to be taught in English. ESF schools are the ones taught in English, but not teaching English!

So for parents who are not "genuine" Cat 1 in view of ESF, e.g. you are not gwei-lo, the tactics can be adopted, as per my experience, are as below:

1) Get a place in ESF kinder
2) Move to a catchment zone with more places (e.g. there are more ESF primary schools in HK Island comparing to Kowloon and NT)
3) Get a place in a "TRULY" international kinder which has good relationship with ESF primary schools. But bear in mind that such relationship might be geographically restricted. I heard a case that a kid with a HK side international kinder but failed to get an interview from KJS. The relationship does not go that far!

作者: oooray 時間: 09-2-11 11:10

原帖由 popolung 於 09-2-11 09:46 發表

Yes, this is the case of RC for this year, but only you have better chance for interview. Admission or not still depend on your English Fluency as far as I know.

I guess RC has interviewed all the applicants (total 350 were interviewed) but no idea regarding any priority for admission to applicants with siblings/from ESF/from non-ESF kindergarten; or simply offer place to 150 successful applicant merely depends upon children's performance during interview.
Unlike ESF School, chance for interview is strictly prioritize for category 1/2/sibling/ESF kindergarten and then random sequence (lucky draw)...

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-11 11:48

原帖由 oooray 於 09-2-11 11:10 發表

I guess RC has interviewed all the applicants (total 350 were interviewed) but no idea regarding any priority for admission to applicants with siblings/from ESF/from non-ESF kindergarten; or simply o ...

I believed ESF Kinder has priority in RC as they are both PIS under ESF.

But if RC interviewed all applicants, then it doesn't matter as it normally will look at the ability of children then rank them I believed after the interview.

And I think quite of lof of RC applicants have also applied other ESF and IS and are waiting for results too. So more vacancies will be released sooner or later.

作者: oooray 時間: 09-2-11 13:12

原帖由 popolung 於 09-2-11 11:48 發表

I believed ESF Kinder has priority in RC as they are both PIS under ESF.

But if RC interviewed all applicants, then it doesn't matter as it normally will look at the ability of children then rank t ...

Yup! I heard quite a number of applicants applied RC this year as their 2nd choices (some of them with silbings in ESF schools; their experiences are that some applicants with siblings might not get an offer in first or 2nd round[that was supposed to be "almost guaranteed" in the past] until very late due to severe competitions last year).
I believe quite a number of places will be available when they get an offer from ESF schools...probably a good news to those in the waiting list of RC.

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-11 13:41

原帖由 oooray 於 09-2-11 13:12 發表

Yup! I heard quite a number of applicants applied RC this year as their 2nd choices (some of them with silbings in ESF schools; their experiences are that some applicants with siblings might not get ...

Yes, as RC & DC are in MOS and Discovery Bay respectively, if you got offer from an traditioanl ESF closer to your house, say QBS for HK East or CWBS for Kln East or TKO, then you will not consider RC apparently, regardless of their educational level diff or IB related stuff, etc. Just my 2 cents. Anyway good luck to all who are still waiting for RC or other ESF Y1 result.

作者: oooray 時間: 09-2-11 13:59

原帖由 popolung 於 09-2-11 13:41 發表

Yes, as RC & DC are in MOS and Discovery Bay respectively, if you got offer from an traditioanl ESF closer to your house, say QBS for HK East or CWBS for Kln East or TKO, then you will not consider ...

Ha! DC competition is very keen, although rarely being discussed here. 270 applicants chasing for 90 places...From their website, they said "lucky enough they can "offer" interview to ALL Cat 1 and ESF kinda students" [something like that]
This should be a dream school (high non-Chinese:Chinese ratio, brand-new campus [with exceptionally low utility : it will take 3 more years to fill up the school!], precious

nly 90 space available) if you don't mind traveling to and fro DB everyday; or simply move there.

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-11 16:52

原帖由 oooray 於 09-2-11 13:59 發表

Ha! DC competition is very keen, although rarely being discussed here. 270 applicants chasing for 90 places...From their website, they said "lucky enough they can "offer" interview to ALL Cat 1 and E ...

This is what it said on DC website:

Student enrolments
The College is currently looking at the enrolment of students who have applied for spaces in Year 1 and Year 7 for August. As with last year, the College received an overwhelming number of applications, particularly in Year 1 where over 270 applications were received for the 90 available spaces. Luckily we have been able to offer interviews for all siblings and students at ESL kindergartens.

