FIS (Chai Wan) vs ESF (Hillside)

vivian_825

Hi moms and dads,

My daughter will start K1 in the 2024/25 school year. We would like to seek your advices and comments on these 2 schools for the long term development of a child.

FIS offers full day programme since nursery, which we think it is suitable to us as we want her to be more independent and have more interactions with other kids. Also, the FIS campus is more spacious than Hillside. For FIS, it follows the English National Curriculum for English and Maths so it sounds more structured. However, it seems the secondary school section in FIS is not that good.

For ESF, after graduating from Hillside, she should be able to go to Quarry Bay School which I have heard quite a lot of positive comments on.

Therefore, we are struggling whether we should send her to FIS for nursery.

melobi12

Things you can consider:

1. Different vibes and school cultures;

2. Nationality mix;

3. Chinese vs French as second language;

4. Facilities of their primary schools, i.e. QBS vs FIS JL. Kindy children do not require as much space and facilities (having some outdoor play area would be nice, but I believe even Hillside has that);

5. Curriculum in primary school, IBPYP vs IPC ("supported" by the English national curriculum). ESF has a no homework policy I believe, FIS does give out a bit of homework on Fridays (also simple spelling and math tests once a week in lower primary years).

These two schools are actually quite different in the above areas, it should not be that hard to pick.

And why do you think FIS secondary is “not that good”? If merely by looking at their IB results (FIS vs ESF in general), then you have to remember that they have different number of students taking the IB exams every year, more than 850 students from ESF vs around 30 students from FIS. School cultures (parents' roles) play a role too, if you get what I mean.

Also, your child will not be in secondary school until many years later, I would personally focus on primary first, who knows what would happen to the two schools in 10 years' time? Your family’s needs and values might change by then too. And who says you have to stay in one school from kindergarten to high school?  

Last but not least, full day nursery should not be a reason for you to choose FIS at all, not if you have considered all the points above. You can easily let your child go to after school activities for more social interactions if you pick a half-day kindergarten.

vivian_825

melobi12 發表於 23-12-18 08:01
Things you can consider:

1. Different vibes and school cultures;

Thanks for your detailed reply.

Regarding to nationality mix, may I ask if it has a significant change in recent years?

We have seen a report from government showing less than 20% of the students hold local passport.

We want to send our daughters to a school with more non-Asian.

chima_pigpig

vivian_825 發表於 23-12-18 14:02
Thanks for your detailed reply.

Regarding to nationality mix, may I ask if it has a significant c ...

If you are looking for non-Asian, both FIS (international stream) and ESF might not be a good fit.

We have been accepted by ESF TY K1 and went there for the first few days in Sept 2022, in my son's class, there were only 2 mixed babies (my son was one of those) and 2-3 south Asian, we left ESF after the first few days.

And in FIS (international stream), the mix is more diverse, however, most of them are still Asians, i.e. Korean, Indian, Singaporean, Vietnamese, and some mixed children. In French stream there are more non-Asian.

So if you are purely looking into race, I think you should go for French stream.

vivian_825

chima_pigpig 發表於 23-12-18 15:16
If you are looking for non-Asian, both FIS (international stream) and ESF might not be a good fit.
...

Thanks for your detailed sharing!

I think it’s still good to us given there should be some joint streams classes.

May I ask which school did your son go at last?

chima_pigpig

vivian_825 發表於 23-12-18 15:31
Thanks for your detailed sharing!

I think it’s still good to us given there should be some joint ...

we are currently in FIS TKO campus, next year will move to Kellett for the new academic year

vivian_825

chima_pigpig 發表於 23-12-18 15:44
we are currently in FIS TKO campus, next year will move to Kellett for the new academic year

May I ask why would your son move to Kellett in the next academic year? Anything not good about FIS?

chima_pigpig

vivian_825 發表於 23-12-18 15:51
May I ask why would your son move to Kellett in the next academic year? Anything not good about FIS ...

My husband is British, we will go back to UK for forth form, so we chose Kellett

melobi12

vivian_825 發表於 23-12-18 14:02
Thanks for your detailed reply.

Regarding to nationality mix, may I ask if it has a significant c ...

It is not that helpful to look at the percentage of foreign passport holders at FIS, because that figure would be bumped up by French stream students. That said, FIS TKO has to maintain a student body with 98% of them holding a foreign passport, so most of the international stream students are FP holders as well.

To the best of my knowledge, a school with predominantly non-Asians does not exist in Hong Kong, unless you meant non-Chinese families, or if you attended French stream of FIS.

vivian_825

chima_pigpig 發表於 23-12-18 16:19
My husband is British, we will go back to UK for forth form, so we chose Kellett

I see I see

vivian_825

melobi12 發表於 23-12-18 18:06
It is not that helpful to look at the percentage of foreign passport holders at FIS, because that f ...

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, it’s more appropriate to use the word “non-Chinese” families.

We want to find a school with more non-Chinese families.

canteen31

vivian_825 發表於 23-12-18 18:47
Sorry for the confusion. Yes, it’s more appropriate to use the word “non-Chinese” families.

We ...

For my girl’s class in TKO, roughly 1/3 is Chinese, 2/3 is mix or Non-Chinese. In Jardine campus, about 1/5 is Chinese.

vivian_825

canteen31 發表於 23-12-18 20:35
For my girl’s class in TKO, roughly 1/3 is Chinese, 2/3 is mix or Non-Chinese. In Jardine campus, a ...

Thanks!!

Good to know!!

melobi12

vivian_825 發表於 23-12-18 18:47
Sorry for the confusion. Yes, it’s more appropriate to use the word “non-Chinese” families.

We ...

Then FIS would be one of the best options for you based on this criteria. Many Chinese families do not even consider FIS because Chinese-learning is near non-existent at school.

nnnachy

I had exactly the same struggle a year ago and finally chosen FIS.
We’ve been attending playgroup at hillside however i found the campus of FIS is far more attractive than Hillside.

vivian_825

nnnachy 發表於 23-12-21 02:48
I had exactly the same struggle a year ago and finally chosen FIS.
We’ve been attending playgroup a ...

Yes the campus of FIS is far more attractive than Hillside!

Your child is attending the Chai Wan campus or TKO campus?