ESF Kindergarten Tsing Yi - not even given an interview?

123mummy

I can't believe it! We have applied for K1 at Esf tsing yi and were looking forward to have interview / play session. Unfortunately just got a letter saying our son would be placed on the wait list. They said they have received a large number of application and they are not in the position to offer our son a place. Application fee is 300 peer person, I wonder how much money they make from it. Feel ripped off!

minirat

FattyDaddy 發表於 13-12-4 12:56
Yes, not having a clearly stated priority is hardly reassuring, but if you are aiming for ESF primar ...

I share your views.  Another reason why we decided not to apply is becoz there is no ESF kinder which is close to us, and for the "not stated priority" and the fact that ESF school is not our first choice, we are reluctant to switch to ESF at K1 (from his current PN school) even if we are lucky enough to get a spot.  Of course now that I read this thread, it is unlikely that we will get a spot anyway...

FattyDaddy

minirat 發表於 13-12-4 11:27
Anyway if there is no clearly stated priority, it will be risky to put our child in ESF kinder and then rejected by ESF school at Year 1 ...

Yes, not having a clearly stated priority is hardly reassuring, but if you are aiming for ESF primary schools for your child, attending an ESF kindergarten will not be any more risky than attending a non-ESF one.

I also think it is weird for ESF to not give priority to their own kindergartens, at least not officially, this will only harm their kindergartens but bring no overall benefits to the foundation. One possible explanation is they are planning to phase out their kindergartens altogether, and not giving priority is a step preparing for that eventuality, but this is unlikely because they are going to open a new kindergarten in Tung Chung, so ... I'm just as baffled as you.

minirat

FattyDaddy 發表於 13-10-31 14:05
This is true, so how that will turn out has yet to be seen, but I don't think it will be very differ ...

I agree with your theory.  Nevertheless it is weird that they did not include their kinder students in the priority criteria.  Anyway if there is no clearly stated priority, it will be risky to put our child in ESF kinder and then rejected by ESF school at Year 1.  By then, it will be too late to apply for some of the IS, since most of them start from K2 or K3.  This is the reason why we decided not to apply for ESF kinder, but try our luck with ESF school at later stage instead.

minirat

newdaddy 發表於 13-10-29 13:04
Why did you still aplly for ESF K1 instead of Year 1?
Last year, there were lots of ESF Kinder stude ...

My understanding is that ESF kinder students no longer have priority for interviews to ESF schools, except RC.  Is this correct?

MrsChikChik

I received a letter from them saying play session will be conducted in Jan. Only child. We are not rich, didnt attend their playgroup, holding hk passport.

lalasmile

really cant believe they reponded so fast!

123mummy

By the way I have heard that holding a foreign passport may help,  but this is not the case. We are holding American passport ( but our kids were born in hk though) , do they prefer European and those who were born abroad?  I would have just enrolled my son into a local school downstair if HK education syllabus is not this disappointing. Looks like IS is a better option  but I hate the fact that most ISs in hk have become too commercial.

123mummy

回復 chumiguan 的帖子

How I filled in the form....we put down English as our family language. We didn't join their playgroup though.... It could be one of the reasons. Great if you could let me know how it goes with your application. Good luck.

123mummy

回復 c200 的帖子

Yes. They said all applications will be processed after end of Oct. They are super efficient, aren't they?

steplovebb

Can't agree more
The new policy makes them easier to screen the kids they really look for without the pressure from ESF kinders parents

FattyDaddy

JeanTUNG 發表於 13-10-31 13:16
Remember that ESF changes the priority this year.  The offer rate for this year will change.

This is true, so how that will turn out has yet to be seen, but I don't think it will be very different.

From 2015 onwards, ESF primary schools will no longer give interview priority to ESF kindergartens, but I should think the preference is still there. If ESF primary schools starts to accept less and less pupils from ESF kindergartens, it will make the kindergartens less attractive and unless ESF is planning to phase out their kindergartens altogether (a possibility nonetheless), I see no reason why ESF should do something to hurt their own kindergarten business.

JeanTUNG

Remember that ESF changes the priority this year.  The offer rate for this year will change.

FattyDaddy

luckyveronique 發表於 13-10-31 11:42
约60%入到esf primary，加埋两間PIS，可达90%，“so many”入唔到應該有D夸。。。

60% and 90% is about right.

"So many 入唔到" could be an impression one gets from internet forums, because people tend to post bad news more than good news, this is natural.

luckyveronique

约60%入到esf primary，加埋两間PIS，可达90%，“so many”入唔到應該有D夸。。。

ktschan

simoncho1 發表於 13-10-29 12:24
Apply ESF = Lucky Draw
但入到K都要考慮一點
入到K唔一定入到grade 1

Any reason why so many K students not admitted to primary school? I thought there's still some priority.

chumiguan

I just wonder how do you fill in the form. My hubby and I are both having Cantonese as our first language. I speak in English with my daughter.
My co-worker's daughter get a place in ESF TY last year (she is K1 now). She was in ESL playgroup the quarter before application, and my co-worker also stated both of them are having English as their first language. I'm not sure whether these criteria distinguish between those will be granted an interview and those are not. I also think that my chance of getting an interview is very low. As mentioned in previous post, I just submitted the application 3 days ago, and sent the supporting doc today. If the wait list is by date if application, I must be at the last of the queue.

c200

ESF should not send out the waiting list letter during the application period, if they send it out in NOV, I dont think "123Mummy" will complain about it.

newdaddy

Why did you still aplly for ESF K1 instead of Year 1?
Last year, there were lots of ESF Kinder students who could not get intervews for ESF Year! Also if you don't belong to the "priority group", you chance of finally getting promoted to Year 1 is slim :(