French International School

topkidsmom

I am interested in FIS,  

Can anyone give me some comments about this school?

What do you think about the students?

What is the procedure of the interview in Secondary?
                  
Thank you......................................................!

arielle.w

I got too much to say about FIS but below are the basics:

- very strong in languages, esp. French
- elite school with excellent public exams results and university placement
- very small class size
- close community
- insufficient in-school ECAs
- small secondary school campus and not so facilitated comparing to other IS

I don't think it would be fair for me to comment on the students as I, myself, am from FIS, but you are welcomed to ask further questions.

As I know, you complete your application with application fees. Then, the admission officer will contact you for an entrance test. If the test result is satisfactory, you get to have an interview with the principal (or someone else, I'm not too sure if everyone gets to see the principal). You may finally be placed on waiting list but it really depends on your grade level.

topkidsmom

Thank you so much for your information arielle.w.

I hope you can help to answer some more questions as below:

Is it a problem someone did not know any French to start Form 1?
Do you think the level of English teaching is good?
How do you feel about the qualification of the teachers?
Do you feel your school mates are friendly?
Is there any bullying at the school?
If yes, how does the school or teacher handle it?
Is there a lot of homework?
If you had a choice will you choose this school to study?
If not, which one you would like to go?
For the interview, will the school want to interview the parents as well?

arielle.w

1. Is it a problem someone did not know any French to start Form 1?

Most of the Form 1 students are directly from FIS primary, so they already have knowledge in French. But French class in Form 1-3 is divided into groups according to level. Of course it is the best if your child already speak French before s/he enters FIS but for Form 1, it is not compulsory.

2. Do you think the level of English teaching is good?

Well of course! :) Although it is a French school, the English level in international section is just the same as other IS. Many people think we speak French at school but that is only the case for students in French section. In international section, we communicate and learn in English so the level of English teaching is just the same as other IS. In addition, sometimes you would find students who speak with a Chinese accent at other IS, but you wouldn't see this problem at FIS.

3. How do you feel about the qualification of the teachers?

I don't really know much about my teachers' education background, but as a student, I judge by telling who can teach and who can't. I am sure that in every school, there are teachers who can teach and there are those who can't. I can tell you that there indeed are teachers who are quite horrible at FIS (and this teacher I'm talking about particularly teaches one of the most important subjects at FIS) but they are the minority. Most of the teachers are really good :)

4. Do you feel your school mates are friendly?

Of course I do, or I wouldn't have fitted in the circle. (and it's just hard not to fit in!)

5. Is there any bullying at the school?

Bullying is not an issue at FIS. Actually, since FIS is a small "boutique school", as our principal calls it, students are really close to each other and every grade is like a family. Comparing to those larger sized schools, which have around 100-200 students per grade, it feels really warm to be at FIS since classes are really small and so we get to know each other very well. There basically isn't any secret between us cause' even if there is, everyone will know I have heard that in some other schools, some students who get excellent grades at school would be bullied since the others are jealous. But really, just don't worry. Everyone studying at FIS is good at academics basically so there's no such kind of bullying due to academic results.

6. Is there a lot of homework?

Yes, there is. The workload at FIS is quite heavy, especially in senior secondary. After all, it is a school that produces students with excellent grades. It's hard to escape from this homework bit.

7. If you had a choice will you choose this school to study?

In terms of academics, yes. In terms of social activities, not really.

Studying at FIS can really get me into a top university, which is like the "ultimate goal" of a student. FIS offers subjects that I love. And I am satisfied with all the aspects of the school, but quite honestly, FIS doesn't have that much connections with the "outer world". All the people from other IS are really curious about FIS because they think we're a "secret community". I have lots of friends from other IS and somehow school life at a big school seems intriguing to me. People have lots of fun with schoolmates in the same school, from different grades, and they also have lots of fun with people from other IS. You will see that there are only a few students from FIS who are really involved in the "wider social life". So if I had a choice, I might choose a bigger school. But still, I love FIS :)

8. For the interview, will the school want to interview the parents as well?

I am not too sure cause' I've never done a secondary interview at FIS! But what I guess is yes, because the school wants to know about the kid from your perspective. And when you talk about the course selection, it is always important that the parents are there.

