Malvern vs ESF

GFdede

hi all, can pls drop me ur comment ESF vs Malvern?
m existing Malvern parent n just got offer from ESF K1, but not yet very decisively to change or not,

any comment pls?

papa8888

For Pre-School I would same the same but need to think long term and look at primary and secondary.  Both are good but just the pro and cons of each.
ESF
Pros
Financially cheaper
Well established
School locations all over HK to suit where you live
Easier to get in for locals as no foreign pass port holder restriction
Cons
Facilities older
Larger class sizes
less pastoral care

Malvern
Pros
New school premises
More prestigious globally
Easier to get if foreign passport
STEM programme (geared towards science maths etc)
Cons
Not cheap and expect to pay$1.5M more over the 13 years of schooling
New school and may take a few more years to establish itself and IB results
Due to limited places for local passport holder 10% so Pre-School student not guarantee place at college.

So if I had the money and have overseas passport I would choose Malvern. On other hand if local passport and money a concern I would choose ESF.

austinmimi

papa8888 發表於 18-5-17 00:18
For Pre-School I would same the same but need to think long term and look at primary and secondary.  ...

Very fair points, agree with most of them. Some points open to discussion:

More prestigious globally - while arguably Malvern is more recognized globally (esp by UK universities for obvious reasons) I don't think it's in the same league as Harrow. =)

Financials - ESF school fee is cheaper but based on my understanding Malvern has a higher focus on Chinese. A lot of ESF parents actually go for private Chinese lessons becoz of that. So if you take that into consideration the difference might not be as big as it seems.

Passport - Even though their target is 90% foreign passport I believe their guaranteed number to HK government was actually at 70%. Their preschool first year intake was also at about 7x% foreign passport. Yes preschool pupils aren't "guaranteed" a place in primary but if I were them I'd also try my best to help those existing K students to go through to P. If too many existing K students fail to go through, who else would join their preschool right?! So that means if you hold local passport and if you want to get into Malvern College, your best bet is definitely through their preschool as seats for outside local passports would become very very limited.

(We also got both offers and ended up taking Malvern's. Local passport.)

貝珠

May I know if 7x % foreign passport includes China passport ? My guess :7x % foreign +1x% mainland china +10% hk local

In school fair, i feel Malvern is very strict in 10% local passport. And how if local families get into preschool but primary is not offered due to passport issue ? Will 1.85M debentures solve the problem ?

austinmimi

貝珠 發表於 18-5-17 01:20
May I know if 7x % foreign passport includes China passport ? My guess :7x % foreign +1x% mainland c ...

Yes includes China. During the talk they didn't give specific numbers on the split but they did say they would endeavour to ensure diversity. Since it's their very first years, having more local/Chinese entrants as a start is understandable I guess.

Possibly, since their website lists that debenture has a higher priority over preschool. But as I argued, and as they acknowledged during the talk, I think they also wish to ensure very high acceptance rate from K to P. Maybe that's why they target a higher ratio 90% than their minimum requirement of 70% to provide some leeway in case there are other debenture holders?

貝珠

austinmimi 發表於 18-5-17 01:36
Yes includes China. During the talk they didn't give specific numbers on the split but they did say ...

I heard that 'why 90%" not 70% is a special term and conditions that Malvern promised the HK gov for providing the land to build the premises.

austinmimi

貝珠 發表於 18-5-17 01:40
I heard that 'why 90%" not 70% is a special term and conditions that Malvern promised the HK gov fo ...

Then this i don't know.
But 90% is really tough. I'm guessing not too many existing IS can in fact maintain such a high ratio. I might be wrong though.

funfun0209

貝珠 發表於 18-5-17 01:40
I heard that 'why 90%" not 70% is a special term and conditions that Malvern promised the HK gov fo ...

Government provides extra incentive for reaching 90%... I read somewhere

Fish777

austinmimi 發表於 18-5-17 01:48
Then this i don't know.
But 90% is really tough. I'm guessing not too many existing IS can in fact  ...

Not tough if they count mainlanders as foreign passports

抺茶雪糕

貝珠 發表於 18-5-17 01:20
May I know if 7x % foreign passport includes China passport ? My guess :7x % foreign +1x% mainland c ...

10% local passport

90% foreign passport (including china)

papa8888

回覆 austinmimi 的帖子

Yes open to discussion as it is just my personel observation and opinion.

I sure Malvern college will do all it can to get their Pre-School student to Malvern College.  I think it will be harder for ESF or other Internation kindergarten to get into Malvern college because of the 70-90% poilicy and limited school places for local.  Whilst it may be easier for Malvern pre-school student to get into ESF or other schools and college.

The school fees Malvern College fee for primary is around HK$200,000pa (fee plus capital levy), whilst ESF looking aorund HK$120,000pa (school fee + once off capital levy) hence I think a big difference over the long term.

As for additional tutorial lesson, I think it depends on the kid rather than the school as both will have chinese lessons everyday.  One thing to note is that Malvern college can provide addititional after school lessons (at a cost) if your kids are not doing too good in a subject.  I like this, as it saves me the time and effort looking for private tutors and not really sure of their quality.

Overall, I would choose Malvern over ESF.

s7824

抺茶雪糕 發表於 18-5-17 09:02
10% local passport

90% foreign passport (including china)

then 90% foreign passport can be reached very easily

austinmimi

papa8888 發表於 18-5-17 09:24
回覆 austinmimi 的帖子

Yes open to discussion as it is just my personel observation and opinion.

In P, both have daily Chinese lessons.

But if we're talking about K, then, correct me if I'm wrong, I think ESF also only has daily lessons? Whereas Malvern offers dual teachers ie 1 English 1 Mandarin teacher at the same time.

papa8888

回覆 s7824 的帖子
Deleted

papa8888

回覆 austinmimi 的帖子

Should clarify that I was referring to primary and secondary schools not K.  

Yaleizh

papa8888 發表於 18-5-17 10:07
回覆 s7824 的帖子

I know of parents whose kid passed the entrance assessment and on waiting list be ...

That’s discouraging.... very disappointed to hear that. I think same for American School Hong Kong, local passport holders were asked to purchase Debenture to secure a place

austinmimi

papa8888 發表於 18-5-17 10:07
回覆 s7824 的帖子

I know of parents whose kid passed the entrance assessment and on waiting list be ...

Just curious, so what are their plans then?
They see Malvern as target or just as a backup?

papa8888

回覆 austinmimi 的帖子

Their first choice would be Malvern but will also be applying to ESF schools as backup.

funfun0209

papa8888 發表於 18-5-17 00:18
For Pre-School I would same the same but need to think long term and look at primary and secondary.  ...

"same league as Harrow"....not even close.....
https://www.harrowschool.org.uk/A-Record-Year-for-Oxbridge-Offers
https://www.malverncollege.org.uk/Oxbridge-offers-for-Malvern-College-pupils(Malvern UK)
http://www.malvernchengdu.cn/en/excellent-offers-from-top-ranking-universities-malvern-college-qingdao/
(Malvern Qingdao)

compared with another "new" school, Shrewsbury
https://www.shrewsbury.org.uk/news/oxbridge-success-2018(Shrewsbury UK)
http://www.shrewsbury.ac.th/8-Oxbridge-Offers-for-Class-of-2018
(Shrewsbury Bangkok)


oxbridge success is not the only criteria for the greatness of a school though

papa8888

回覆 funfun0209 的帖子

Yes and agree and thanks for your clarification.   Never thought Oxbridge as criteria for selecting school.