Is it good at ISF

tingtingting

By the way, ISF is an independent school which is set not to associate with any particular religion.  This may or may not be everybody's cup of tea but caveat emptor, lest it matters.

tingtingting

School shopping is a keen sport among some parents.

tingtingting

Good for you.

Ving

Whether the teaching or academic is good or not might have different opinion.

But one thing for sure is that its' school fee and debenture is quite expensive among other IS especially for a new school without any solid public exam reference. I am not sure is it because the campus has no any subsidy from Government or too many expat teachers or other reasons?

kfy

Dear Spantan

ISF have the first graduating class this year. Hence the first university placement is not yet available. However, the school is rather transparent to the parents that they sent out in early March via circular an update about the university offers the students got.

I remember that the graduating class has around 20+ students and I can see around 60 offers already there. The info says that some universities will announce result in end March or Apr hence there may be more offers later.
Having said that it's a list of offers but not final placement. So both  eye-catching and less attractive offers were all listed out.

I read from the list, there is no Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard and Yale ... if that's the reason of your friends "not impressive" comment, I can see your friends should dislike the school. To be honest, if I find my kid having the quality and potential to attend Cambridge or Harvard, I would certainly send her to LPC United World College for IB DP class, if not go overseas earlier.

On the other hand, I find LSE, Kings College, St. Andrews, UBC, SCAD, HKU/CU/HKUST, etc. which, to my own standard, is not unimpressive.

I have my response here because I believe that the graduating students and the school are working very hard and I do not wish they are discouraged by comments based on incomplete information.

poonseelai

kfy 發表於 12-4-18 00:10
Dear Spantan

ISF have the first graduating class this year. Hence the first university placement is ...

perhaps some parents have a higher expectation in view of the amount of resources the school has (at least in terms of debenture and school fees)

bobbycheung

1. They are just offers.  Let's wait and see what the final outcome is.
2.  Even then, judging a school by just one year's result is hardly reliable and it's especially so when it is the school's first year result.
3.  The success of a school depends on a number of factors eg. the school's resources and facilities, the teachers' qualities, the students' qualities and the parental support etc.  I think the last 2 factors play a crucial role in a school's success.  Good results attract better students which will in turn lead to even better results.  It's like a circle that keeps on feeding itself  That's why a long track record is a very valuable asset for a school.   But then, it takes time to build up such a record.  We probably have to wait for a few years to see if ISF can do it.

kfy

Yes, and I hope that the graduating class students and parents know that most parents in ISF are supportive and positive to their hard work and achievements. Keep up with the effort and wish them good luck in IB exam.

kfy

Dear poonseelai and Ving

The capital notes is very expensive maybe because of limited supply and growing demand. Anyway, the majority of new students here (including my daughter) are not holders of capital notes. There are 180 students in G1 which make the school a big school now.

The tuition fee is among the top (I remember should be top 3 or 4 with HKIS, CIS, YC ...). It's due to small class size and high teacher ratio. If you compare with ESF of class size 30 while ISF has class size of 18 in G1, it's nearly double in teaching staff cost. Furthermore, the school has dedicated staff for curriculum head etc.  

I heard other ISF parents commenting that after almost 10 years, the primary school is on track and doing well now; while for the secondary school we need to let them go through the similar development stage. I think it's a fair comment. I really have not much understanding about secondary section though from the students I meet everyday in the campus, they are polite and humble from my perception.

poonseelai

kfy 發表於 12-4-18 10:48
Dear poonseelai and Ving

The capital notes is very expensive maybe because of limited supply and gr ...

I"t's due to small class size and high teacher ratio. If you compare with ESF of class size 30 while ISF has class size of 18 in G1, it's nearly double in teaching staff cost. Furthermore, the school has dedicated staff for curriculum head etc."  - This is exactly the reason why I guess some parents would have a higher expectation.  Each student should have received more guidance and assistance from teachers as compared to other schools, and that's why parents are willing to pay a higher school fee.  Anyway this is my wild guess only, and I cannot speak on behalf of any ISF parents.

bobbycheung

kfy 發表於 12-4-18 10:48
Dear poonseelai and Ving

The capital notes is very expensive maybe because of limited supply and gr ...

If you are talking about the really expensive school debentures, perhaps Kellet School will come first as its most expensive ones cost HK$10M each.  Anyway, please keep us informed of the first batch of students' university destination.  I hope they will do well even though my kids don't study there.

DoubleEE

Kfy, many thanks for your helpful information and comment on isf, my little one received the offer for foundation year 2012/13. We believe we have chosen the best school for our little one! Sometimes some people may find some " reasons" to attack isf, we need to do more research on the school and filter out the false info.

Anne1999

My girl is going to have  Grade 7 stage 1 - Chinese & English written test on May 7,anyone has an ideas they will ask?

Ving

Actually, Hong Kong parents are very realistic. With the high school fee in ISF, the parents definitely not only look for a big/comfortable campus for their children but also good academic record for university admission.

The other DNA for Hong Kong parents is "comparison". With other good IS schools in Hong Kong like CDIS, GSIS etc, parents will definitely ask the questions what's best if my children study in ISF. But unfortunately, the current situation for ISF is that it is "a conceptually good" school but without solid concrete public exam results for proof of concept. So, it may still take time to wait and see.

PS. I have no intention to attack any school, just share what's personlly observed and just ignore if you think that's nonsense.