想入 Winchester 或 Tonbridge 是否太妙想天䦕？

wmt

各位前輩,
咩係AA?
搵AA同搵british council有咩分別?
係唔係有D學校係有agent 代理的? 自己寫信去學校apply唔比agent好?
邊間學校D宿舍好D乖D? 除左TERM BREAK, 全部唔使出去住?

CPU1995

原帖由 wmt 於 13-01-20 發表
各位前輩,
咩係AA?
搵AA同搵british council有咩分別?

AA= Academic Asia

我所識的朋友包括我2個仔入到全英排名100以內甚至頭20排名的boarding個個都經AA, 雖然阿大最終放棄經AA申請的offers, 其它agent所掛的學校排名似乎冇AA嘅高, 經AA入表申請還有一本厚厚介紹英國boarding的書送。

British Council唔係agent,只提供教育資訊和入學試監校服務。

如學校有agent, 我會搵agent, 可以慳番考每間學校在British Council監考每間學校約HK$2000的監校費，如你考4間，便需$8000監校費。個人覺得有些agent的監校程序一定冇British Council嘅厳緊。

如學校是fully boarding，不像小兒讀的weekly boarding, 只有term break才去host family.

Weekly boarding很煩，星期六日要去hosting family住，前天小兒因大雪火車飛幾個站攪到要幾個鐘先自已去到host family, 今天好彩冇嘅大雪才可返到學校, 返到學校還即刻考AS level Economics.

學費貴的學校通常俾學費平的學校住宿好，不過友人讀的Monmouth住宿非常好，因學校有當地distinct council資助。

demio

回復 大眼仔mama 的帖子

恭喜晒!

Oundle係我地的dream school!

Choisumwong

Please beware the academic level of Oundle school. It seems that A level result is lagging much behind GCSE result especially for science subjects.

demio

回復 Choisumwong 的帖子

Really?  I'm not aware of this!

Any other recommendations for co-ed schools?  We are planning to send my son to UK in 2014 for Year 7 and have the following schools in our mind:-
- Oundle School
- Oakham School
- Sevenoak School
- St Olave's Schook, York
- The Leys, Cambridge

My son is good at science and maths and therefore if anyone here can enlighten me about the school that would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.

peter_pan

Out of these schools, Sevenoaks is definitely the best, closely followed by Oundle. The other 3 are on fairly similar level - you can also consider Dauntsey's School which is also on similar level.
If you are thinking of St Olave's which feeds into St Peter's, you should also consider Junior King's School Canterbury which feeds into King's School Canterbury. I would consider this school to be at least as good as, if not better than Oundle.

Choisumwong

Please check the A level and GCSE result in Oundle school websit and compare them for the past few years. The admission head of Oundle avoided my question of the obvious gap between A level and GCSE results.I only know Sevenoaks school and already submitted application.Sevenoaks is nearly the best school in UK. It is the fiirs in the school ranking by FT.

demio

Thanks, peter_pan and choisumwong.

In fact, we submitted application to all schools by ourselves except The Leys.  AA also suggested The Leys and Dauntsey's School.  I did consider King's Canterbury but gave up because it is not a 一條龍 school.

NLai

其實去AA做個test，佢話你知呀仔可以考邊間，你咪知係咪夢想，我身邊D朋友D仔女，都係入top school, 良心講，一年花咁多錢俾佢出嚟，如果吾係學有所成，不如慳番D首期，俾佢將來置業實際D，而家好多外國人都話投資大學回報吾同以前啦。都係果句，如果佢願讀，乜學校都考到既，我哋做呀媽，再辛苦都甘心，如果係要求既，由佢啦，我係英國見好多留學生D英文差到你吾信，日日拿住個名牌袋週街行，我心唸枉你父母一番心血，有錢買多兩本書好過買袋啦

CPU1995

我身邊的朋友入到的top independent school個個都真是學有所成，差個D都入到London U, 我相信top ind school真是有d魔法令學生叻D，不過返到香港大部份都唔見揾得幾多。

身邊有個會考5分在香港讀band3中中，過英國讀完foundation跟著入了間排名幾後的大學，現在都讀得幾好，一年後都叫英國大學畢業。

其實如冇太多慳錢，不如留番d錢俾他們過英國讀大學好過由year 9讀中學，另外，英國的教學都唔注重文法，香港的學生的written English好過英國絕對唔出奇。

peter_pan

Demio,
Regarding Junior King's School, Canterbury, I have mentioned in another post that they grade their candidates into 3 tiers. The top tier students will be invited to sit their scholarship exam but both 1st tier & 2nd tier students are given a guaranteed place in the senior school - 13+ exam will still be taken at the end of year 8 but it will be used for setting purpose only (ie, they'll only need to pass it but how well they do will determine what set they'll be in for that subject when they start at the senior school). The bottom tier will not be guaranteed a senior school place but can still get in if they do well in the 13+ exam.
So if you like the senior school, it is still worth applying. if your kid get into the top 2 tiers, then it is no different from 一條龍.

