小學到英國

hkparagirl

the university's fee will be increased from 2012, up to GBP9000 max. (FYI)

DaphneCC1384

Thanks, I've heard of this. By the way, is it easy to rent a house/flat in UK?

Francis298

I can share my experience too. My family got the UK citizenship through 居英權. My wife and my childeren went to the UK 5 years ago. My children started with primary school (P2 and P4) and now they are all in secondary school. They are studying in Grammar school (local state school). No need to pay for school fee. I have the same comment as 'hkparagirl'. Student life here is easier. Not much homework. I prefer it as it helps the children to explore more themselves rather than the 'Duck Feeding' education system.

We rented house as well. 3 bed rooms detached house with garden. Around £600 a month. We lived in the middle west of England so the rental is not high.

You can go to the local property web sites for more information. The amount of rental fee depends on the location and size of the house where you are going to stay. Suggest you to find the school first before doing the house searching. Hope it helps.

[ 本帖最後由 Francis298 於 11-3-22 11:03 編輯 ]

DaphneCC1384

Thanks. We are in the same situation. I would really like to know more.

So, you are the one flying between UK/HK. Do you need to pay tax in UK though you don't work there? Will you enjoy same social benefits, like medical..., during your stay in UK with your family?

Francis298

Yes, I am the one doing the traveling.
I do not need to pay the income  tax in the UK as I did not register the NI (National Insurance). You are only required to register NI when you have a job locally in the UK. The only thing that I miss is the pension.

Medical benefit is available for you as long as you have a local address. For your children, free education in primary and secondary school as well as medical and dental benefits.

原帖由 DaphneCC1384 於 11-3-22 18:23 發表
Thanks. We are in the same situation. I would really like to know more.

So, you are the one flying between UK/HK. Do you need to pay tax in UK though you don't work there? Will you enjoy same social  ...

DaphneCC1384

Thank you very much.

Francis298

Some tips for you.

When you search for the primary school, you need to consider what secondary school you want your children to study as well. This is important as it determines where you are going to stay.

Go for the grammar secondary schools as the school facilities, support and public exam results are better. Your children need to take the 11+ exam when they are at P5 and P6. They need to get a certain scores in the exam before they can be admitted to grammar school. The test is similar to the previous 升中試 in HK.

The other advice I have is - look for somewhere you cannot find a lot of HK students. I believe you want your kids to get along well with the local community rather than forming a small HK group of students - talking in Cantonese at school.

You can access Ofsted UK website to learn more about the inspection report for each school. Very good piece of information for your reference.

原帖由 DaphneCC1384 於 11-3-22 22:08 發表
Thank you very much.

DaphneCC1384

You are just wonderful. Thanks for the tips. I will work into the websites.

By the way, are the UK kids response well to foreigners? Did your kids able to get friends easy when they first join the school?

pet88

Can you let me know the wed site for rental.

I am looking for a apartment in surrey.

lindalin02

www.rightmove.co.uk
www.foxtons.co.uk

原帖由 pet88 於 11-3-24 20:40 發表
Can you let me know the wed site for rental.

I am looking for a apartment in surrey.

Francis298

Sorry to respond late as I was on business trip out of HK during the past few days.

I have two boys. They both have different personality. The elder one is a bit quite and the younger one is quite outgoing.

They studied Yr 5 and Yr 2 when they first went to the UK. The younger one did not have any problem with the new environment and made friends easily. The elder one did not speak a lot in class and we needed to work with the teacher a special arrangement to support him.

The school arranged a teacher sitting next to him in class and encouraged him to speak more in yr 5 and 6. He finally got along well with his classmates and successfully passed the 11+ exam.

He is now studying in Yr 9 of a local grammar secondary school. I am quite happy with his school reports so far.

My experience told me that it is better to go earlier if parent is also around.

原帖由 DaphneCC1384 於 11-3-23 16:48 發表
You are just wonderful. Thanks for the tips. I will work into the websites.

By the way, are the UK kids response well to foreigners? Did your kids able to get friends easy when they first join the s ...

DaphneCC1384

The school is really supportive then. Thanks for the info and your great help.

PoYi

Dear Francis298
My family also have UK citizenship through 居英權. but I was told that if my son would like to study in UK for high school or University, we need to pay school fee as foreigh students. No benefit at all, unless we have paid the UK tax for at least 6 yrs.
Is it true?
Please advise.
Many thanks
PoYi

catz_heidi

你的小朋友幾多歲? 如果你地有居英權, 小朋友可以讀local school. 但係如果唔想俾overseas students fee for university, 咁讀大學之前就最少要留左響英國三年, 先至可以qualify as local student.

PoYi

Dear Catz_Heidi

Thank you for your advice.  My son is 13 and is studying F2.  He does not want to go to UK before finishing the IB here.
He prefers to study University in UK.
Does it mean that we have to pay foreign students fee as well?

Thanks
Poyi

twolilmonkeys

Hi Francis,
Can you tell us if the 11+ is diffcult? Can an average P5-P6 HK student cope with it?

In my days (late 70's ) there was no need for any exams to enter Grammar schools.

And how are your boys Chinese since they went to UK fairly early?

Thank you!

Francis298

The 11+ exam consists of 3 types of test papers - Verbal reasoning, English and Maths.

Verbal reasoning is a kind of aptitude test. Quite easy as long as your child has done the sample test papers. You can find some sample test papers in the web site.

11plus.co.uk

Maths is also easy. The most difficult part is English. A lot of tests on comprehension. Your child has to get at least 500 marks out of 700 (total marks for 3 papers).

Regarding Chinese, my boys are studying Chinese in the school now. Most of Grammar schools in England offer Chinese as one of the study languages. You cannot compare the standard in HK but at least they can read Chinese newspaper.

Francis298

PoYi,

As Catz_Heidi said, your child has to study in England for at least 3 years in order to enjoy the local student status. In this case, he/she has to pay the foreign student fee.

By the way, I was in England last two weeks. I learnt from the news that most of the Universities in England are confirmed to increase the school fee to £9,000 a year for local students. Foreign students will pay more but the figures are not confirmed yet.

原帖由 PoYi 於 11-4-15 11:44 發表
Dear Catz_Heidi

Thank you for your advice.  My son is 13 and is studying F2.  He does not want to go to UK before finishing the IB here.
He prefers to study University in UK.
Does it mean that we hav ...

PoYi

Hi Francis298

Thanks a lot for your advice.  I guess the school fee for local students and foreign students will not make much big difference later.

But guess the cost of living (accomodation/ food/travelling) is high in England esp London.

twolilmonkeys

Thank you Francis for your info.