HkA, CIS or australian intl好呢

wiman

我好想孩子讀IB，以前三間，請問怎衡量呢?那間教學、成績、學校風氣較優勝?

jolalee

Apply to all of course, because it is up to the school to choose students nowsdays for int'l schools in HK. AISHK uses the Australian curriculum, not IB, I believe, and many of their graduates go to Australuan universities. It is a good, well rounded school.

CIS & HKA are both academic strong schools with good student conduct (within the school). CIS of course has better Chinese, and the environment within is very competitive. If both schools accepts the child then it depends on the amount of Chinese you want your child to acquire, and where you want your child to go for University.

It also depends on the child himself/herself in terms of character fit. Australia more lively and out-going, CIS more compliant and hard-working, HKA for more well-to-do expat kids (I'm not as familiar with HKA).

wiman

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Thx, Jolalee. Your opinion is very useful. Sometimes I feel struggled as Chinese is an important nowadays , studying in CIS seems is a better choice. But as heard, most students' families of this school are from upper class. Is it truth? If graduated from CIS, which universities do they get?

jolalee

All the schools you've listed have wealthy families in them, esp HKA. However, CIS does accept some smart middle-class kids so you don't have to worry that everyone is super rich.

You can probably find out the list of Univerities they go to via the school (website or school visit), but basically all the top IS leads to good tertiary education. CIS does lead to some top UK & US Universities, but whether the kids has connections or parents donate to those top schools is another story. The same goes to all many top IS with well connected families in them, but the academic training there is sufficient for an intelligent child to go to a good Uni.

Given you asked about AISHK in particular, does your family have Australian priority?

blc_mama

If your child is neither Australian nor NZ passport holders basically it is impossible to get in Australian Intl School. I have heard that the school even does not have enough seats for the passport holders. And it runs Australian curriculum, not IB.

CIS and HKA are difficult to get in. I would suggest that if you are really determined to send your kid to an IB school, apply both schools. Bear in mind that CIS reception starts at the age of 4 while HKA starts at 3. Why don't you consider other IB schools? Given that it is really difficult to get in an international school nowadays, apply a few more schools for backup. Nobody knows what is the real chance of getting into a school due to keen competition

jolalee

blc_mama 發表於 14-5-24 15:20
If your child is neither Australian nor NZ passport holders basically it is impossible to get in Aus ...

Good advice, bic_mama. I applied for 6 schools for entry this year for my son and two of them wouldn't even give us an interview. However, of the 3 that did, plus one that does not require interview, they all gave my son a spot in the end. It is a matter of good preparation, the child's talent/ characteristics and LUCK (缺一不可). One cannot do too much about the later two, so it is a matter of good preparation on the parent's part. This includes applying to the sufficient amount of right schools at the right time. Honestly, even 2 weeks can make a difference...

A friend of mine only applied to 3, one didn't give her an interview and the other two put her twins on the waiting list (twins are extra hard), so now she has no choice but to keep them in the existing kindergarten. (thank goodness it is a great kindergarten). Still battling for a through-train spot....

blc_mama

I have heard a few cases that some expats (real native speakers, caucasians) even cannot get a spot for a through train IS at reception level. Competition is really keen these days. We can be picky only when we can get several offers. Honestly speaking this is pathetic but this is the rule of the game these days

jolalee

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Yup, was just talking to a mom (UK Caucasian) who was waitlisted for Kellet! Perhaps she applied too late because Kellet accepts applications from birth. I roam in that circle so i have seen enough cases myself (and honestly some Caucasians are not very well prepared). Those who are well prepared can usually get in many. A friend of mine, a Caucasian doctor, her son (blond) got into 5 schools, including GSIS & HKA. Envy!

Back to our topic of discussion. Training from birth is important. If you put my son into any expat circle (which he is already in) he would feel right at home; that's why he did well in all his interviews. Applying for HKA & AISHK would require such background, more or less.

CIS on the other hand allows interview using the child's strongest language, be it English/Mando/Canto. Heard quite a few cases where kids get in using Canto as their interview language. My son on the other hand is a native English speaker, so he needs to combat with the rest of the English speaking kids, and being Chinese by blood, that'd put him in a disadvantaged position.

wiman

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Jolalee, you gave me a clear picture on considering them. My girl is now 3 years old. I know I was late to plan her on IB path. And she didnt hold a Australian passport so I think it is a very low chance to get in AIS. Another problem is my girl is not a native, we just keep to speak English at home. So is there any chance on CIS or HKA? Can u suggest which one we can try now? Is it worth to apply two to three schools and wait the chance?thx a kot

jolalee

wiman 發表於 14-5-25 01:09
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Jolalee, you gave me a clear picture on considering them. My girl is now 3 year ...

Given your girl is already 3, AISHK in my experience is a no go. You need to apply 2 years in advance even with an Auz passport. My Auz friend applied mid-Jan two years ago (instead of putting the applicant in on the first working day in Jan) and they didn't make the first round of interview (hence my comment about "2 weeks made the difference).

Make sure your child has one strong core language. Children with a strong core language is capable in learning a 2nd language quickly (what experts call 'pegging'). My son's first language was English, and we rarely spoke to him in chinese between age 10 months to 2.5, and only few hours the afternoon between age 2.5-3.5. Now that i am speaking to him more in Chinese for just 2 months, his Chinese improved exponentially, thanks for his strong grasp of a core language.

