Beacon Hill or ICS??

MomMom

My son is now studying in ICS K1.  He was admitted by Beacon Hill P.1 in the coming Sept.  

My son is very happy in ICS & I find the school is very good.

How should I choose?

Any parent has kid study in Beacon Hill?  Is it a good school?

MomMom

One of my friend give me comment is

Quote
For me, I will choose ESF, because of
1) long history
2) large organization
3) traditional UK style (children are more gentle).   
     My perception US style is a bit wild.

Are you agree?

Listen

The first two reasons may be right, but not for the third one.  Most of my friends who know ICS and ESF very well (one of them is the principal of a very famous international school) comment that the students in ICS are well-disciplined than ESF because ICS is a very solid Christian school.  The children in my church can be a good example.  There are two different groups of students, one from ICS and one from ESF.  Being  Sunday school teachers, we can see the difference in their learning attitude and behaviour.

andante

may i have the full name of ICS, please.  i'm a novice in this field.  

Listen

ICS stands for International Christian School

Ruby1219

Thank you Esmond's mom.

Had surfed their website. Still a few points to clarify :
1) where is their primary/elementary school ? in Fo Tan ?
2) do they 'prefer' Christian, what if I'm a Catholic ? (both me and my son are Catholics)
3) do they require any debentures ?
4) what's the required age for their Grade 1 ? 5 or 6 ?

Sorry for asking so many questions.

Thanks,
Ruby

MomMom

Re:  ICS

1)  At the moment, their Kinder & Elementary is in
     Shatin - Fotan.  They said in 2007, they will move
     to a new campus in Shu Lik Yuen (Shatin).

2)  I'm also catholic, they also admitted my so.  So I
      think religion is not so important.

3)  They do not require debentures.

4)  Grade 1 is 6 years old then onwards.

Ruby1219

MomMom,

Thank you very much.
You son is now studying there ? Is it good ? I've never heard of ICS before. Is it easy to enrol ? Cos' I just prepared to enrol my son for ESF, he's turning 5 years old next year, no other backups.

Ruby

MomMom

Yes, my son is studying there (in P1) and it is very good.

I think it is not too difficult if you apply their K.1 class.  You can call their office for detail application information.

Please note as they are in American education system.  They are K1-3 & then primary.  K1 is 3 years old (must 3 years old in 1 Sept.)

Ruby1219

Sorry, how old is your son ? how come he is admitted by ESF P.1 when now he is just K.1 ? (same as my son, but he can only apply ESF next year)

Ruby1219

No, MomMom, my son is already in K.1 (Anfield International Kindergarten), he will be eligible to ESF P.1 next Easter, will apply for him in this coming September. I'm just worrying if he fails in ESF (touch wood), maybe I need to find a backup for him. But I don't want to transfer him from Anfield to ICS for kindergarten (btw, how much is their kindergarten?), I just want ICS as an alternative to him for primary school. Therefore, I'm not sure whether I should apply now or wait until the year he is turning 5 (for they accept 6-year-old for P.1). Do you have any idea ?

Thank you very much.

Ruby

MomMom

Actually your case is quite similiar with me.  Before my son had studied in Sunnyside K2 (from Sept 2003 - Jan 2004).  Later, ICS admitted my son in Dec 2003 for K1 (because my boy is a small boy, he born in Oct 1999) and they required me to switch him imm in Feb. K1.  So I switch him to ICS this Feb. 2003.  In between, Beacon Hill admitted my boy for their P.1 in Sept. 2004.  I hope you can understand.

In your case, you can study in Anfield until K3 (in case ESF not accepted your son) then switch to ICS for their P.1.  But I think kindergarten is more easy to admit then elementary in ICS.  You can call their office and ask whether you can apply their P.1 for the year 2006 now.

The kindergarten fee is $3,800.00per month.

cpmummy

Ruby1219,

Sorry for distrub you, I know you are eagerly to get information about the primary school. But I am glad to know your son is studying in Anfield Int'l. Would you mind to let me know what do you think about Anfiled? Are they good? Did your son speak fluent english?
Are you son is big boy? Why you didn't let your son to complete K2 before he goes into P1 (because you said he eligible to ESF P1 for Easter). Is that mean that kids can apply for ESF P1 when they turn 5 year old even they don't complete K2?
Sorry so many questions......

cpmummy

Ruby1219

MomMom,

I see. Thank you for your detailed explanation. So, you are now in the dilemma of whether switch your son from ICS K.1 (why he is no K.2 in ICS?) to ESF P.1. It's really a complicated case. Which ESF had admitted your son ? I'm going to apply for Beacon Hill School (in Kowloon Tong) and heard that it's really difficult (cos' quota is small), therefore I'm really worrying. It's really great that I 'accidentally' heard about ICS from you. But I prefer to just apply for their Elementary, don't prefer to change during kindergarten as my son is doing quite well now. I also guess that Elementary might be more difficult. Anyways, I'll apply for ICS as backup (i'm now actually filling in their form), just gain more chance mar.
So, have you made up your mind yet ? When's your deadline to reply ESF ?

MomMom

Yes, you are correct.  I am dilemma of whether switch my son from ICS K.1 to ESF P.1.  The dealine already passed and I paid the deposit of $10,000 already.  Beacon Hill accepted my boy.  Over 70% I will choose Beacon Hill.

Why not K2 in ICS?  It is because my boy is a small boy (born in Oct) and ICS required "enough age" (足歲) so my son has no choice to go to their K1 instead of K2 but ESF's calculation is not like that.  So my son can jump from K1 to their P.1.

I give you a tips - hand in the form (ESF) as early as possible e.g. 8:00am that morning.  I handed the  the form around 10:00am that day so I can't get an interview in 1st round.  Moreover, if possible apply KJS which is more easy.

MomMom

Ruby 1219,

You are filling the form of ICS?  Apply their Elementary or Kinder.  ICS really is a good kinder.
Why you like Beacon Hill so much?  I think ICS is not worse than ESF.

I consider Beacon Hill is mainly because of their location and my boy can study P.1.  I find he is too big to study K1 now.  

Ruby1219

cpmummy,

to answer your questions :
my son is now 4 years old, he's borned in March 2000, i.e. 'big son'. therefore, he can enrol for ESF P.1 by next year's Summer term i.e. after Easter. That is, it's kind of he is having one more chance (earlier) than the others to enrol in ESF. so, why not ?
my son started in Anfield since pre-programme i.e. pre-kindy. of course i think they are good, otherwise i won't let him stay there, the teachers are very nice and patient and my son really enjoy his school life there.
he speaks fluent English, actually, his English is much better than his Cantonese. i think it's not just because he's studying in Anfield for 2 years, but we used to speak to him all in English before he was 3, because my Philiippino maid only speaks English and also we planned to prepare him for international school.
hope i'd answered all your questions.
so, you are considering Anfield ?