chance of getting in for non esf primary students

giftedpig

My kid is studying at local school grade 5, eng medium.  He is not good at Chinese and hate Chinese but all the other subjects are above average.  I am thinking of switching him to IS for secondary to avoid some subjects using Chinese， e.g. Chinese History.
Would like to know
1.  Say for ESF secondary, what is  the percentage of accepting non ESF primary students for their secondary
2.  What subject will be using Chinese for secondary


Thank you

lui

It depends on the each school. For eg KGV and Shatin college has very long waiting list.  U may try island school ( they will be relocated to tai Wai area for temp school site).

Pls note that the school u apply for Shd be according to catchment area.

MrsGM

Long waiting list, you may start applying now. ESF teaches in simplified Chinese only .

oooray

原帖由 giftedpig 於 16-04-07 發表
My kid is studying at local school grade 5, eng medium.  He is not good at Chinese and hate Chinese  ...

if your kid is now P.5 in local system, u have already missed the mass intake at Year 7 in ESF secondary.

giftedpig

Thx all.  Just noticed the central application for Y7 is closed.  Will apply now, wait and see.  Thx.

Activehealth

原帖由 giftedpig 於 16-04-07 發表
My kid is studying at local school grade 5, eng medium.  He is not good at Chinese and hate Chinese  ...

As you know, ESF students start Year 7 (Form 1) at 11, they are one year younger than the Form 1 students in the local system, as students finish Year 13 (Form 7) when they graduate from the ESF system. Thus the most logical way would be for your boy to join Year 7 in the coming August. However, if you want your boy to join ESF Year 7 in the academic year 2016-7, you are very late already. The application period is September for the August start in the following year.

ESF schools put great emphasis on English. For ESF secondary, the student would be tested in oral and written English. The requirement is very high, by Year 7, they expect the student to have English reaching the native level in both spoken and written. The student would be tested in Maths as well, usually the Maths test is not difficult. Many students fail to get in because of inadequate English level. If your son only managed to get above average score in English at a local English medium school, I am NOT sure if that's good enough. I was told by a parent whose boy sat for the entrance exam for Year 7 last year, that her boy was expected to write an English essay on an unknown topic of at least 1000 words within an hour.

As you can expect, all subjects would be taught in English except Chinese and the third language subject. All students have to do a third language in Year 7+ 8, namely French, Spanish or German (not all ESF secondary offer German). If  your boy does not like Chinese, I am not sure how keen he would be picking up a new third language on top of English and Chinese, presumably that he has not done any French/Spanish/German before.

ESF schools require the student to provide a letter from his current school describing the student's behavior and academic levels. Many parents are reluctant to do that as it would disclose the intention of leaving. Plus, if the student has special learning needs and/or behavioral problems at the current school, it would show up and it would greatly affect the chance.

Instead of putting great emphasis on academic achievements like the local schools, ESF looks for students who are outgoing, independent, confident with excellent social skills who can easily co-operate with others. If you think that your boys fits the above descriptions well, go ahead and try.

Otherwise, my advice would be 'DON'T waste the time and effort'!

lui

My gal and other gals went through the year 7 and year 8 admission assessment. None of us was asked to write an easy with 1000 words. Personally I think for the admission, they are not really looking at native level of spoken English and writing. Just good enough will do.

Activehealth

原帖由 lui 於 16-04-07 發表
My gal and other gals went through the year 7 and year 8 admission assessment. None of us was asked  ...

For sure, it may vary in different ESF secondary school.

However, if the majority of students in Year 7 & 8 have attained such a high level of English already; and the teachers expect them to, would that be a disadvantage then? Especially when it comes to IGCSE and IBDP exams that all ESF students have to take English as their first (native) language.

I was clearly told during the ESF parent  curriculum orientation in the beginning of the school year.

lui

Yes this may be. But I think the school can really make them writing better in 7 years time.

ratafan

My child joined the central application. My experience tells me that only English is tested. No maths. For English, a written exam will take place first.  There are reading and writing. They were quite hard. But the writing cannot be 1000 words. Reading part is mainly MC. You don't need to choose the school yet in central application. They assign you to the school according to your catchment area ( home address).
If you pass written exam, they invite you to interview which lasts for around 45 min to 1 hour. It's a group interview.
In terms of language subjects, Chinese is a must but they have different levels. At the start of year , you need to attend a test and they would assign you to proper level. Most students from local school get to most advanced level. Of cos there are less advanced levels for non native Chinese children. Even Caucasians need to learn Chinese.
For third language, you can choose either French or Spanish. At higher grades, you have freedom to drop third languages or continue to pursue in igcse.
The school is very accommodating. They would identify kids whose Eng is behind in mid year in year 7 and invite them to attend extra Eng classes. Then they won't need to take third language.

Park88

回覆 giftedpig 的帖子

20 April (wed) ESF will have a seminar at their ESF Centre, 25/F, 1063 King's Rd, Quarry Bay... It's about Kindergarten and primary admission information and what they required and provide to student etc... It's worth to go! You can ask the admission requirement from the admission officer or Principal right at the spot!

sschiu

There will be a seminar on 18 April on ESF secondary curriculum where the school development adviser and admissions manager will be present to answer your questions. There are still seats available and you can sign up here: http://www.esf.edu.hk/seminars-Apr2016

They should be able to give you valuable advice!

maggieyyfong

What is the interview format like for the Year 1 intake
What if the child is reluctant to go into the room by himself and starts crying?

lovecasey

Story time, drawing and questions on what is on your drawing. The purpose is to see weather the kid can undrrstand in english. Nothing academic. Not sure if u woukd get a second chance if your kid is reluntcant to go in.

shadeslayer

原帖由 lui 於 16-04-07 發表
My gal and other gals went through the year 7 and year 8 admission assessment. None of us was asked  ...

If my memory serves, there exist IS which clearly say they expect native level or very close to native level English.

alunsweeney

Can anyone share the format for Grade 5 or Grade 6 in ESF?

will it be difficult?

alunsweeney

Ｔａｒｇｅｔ　ｓｃｈｏｏｌ　ｉｓ　Ｒｅｎａｉｓｓａｎｃｅ　Ｃｏｌｌｅｇｅ　ｏｒ　Ｄｉｓｃｏｖｅｒｙ　Ｃｏｌｌｅｇｅ

Ｔｈａｎｋ　ｙｏｕ　。

lui

原帖由 alunsweeney 於 16-04-13 發表
Can anyone share the format for Grade 5 or Grade 6 in ESF?

will it be difficult?

A piece of comprehension. Writing. Some arithmetic . my gal said RC test is more difficult then ESF school.

alunsweeney

Passed the written test. RC test is really difficult.

oral test is group interview. LUI, can you share your experience ? you can pm me.

Your help is very very important to us.

Thank you.