Plan B if we have to wait to get into an ESF School

Hi, I am just wondering what parents do if their children are put on waiting lists and the wait can be a year long. I have a 2.5 year-old and a 7 year-old. The 7-year old currently goes to Year 2 in the UK. Our plan is to let her finish the school year here and then ideally start Year 3 in Sep 11 in HK. However, I have read many threads about the difficulty of getting a school place so am realistic enough to know that it may not happen immediately. What do we do then?

I have been in touch with the Sylvan Learning Centre and after corresponding with them now have a certain degree of comfort that whilst waiting we can at least enrol our 7-year old into some classes. This however is not ideal on a long (or even medium) term basis. Can you let me know what your experiences are? Is it even possible to enrol a child who does not read or write Chinese into a state school in HK while waiting for an international school place?

This is one of the biggest headache I've got at the moment. I am feeling terribly guilty of taking her out of a very good school here and taking her to another country where she has no school place. Our little one has also been accepted for a full time nursery place at the same school which we will have to give up but I am not too worried about that as she is still little and I don't think kindergartens are as difficult to get into.

Any advice would be appreciated.

It kind of depends where you will be living. I am starting to hear stories about people leaving over the summer already so I am sure things will clarify in the next few weeks. I would definitely look into the ESF CSS program which is still running for the late arrivers. Y3 shouldn't be impossible. I would look into as many schools possible incl the less popular ones.

Hi Iramanis, I am on the same boat. My son is in Y2 in London, and we will be leaving for HK this June. We have applied for 5 schools and are on waiting list. Two of the schools already told us there is no chance of Y3 admission this year because the wait list is just too long. I do hope it is true that something will open up as we approach the summer.

You should apply for the ESF Corporate Surety Programme, although I am sure you're not alone. And again, settle for a less popular school, you can always move. A school is better than no school and the level in HK is still quite high compared to many other countries.

Originally Posted by Viv2011

Hi Iramanis, I am on the same boat. My son is in Y2 in London, and we will be leaving for HK this June. We have applied for 5 schools and are on waiting list. Two of the schools already told us there is no chance of Y3 admission this year because the wait list is just too long. I do hope it is true that something will open up as we approach the summer.

Which schools are that ...?

French International and Chinese International told us the chance is very slim to none. We did the CSS and waiting to find out....

Originally Posted by Viv2011

French International and Chinese International told us the chance is very slim to none. We did the CSS and waiting to find out....

That's no surprise, Kellett would be quite impossible. CSS would find out over the summer. We haven't been asked yet to confirm for next year. Probably in May after Easter.

There are plenty of schools in Hong Kong that are teaching English medium that have spaces available. These schools are perfectly fine but for one reason or another they are not considered to be "top tier" schools. They are much cheaper than top schools and they dont have the best facilities (no swimming pools), but they usually do have spaces. Dont forget to try them out.

On HK Island, 2 off the top of my head are KCIS and Delia; there are many more. Dont limit and then disappoint yourself by just looking at ESF and the top 5-6 international schools.

Sylvan learning center is not a proper school; I would not use it as a substitute when there are plenty of decent schools available.

HC

KCIS is full and has a waiting list, not as long as the top international school but still pretty long. Delia is an option, also Harbour School in Kennedy Town.

For ESF, get on the Corporate Surety Scheme now and you may well get a place to start in August. We went on end of April last year and got a place.

The Surety scheme only runs from January to June, after that you are back to regular waiting lists, which can be next to impossible depending on where you live.