ISF vs VSA, which one is better?

avaya

Both of them are relatively new.  VSA primary and secondary are a bit older than ISF.  Both focus on bilingual Chinese and English education.   VSA schools fees is cheaper than ISF.  Both have nice and decent school buildings and facilities.  ISF is still under expansion.   Any ideas?

亞Boo

原帖由 wenwan 於 12-12-06 發表
亞Boo,

I have to say VSA is a very good school especially their PYP program and you have made a go ...

Fantastic Your kind sharing is highly appreciated! Thank you very much Wenwan. Cheers...

wenwan

原帖由 亞Boo 於 12-12-06 發表
Wenwan, thanks again. Your comment is neutral and it seems VSA did improve a lot.  Based on your obs ...

亞Boo,

I have to say VSA is a very good school especially their PYP program and you have made a good choice, so go for it!


Most VSA kids are tri-lingual, fluent in three languages. They usually converse in English and Cantonese in the playground, Putonghua during Chinese lesson. Their written ability is not bad either but might varies among students.  That's why teachers will divide the students into groups according to their level and teach accordingly.  Twice a year, parents are required to attend "learning journey" ( some kind of exhibition) showing the students project and their work.  The students will be presenting their projects and parents need to give them comments.  Through these exhibition, you will know what your child has learned at school, not only Chinese, English and Math, but also their research skills, presentation skills.  


I would like to elaborate more on homework.  Homework are given out every Monday and due the next Monday.  After two years of time management training, he knows how to prioritize tasks. To be honest, since year 1, I have stopped nagging him and he is in auto pilot mode.  He will only ask for help when needed.  


As for the learning attitude, the teachers do care about their learning attitude, they will email or call the parents when something is not right.  All the kids I know are very positive and eager to learn, not lay back or "hea" at all.   VSA report card even grade the student's learning attitude.


Why I switched school?  VSA does have a better Chinese and Math curriculum than CIS, however, CIS have a better MYP and DP programs.  Their 2012 IB scores are one of the best in HK.  Their universities placement are so promising.  And I know from friends that the learning atmosphere in CIS is so positive and strong.  CIS also encourages kids to do sports and my boy loves sports. And I hope my boy can not only excel academically but also in sports.  

Hope I have made a right decision for my boys!

poonseelai

I believe universities' requirement on Chinese would get higher as more students in HK are taking IB Chinese.  Schools with more emphasis on Chinese (CIS, ISF and VSA) may have some advantange.

HKTHK

回復 elmostoney 的帖子

Very good to hear.  Sounds like VSA has made great strides compared to some of the other comments before.  I wish ISF has the same type of after school math classes for those who are interested.

On Chinese, it sounds like VSA is about the same or slightly behind ISF.  Pinyin are taught in Foundation Year which is the equivalent of K3.  Grade 1 students are typing in pinyin already.

poonseelai

elmostoney 發表於 12-12-6 09:29
I am also keen to learn more about VSA.  A friend of mine has a child there at lower primary, so i h ...

Don't worry, those workshops are not mandatory.  In fact, working parents would find it hard to attend all of them as most workshops are held at 8:30 am.  Parents would know more about what students are doing at school and how parents can help.  

elmostoney

I am also keen to learn more about VSA.  A friend of mine has a child there at lower primary, so i hear a lot from her.  I think VSA has changed a bit since wenwen's time.  1 hour of hw is minimum for year 1, and a bit more time is required for year 2, etc.  Parents are asked to attend reading and math workshops on a regular basis so they can assist the child at home.  According to my friend, they have hired a math specialist from the UK to develop these math games and coordinate the curriculum.  Gifted kids are hand-picked.  E.g. gifted kids in math can do after school classes (free) with 4 teachers to 9 kids.  

Expect the parent to be quite involved at lower primary.  Since the school runs IB, much work is research-based.  E.g. lately for a transportation theme, the child is asked to come up with a list of transports, why do people use them, and why some of them are no longer in use, etc.  Let's just say it's not completely within a 7-yo's ability to handle it alone.  

For Chinese, as they already master 拼音 at year 1, they are expected to type out a Chinese composition using pinyin by Year 2.  I am sure their Chinese curriculum is harder than CIS, if not ISF.   They are now learning multiplication at Year 2 (first term).  According to my friend, that is ahead of most average LS.  

All in all, VSA has augmented their academic standard again beginning from lower primary during the last 2 years.  Even the school publicly declared that to be so.  So it's not quite the same for Year 1 students 3 or 4 years ago.