Likewise, we received over 110 applications for 30 spaces in Year 7. We are also looking to increase the number of students next year in Years 8&9, and an advertising campaign for this has commenced. Any families who may be considering this option for their children are asked to please contact the College by email [email protected] or phone on 3969 1000.

http://www.discovery.edu.hk/content.php?contentid=9

[ 本帖最後由 popolung 於 09-2-11 16:56 編輯 ]

作者: VVMUM 時間: 09-2-11 17:11

Hi All,

Can someone tell me how many classes/places to offer for Y1 in both RC and DC...just curious. Thank you.

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-11 17:14

原帖由 VVMUM 於 09-2-11 17:11 發表
Hi All,

Can someone tell me how many classes/places to offer for Y1 in both RC and DC...just curious. Thank you.

For Y1, RC is 150 and DC is 90.

作者: VVMUM 時間: 09-2-12 11:45 標題: 回覆 # 的文章

Thankyou Popolung.

I am puzzling why the competition for ESF schools in N.T., especially for SJS and RC are so keen, because based on your information, there are 150 places in RC, 90 places in DC, another 150 places (correct me if i am wrong) with SJS. So all together we have about 390 places in these 3 schools. As far as I know ESF TY only has about 170-180 kids but they are coming from large catchment zones including Kln, N.T., and Lantau Island. Of course now we will have another new ESF Kinder in WKS (don't know how many classes will be there) but still I don't understand why there is so severe competition of places in these school??? Can someone give me some insights??? Thanks.

作者: oooray 時間: 09-2-12 12:45

原帖由 VVMUM 於 09-2-12 11:45 發表
Thankyou Popolung.

I am puzzling why the competition for ESF schools in N.T., especially for SJS and RC are so keen, because based on your information, there are 150 places in RC, 90 places in DC, an ...

I guess:
1. ESF application is free of charge (except RC/DC). Why not fill a form for one more option to choose/discard even though ESF will not be your choice eventually?
2. The rules of the game makes most Cat. 1 applicants fill up the space first. Limited Cat 2 applicants can have the chance to fill up the rest space(if available) and the rest (most of them should be from Cat 2) should be wait patiently until someone drops their offer (What a tragedy!)
3. Theoretically, everybody can apply ESF. Thanks to our daily changing Education Bureau, more parents try to quit the traditional stream;
4. Even ESF herself encourage u to apply more school due to keen competition (That was the first message I got from my school tour in DC : this year there are so many Cat 1 (silbings/staff/so and so...) and you will have a low chance if u are in Cat 2...but don't be afraid...u will be on the waiting list for the coming 12 years as long as u pay the application fee and do not refuse to be placed on the waiting list...)

作者: Miclint 時間: 09-2-12 14:49

Dear parents: SJS interviews not only the applicants but also the parents. I'm afraid no tricking by "clever parents" is possible.
I have no idea about other ESF primary schools.

原帖由 bbtung 於 09-2-10 16:30 發表
Dear oooray,

"Clever" local parents pretend to be a Cat. 1 applicants (then get a chance for interview in the first round) by declaring their children do not speak Cantonese......... Ha Ha Ha !!

T ...

作者: Onsen 時間: 09-2-13 11:22

My child and I did declared on paper that we both know Cantonese and I did talk to the local staff in Cantonese during the interview. It is really how good you and your child can communicate in English rather than testing a person's Cantonese skill that counts. My daughter got accepted (verbally) right at spot. So, what is the problem?

The teachers, principal and staff I encountered at ESF school were very friendly and reasonable people. I don't think they discriminate us for knowing Cantonese. Their concern seems to be more on English skill. My child can talk to me in Cantonese, and my friends in English and other in Mandarin, almost instantly. So, having the policy from those ESF bureacrats is one thing, in practise, people are reasonable.

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-13 14:33

原帖由 Onsen 於 09-2-13 11:22 發表
My child and I did declared on paper that we both know Cantonese and I did talk to the local staff in Cantonese during the interview. It is really how good you and your child can communicate in Engli ...

which school are you in finally?

作者: Mighty 時間: 09-2-13 15:05

I second you. I dont feel any discriminations at all for using Cantonese. The school (ESF) is really looking for children who can fit it an English medium school. And that's why they give priorities to Cat. 1 children.

作者: Onsen 時間: 09-2-13 15:11

One of the primary school on Hong Kong side.

原帖由 popolung 於 09-2-13 14:33 發表

which school are you in finally?

作者: popolung 時間: 09-2-13 17:00

原帖由 Onsen 於 09-2-13 15:11 發表
One of the primary school on Hong Kong side.

