Interview & Admission Tests at Singapore Intl Schl

P1 interview SIS

1. Can anyone share with me, what kind of written tests the school will give to my son? Will it be a normal test to know what his academic level is, or will it be a difficult test to compare him with other applicants? The school registration staff said that they have long waiting lists.

sorry.. no info on SIS... but i thought govrnt has banned written tests for P1 assessments. they don't even do it with local schools now, I can't imagine international schools doing it. From what I understand all P1 tests should be oral only.

My husband and I went for a school tour at SIS and met a lady there whose 5yr old was sitting for the interview. Apparently his test took a total of THREE HOURS for all 3 subjects! I couldn't believe it. She was moving to HK from the UK (Chinese lady) and I met her again at another school tour where she told me about the test. In any case, you should ask the school again what type of test they will give.
Regarding an alternate school, I believe that parents are sending their children to CIS for the same Chinese as SIS.
There are also other schools with Chinese (Mandarin) immersion like ISF Academy. If you can get your hands on the SCMP school guide, you will find lots of information.
Good luck with SIS!

If you are a Singaporean or PR, then I believe your chance of getting in is quite high, so don't worry. You can buy some age-appropriate worksheets for your elder child to practice on. I can't imagine the content of the written tests to deviate too much away from that.

Other schools in the HK Island are CIS, CDNIS, ISF, and Kiangsu Chekiang IS. Do note for ISF, they put their main focus on Mandarin for the first 4/5 years of school, so children will have to compromise their English. As back up plan, you may also want to simultaneously apply for these schools as demand for them is equally as high.

Yes, its a 3 hrs test in English/Mandarin and Math. A friend's son who's Mum is Singaporean sat the test. He was 5 at the time, and he couldn't read yet, so we can assume he didn't do well. But he was still accepted. However, they decided that it may not be the best fit for them and opted for ESF.

how's your friend who gave up SIS seat for eSF now. My situation is that my son is ESF K1 student and got an offer of reception class by SIS for Aug 2011. I am still struggling which schools to go as both have the good and bad.
But by taking the offer of SIS which provides train through system to primary and secondary then i won't need to bother the P1 admission of ESF next year as I can imagine how stresful it will be to compete for the limited seats even though we have the priority as the ESF students. Shall I take a risk to remain at ESF?

Hi,

He's doing well in ESF. He was in a Chinese kindergarten previously and was struggling a bit with Cantonese.

As you probably heard, ESF P1 admissions was madness this year. They received too many applications and many Category 1 kids did not receive interviews. I personally think the situation may become worse in coming years. I would go with SIS. It is a good school and has a much stronger Mandarin program than ESF.

HTH

thanks so much

Hi, I am now studying in year 9, I would like transer to Singapore International School of Hong Kong and I would like to ask whether the interview is hard, the maths, english and mandarin paper's syllabus and common questions to ask. Please reply to my message

Are u currently studying in local school or IS? The written test on Chinese, English and Math is not easy, especially the Chinese one which is in simplified Chinese.