CIS is always a try it if you can situation. Interview in Chinese if she English is not her native language. There's no edge for her to interview in English. HKA i am not certain about since we didn't apply.

blc_mama

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As I mentioned in previous thread, HKA starts its reception at age 3 while CIS starts at 4. Given your child is 3 years old already, it is too late to apply for HKA K1. You can apply K2 for next year or reception class of CIS next year. But bear in mind that HKA is a small school. They have only 40 students for each year. You can only get a chance for interview when somebody leaves the school after K1.

jolalee

Seem like, of the 3 you want to apply, only CIS is possible now and it is the most popular with a low rate of success, so you need more options. HKIS is one and you can always try for Anfield, Kingston, Victoria. Last year I was so desperate I even out my son's name down for Anfield primary 1 in case he couldn't get into any reception. (Anfield go by app date; KG need no interview but I am sure p1 does).

jolalee

7家嫂 發表於 14-5-26 12:31
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我有幾個問題 , 希望可以幫忙解答

1) 學校只接受出生日期兩年前才入申請表 , 一天也不能早 有點不明白 為何說遲了兩星期申請?
2) 請問你怎知道何時是第1輪面試呢?

We were applying for 2015 year of entry for Reception, so we submitted our application the first week of January 2013. My friend submitted hers in mid/late Jan 2013. We were fortunate to have obtained another school spot of our choice this March, so when AISHK contacted us in March/April we declined the interview offer. My friend called the school last month inquiring about the interview date (should happen this summer), only to find out the first round of interview invite has already gone out, and she is not part of it. Apparently for 2015 year of entry there are so many applicants submitting back in 2013 that they are only interviewing those who submitted their application the first two weeks of January. My friend probably missed it by a few days...

Of course, there's always a second round so she just have to wait for the school to contact her again, but we were just so surprised that even a January 2013 submission for 2015 year of entry couldn't make it to the first round of interview. I didn't want to write this out in detail for the fear of application next Jan will be even more crazy now that it is out in the open. I feel sorry for the school admission.


3) 我有朋友仔仔 , 遲了10個月才申請 , 錯過了Reception class 時間 , 不過學校叫補回成績表及學校信 , 便取錄了 (沒有面試)  , 今年剛入學
When i called the school back in autumn of 2012, they told me if the child is Australian and you apply early then the chance is very high (so that's what i did, i didn't realize 'apply early' meant the first two weeks of Jan at the time, and i don't think the admin foresee the huge amount of applicants in 2013 for 2015 back in 2012). The admin seemed pretty relaxed back then. I have a feeling there's a huge jump in the number of applicants between 2014 & 2015 entry.

4) 據朋友所講 , 校內亦有少數學生不是有澳紐護照 , 但仍被取錄
Do they have other overseas passports? blc_mama is the one who said you must be Auz to get accepted, so you may ask her where she got that piece of info. Like CDNIS, it is just a matter of time (but not yet) when the school cannot interview ppl without priority due to the shear amount of applicants.... It is getting more and more crazy each year that i seriously consider if our family should have a 2nd child or not.

Then again, this is just a matter of application. Once you're in the loop it is really not as bad as it seem, and by vicious circle families now apply for 5-6 schools on average (some even more) so lots of spots gets released back into the system afterwards. For DBIS we held a queue number 175 in their nursery waiting list, and according to the school the chance of us getting in this year is very very slim (plus given we are not even Discovery Bay residents)....  and then last week we received their offer    ??
7家嫂 you asked some very good question that put everything in perspective

blc_mama

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I just heard from some of my friends that AIS mostly admits students with AUS or NZ passports, probably in recent years the competition for IS is so keen. I have heard a case that even AUS passport holder could not get in to AIS, but of course we are not sure whether it is because the child could not pass the interview or there is a long queue which the school could not take in all passport holders or as Jolalee mentioned the parents submitted the application too late. I did not do much research in this school anyway because we are not AUS/NZ passport holders and thought the chance to get in is minimal.

jolalee

Hm, at the end of the day, if you are keen on certain schools and the application fee of $2000+ is not an issue for your family, then why not try it. I was scared off by the admin of GSIS, hinting that applying at almost 2 years of age, the chance of my son getting in is non-existent. (GSIS accepts application from birth) In hind sight i think i should have applied anyway....

都係那句：試下可能仲有機會，唔試就一定冇機會。

blc_mama

Apply now for K2 next year since they take 20 students for K1 and an additional of 20 students for K2. So K1 and K2 are of the highest chance to get in GSIS.

jolalee

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I believe the first round of interview starts this summer, maybe June or August? Anyhow the admin told my friend to wait until August for the notification of 2nd round. This is easy info to obtain. All you need to do is to call the school, especially if your child is in the queue.

My son is born Nov 2010. He received notification for interview back in March, but we declined because he got into another IS which we prefer a bit more already.

pandaforever

hi jolalee I would like to ask you a question about AISHK. Is it difficult to join the school say in year 6 or 7? We are passport holders but live on HK island and the distance is too great assuming my son could get into the  reception class. We are considering sending him to a nearby IS and let him sit for the AISHK entrance test when he's at an age where he could travel to the school by himself or at least with the home helper. Please comment on our plan. Our ultimate goal is for our son to be educated in the Australian Curriculum and continue higher education in Australia.