hkparent

Why not study at international schools in HK, which cost only $15000-$20000/month? It's cheaper than sending kids to boarding school in the UK which can cost $30000-$50000/month.

demio

回復 peter_pan 的帖子

Thanks peter-pan for your advice.

I am now looking at the school again and will seriously reconsider this school   我地之前一心想佢入 Oundle, Oakham or Severoaks, 但又擔心入唔到, 希望佢入到理想學校 - 一間學業及運動及個人品格發展等等都平衡的學校.

CarrieTse

回復 hkparent 的帖子

Have your ever tried to get a place in the international schools in HK?  I really want to get a Year 9 placement,  please advise which internaitonal school has vacancy and will have higher chance.

peter_pan

Demio,
I take my hat off to you for having done your homework well.
Presumably you are looking at academically strong school with a high % of boarders that have their own year 7.
Your 3 target schools are already the best there is.
Do have a rethink about King's but at the end of the day, it is tough for your son to have to sit too many entrance exams so personally I would limit it to 3 schools only.
If your son is very bright, then by all means try Sevenoaks but there aren't many places on offer as they have a quota system for different regions of the world because they want a more even distribution of nationality in the school - so not too many places for Hong Kong students.
Your next best choice is Oundle if you want a proper through train school. Regardless of what others may say about Oundle, I can't think of a better school that can fit your criteria.
As for the others, I don't have a preference except to say that I think St Peter's, York is supposedly better value for money as their fees are a little lower!

hkparent

I see. You may still apply and perhaps wait for a couple of years for a spot. Some foreign kids may go back to their home countries at upper secondary and release places.
Unless aiming at Oxbridge, I can't see the case for sending a 13-year old kid to UK as it will definitely weaken the parent-child bond in future.

demio

回復 peter_pan 的帖子

Thanks, peter-pan

大眼仔mama

前面有幾位說Oundle非常commercial, 但我並不覺得, 可能阿仔是考Lower Sixth, 同低班程序有所不同. 其實我地對送囝囝去英國升學, 在上年6月之前都無任何準備, 係有點即慶, 突然覺得有需要, 於是便同老公分頭問人同攞意見. Oundle不是AA介紹的, 也不在AA的Top school list, 是朋友極力推薦的. 後來問AA, 經佢地做左第一次聯絡, 之後我地直接同Oundle deal, 包括interview and entrance exam. Interview 在shangri-la business centre, 囝囝入房見半個鐘, 我同老公在外面見在半個鐘. 喜歡Oundle是因為Chinese and Asian比較少, 係一間幾local既學校, 佢地Lower Sixth每年插班收好少學生, 要Year 11有學生退學唔讀Year 12才有位, 在佢地website都有寫Lower Sixth每年收約十幾人, 香港大約佔幾個. Oundle不是strong at Science既學校, 佢地文理科學生係一半半, 什至文科比較多, 所以公開試成績會較unstable, 但不是他們質數差.

另外, Oundle本來收左囝囝, offer左academic scholarship,仲比埋first term fee. 如果不是Tonbridge後來收左, 我地都已經好心滿意足, 但Tonbridge實在太勁, 無可抗拒. 而Oundle知道我地唔讀, 佢地竟然肯refund番成期first term fee比我地, 只收registration fee, 這點証明他們不是那麼commercial, 只向錢看.

從朋友那對在Oundle畢業入左LSE同Cambridge既子女, 到我地親自同佢地老師同chairman傾談, 加上AA大力推薦同比意見, 我自己放棄左, 但唔希望大家對這間好學校, 未試未見就留有壊印象.

希望大家的子女都能入到理想既學校, 學有所成.

demio

回復 大眼仔mama 的帖子

大眼仔mama,

我地對Oundle印象很好, 老公有同事的仔女係度讀書,而老公亦去過學校及同registrar見面傾過, 所以我地都好希望呀仔入到.

你仔仔好叻, 入到Tonbridge. 我唔知呀仔入唔入到我地希望佢入的學校, 但我地只係考慮男女校,因為重有個妹,希望佢地可以係同一間學校讀書.