Since VSA kids are mostly from local HK families and Cantonese is not prohibited on school grounds, English ability of VSA children will not be as good as CIS.  But again, CIS' Chinese is not as good as VSA.  So take your pick.

亞Boo

Wenwan, thanks again. Your comment is neutral and it seems VSA did improve a lot.  Based on your observation, how's the language ability of the kids there?  Good? Fluent in English? Eager to learn or just keep playing around? Sorry for keep asking as my little one got the P1 offer from VSA finally and it's important to know more about this school. Thanks.

BTW, do you mind to share with us why you switched your boy to CIS instead?

wenwan

原帖由 亞Boo 於 12-12-04 發表
Wenwan, thanks for the detailed information. So, your boy switched to CIS after 2 years studied in V ...

亞Boo,
Yes, my son switched to CIS after spending two years with VSA.  I don't see VSA kids have discipline problem.  The principal and the teachers do care a lot about the students discipline.  They might be naughty sometimes but they know when to behave properly.  For example, the kids are dead quite during assembly, those who speak improper language will be punished, teachers will also send emails or call parents to notify them.  Teachers know who are the bullies and will keep an eye on them all the time.  

All the primary kids are well disciplined.  Some secondary students might speak foul language but I guess they just represents the minority.

Starrynite

HKTHK 發表於 12-12-1 15:51
If any CKY parents or parents of other school can put down theirs as well, it will be great since I  ...

Are there any International Christian School (ICS), Renassiance College (RC) and Canadian International (CDNIS) parents who can chip in? Really appreciate it!

亞Boo

原帖由 wenwan 於 12-12-01 發表
VSA curriculum is good but CIS is a bit better. I guess VSA is a new school and they are still fine  ...

Wenwan, thanks for the detailed information. So, your boy switched to CIS after 2 years studied in VSA?  Any insights about the discipline of the kids in VSA? Some negative comments about VSA posted in forum before, true or not? Please share if you don't mind, thanks.

wenwan

avaya, most of CIS families are rich but not like every one is as rich as Martin Lee or Victor Lee.  There are still a lot of parents who are not very rich but very reputable in their professions.

As for VSA, the majority is middle class to upper middle class but they still have very rich family like 羅傑成。

avaya

Would it be fair to say CIS/ISF students are from relatively richer families while VSA are mostly from local HK middle class families?

wenwan

Yes, CIS has more non ethnically Chinese than VSA. Not sure about the percentage but in my boy's class, there are 8 non ethnically Chinese or mixed race kids out of 22 kids.  In some classes, there are about 4 to 8 non ethnically Chinese kids.  In VSA, he used to have 3/4 mixed race kids out of 28 kids in his class.  Another interesting fact about student mix is that CIS has equal number of each gender, 44boys and 44 girls in each year band.

Regarding the ethnic culture, CIS is more westernized, there is no flag racing ceremony, no singing of national anthem but they will still teach Chinese history.  But in terms of learning culture, both schools are very similar.

shadeslayer

HKTHK 發表於 12-12-1 15:50
回復 wenwan 的帖子

wenwan,

Culture:  I would imagine quite similar to CIS and VSA.  

xxxxxx


The history, faculty and student mix define the culture.  I don't know for sure but I imagine CIS is quite different from VSA or CKY.


It is not easy to get admitted to any of these schools.  If I have a choice and money is not a concern, CIS seems to be a much safer bet.

HKTHK

回復 shadeslayer 的帖子

I will let wenwan speak to the % of non-ethnically Chinese students at CIS.  It is tough to quantify at ISF as there are quite a number of mixed ethnicity children.

shadeslayer

HKTHK 發表於 12-12-1 21:16
回復 shadeslayer 的帖子

In which sense?

To me, a more balanced mix of international students is an advantage.

CIS:
From CIS web site:

Happy, motivated, multi-talented and multi-lingual, CIS's 1,400 students come from over 1,000 families and diverse backgrounds. While about two-thirds of students are ethnically Chinese, they represent some two dozen nationalities with family roots in many parts of the world.


VSA/CKY, I believe almost all, if not all, are local Chinese.  VSA parents can confirm.


ISF: somewhere in between.

HKTHK

回復 shadeslayer 的帖子

In which sense?

musicien

Thank you all!

shadeslayer

原帖由 HKTHK 於 12-12-01 發表
If any CKY parents or parents of other school can put down theirs as well, it will be great since I  ...

There is one major difference between CIS and VSA. Student mix.