topkidsmom

Hi, arielle.w
Thank you for your promt reply, it is very useful information. I appreciated your time.
:loveliness: :loveliness: :loveliness:

arielle.w

No problem :) Just contact me if you have any more questions.

eva007

Dear Arielle,
May I know the yearly fee of F1 at FIS?

hchu06

Hi Arielle,

I have a few question for you to advise:

1. I recently heard that the smoking problem in FIS is quite serious as compared to other IS. What do you think?

2. Would you mind telling us which grade are you now in?

3. How is the proficiency level of Chinese language of FIS students?

4. I saw your comment in the post about CDNIS students speaking Cantonese. How do you know? Are you actually FIS student or you were CDNIS student before? OR you are a parent and have kids studying in FIS and CDNIS? Sorry, I  am just curious.

Thanks.

[ 本帖最後由 hchu06 於 11-6-16 17:38 編輯 ]

arielle.w

The tuition fees for F1 at FIS is $100,900 per year, referring to:
http://www.fis.edu.hk/web/Default.aspx?r=1&lang=en-gb&e=1901

原帖由 eva007 於 11-6-16 12:40 發表
Dear Arielle,
May I know the yearly fee of F1 at FIS?

arielle.w

Hi hchu06,

1. I recently heard that the smoking problem in FIS is quite serious as compared to other IS. What do you think?

Actually, it is the French section that has smoking problem. If you go to Europe, you can see that lots of high school students smoke. This is like part of their culture, something that they can accept. Since the French section at FIS is a real French school, I admit that quite a lot of people from French section do smoke, but it isn't a problem for international section.

2. Would you mind telling us which grade are you now in?

I have actually just relocated back to Hong Kong from somewhere else. Before my relocation, I was a Year 12 student at FIS.

3. How is the proficiency level of Chinese language of FIS students?

I assume that you are referring to international section. Of course the Chinese level at FIS can't be compared to local schools, or some IS which are really "Chinese-based". But since many of us are of Chinese origins, our Chinese is not downright horrible. Students of other nationalities may have lower proficiency though.

4. I saw your comment in the post about CDNIS students speaking Cantonese. How do you know? Are you actually FIS student or you were CDNIS student before? OR you are a parent and have kids studying in FIS and CDNIS? Sorry, I  am just curious.

Well, this.. from my friends? Although I studied at FIS, I still got friends outside of FIS. I knew this from some friends from CDNIS, and some who transferred to other schools from CDNIS. I remember that this friend who attended CDNIS before told me that there was a white guy in his grade, who came to CDNIS without knowing any Cantonese, but ended up speaking fluent Cantonese at the time he graduated since many CDNIS students speak Cantonese at school. I confronted my friends who were studying at CDNIS. And they told me that it really depends on who you hang out with. There are some really local kids at CDNIS, especially in secondary section as there are quite a number of transferred students from local schools. They form their own social circle and they speak Cantonese amongst themselves. And when the others who are more "western-cultured" talk to them, they naturally switch to Cantonese. Sometimes, it's just unavoidable.

[ 本帖最後由 arielle.w 於 11-6-16 23:55 編輯 ]

hchu06

Hi Arielle,

Thanks for your reply which is very useful.

You told that you are now in Grade 12 of FIS. Did you do the IGCSE in Grade 10 and then the IB diploma exam in Grade 12? If you did, could you tell whether the IB exam is difficult?

Which university are you going to? How about the university placement for FIS graduates this year?

arielle.w

Hi hchu06,

I was in Year 12 (equivalent to Grade 11 in US and Canadian system, and L6 at FIS) before I relocated so I didn't take the final IB exams, which are to be finished in Year 13 generally (except CDNIS as I know). I did take IGCSEs in Year 11 though.

IB Diploma is one of the most prestigious university preparation course in the world so of course IB exams are difficult. From what I experienced from my first year IB mock exams at FIS, personally I think the materials are hard, but not unmanageable. The hardest part is actually to finish the whole paper within the time limit (meaning students have to write and think really fast), and to keep the energy going as some IB exams take 3 hours to finish.

I am not going to university yet but if you want to find out about university placements at FIS, please refer to:

http://www.fis.edu.hk/web/Defaul ... &e=1727&h=4;6;-1