International school or local school?

vinvinaa

It’s the time to do PN interview.  I am struggling between IS and LS.  I was thinking to let my kid study at local stream and learn better Chinese and then transfer to international stream when he is in P4/P5.  However, the things happen in HK recently change my mind a bit and I am thinking maybe we should just let him go to the IS and save all the transition pain.  What still hinder me is that from our observation he can learn quite well in the traditional classroom setting.  I know it sounds too early to say he is just 20 months but he is the type of kid that can sit and concentrate well when we need his attention. We can read story books with him for 40 mins straight he can just sit on my lap or on the chair without whining.  He has shown a love and special bonding of reading for some reason.  He is not too shy and not too inquisitive though.  I know they will change later but this is what we can see from him so far.  Do you think the traditional classroom setting is better for him in this sense?  Other than his character, am I missing some other key factors in making the decision?

oooray

I cannot figure it out how does the recent change in HK impact to your original plan.
Also, I don't think classroom behavior is a decisive factor when choosing either LS or IS stream. Children with good learning attitude will be successful in any system. Why bother it? Is there any other stuff in LS still tempting you?  
If Chinese is the only factor you concern, you can still have a lot of chances and spare time for IS students (while LS students are busy with dozen of homework) to strengthen your Chinese, if you wish.
The only factor i would concern (except $$$) is the chance of transferring to IS at P4/P5 stage from LS and the chance of getting a Year 1 place in IS if starting IS from PN stage.
Assume that your destination is IS : if I were you, I would rather start IS from kindergarten stage and skip any transition plan that would make your life easier.

victoryu19

Another thing to consider.

Most of the international schools will 'test' the kid's English level during the P1 interview.  So if you are interested in giving local school a try, then you may want to consider whether this could be a factor.

bennyeva

My girl basically have the same characters as what you mentioned. I decided to let her go to IS directly as those characters also shuts IS (ie. can sit patiently n be concentrated) ... If u decided to let him go for IS at the end, you are better go for IS earlier in PN as the Eng ability is the basic requirement for IS primary.

Fish777

I think being able to sit still is not a determinant for choosing the local school.