I guess it may be QBS. Some schools has a higher mix of local students while some are not. So their judging criterias are different too. Just wild guess. But anyway your kids are in, so congratulation!

[ 本帖最後由 popolung 於 09-2-13 17:12 編輯 ]

作者: Onsen 時間: 09-2-13 17:14

Thanks! I am happy of my choice. That was the only school that I applied.

[ 本帖最後由 Onsen 於 09-10-16 14:45 編輯 ]

作者: saikei 時間: 09-6-16 19:18

I was attracted to this thread since it mentioned BHS. My girl is local so is her parents (wife and me).  She definitely is not cat 1 but got offers from RC and BHS (after being on wait list for 2 months) for '09 year one. We chose BHS for her with our reasons.  Here is my experience for sharing:
1. send my girl to international kindergarten.  We chose Anfield because no interview was required and I like the school very much after visiting their open day.  BTW I never considered local school system: too competive and training focused, not mind and physical development.
2. Kindergarten principal told us applying ESK with true information: so I said in application forms: kid talks to mother most cantonese and talks to father mostly English. Other family members in cantonese and helper in english. No lies.
3. Got interview from RC.  Not accepted immediately but got a letter of "extended assessment" was needed. I considered she was put on waitlist.  Got letter of no interview from BHS (catchment) but if wanted to stay on wait list. Replied yes.
4. In Feb, RC accepted my girl. Paid and happy. two weeks later, got letter from BHS for interview in a month.  Interviewed and got accepted.  Paid and happy but not as before since we know cannot get refund from RC.  Not important though.

From my observation, success factors:
1. My girl is not shy, very friendly, and like to talk. Her English though is definitely NOT native. As long as she can communicate using the language, it's just fine.
2. Anfield creates a natural English environment for her to be comfortably develop her social skills.  I think any international kindergarten can do the same. She completely switched to English after a few months in K2 (K1 was too little to see trend) when she was around with her school friends. At home she is just like local kid talking mostly cantonese (our fault!).
3. My wife never gave up. She called/emailed many times the kindergarten principal, RC (not so helpful), and BHS (very responsive) for help and update on status.  I think BHS appreciated the effort although only my speculation. Frankly speaking, I don't think Anfield principal had strong influence on ESF (private or not) system but again - speculation.

Sorry nothing fancy on how to get a local kid into ESF schools.

I have a friend and his wife are both Hong Kong born but emigrated to US for years.  His wife is citizen so their kids are definitely cat 1 for ESF as their son got interview at 1st around by QPS.  Came back from US and son refused to talk during interview. Was told to come back in two weeks to interview again. Again son didn't talks so was told no offer that time but may try again in July.

作者: Onsen 時間: 09-6-16 19:59

My son also attended BHS before. He used to study in a HK local school with Cantonese as the only medium of exchange. He speaks perfect English and Cantonese. (Well, may be not the pure HK kids.)

[ 本帖最後由 Onsen 於 09-6-17 12:10 編輯 ]

作者: Williamhero2009 時間: 09-6-17 13:52

Pls understand we are sending our kids to school to learn all sorts of things but not only language. More chinese or western makes no difference. Ppls speaking fluent English means nothing. The most important is to train up our childs' with common sense and the way & logic of thinking. Language is only a mean of communication. Well, I don't think the kids studying at IS will have language proficiency problem. Pls wake up!!!

作者: popolung 時間: 09-6-18 02:47

i will say, if you send your kids to IS (as they are too young to make decision so it must be your decision), forget about that the school will help you teach chinese. You can get the best of both sides of the world. So either you should teach hard by yourselves, or hire a private tutor, that is it. :loveliness:

作者: elizatyy 時間: 09-6-20 19:19

How about the chances from Beacon Hill School or Kowloon Junior School?

作者: nintendo 時間: 09-6-29 12:47

I am pure Hong Kong chinese too.
I think the majority of the families with ESF are still local familites.
We all mainly speak Cantonese most of the time. And I do not think this is a problem.
I agree that we are choosing a school not just because of the language. There is also no point comparing which school has more western kids, which school has more chinese kids.
I like my kid's school because it is exactly what I like.

Do not believe in the "myth" that if you "pretend" to know no chinese, then you are safe. There is no need to do so. I never pretended. A lot other parents too. I would rather not lie.
Some people failed the interview and they want to find something to blame.
I agree that it is the performance of a child that matters. If he refuse to speak, then that's it. I know that a lot of english speaking kids did not get offers because they were not speaking up.
Good luck to everyone.

歡迎光臨教育王國 (/)