HKIS vs. GSIS

小加子

ratafan 發表於 22-5-6 12:10
The gcse Chinese exam in year 10 was a joke. They only offer Chinese B. My another child at ESF wou ...

Did your child at ESF sit for IB Chinese A and it was common path for those in the advanced Chinese class?  Do you think that the school provided adequate teaching and support for students who sat for Chinese A?

Yuacc

ratafan 發表於 22-5-6 12:08
Gsis doesn’t offer double science at all. So everyone is taking triple science (meaning 3 separate ...

不是呀, 有學生只揀chem and biology, 沒有take physics

Yuacc

ratafan 發表於 22-5-6 12:10
The gcse Chinese exam in year 10 was a joke. They only offer Chinese B. My another child at ESF wou ...

I don't think it is a joke. After the Y10 students took IGCSE Chinese lang B exam , the teacher will teach higher level things to prepare for Chinese subject of IBDP.

You may appreciate that Language learning in IB.org requires only 1 language A . It is the intention of the curriculum organiser to allow students to choose their Lang A and Lang B

964000

Yuacc 發表於 22-5-6 16:44
I don't think it is a joke. After the Y10 students took IGCSE Chinese lang B exam , the teacher wil ...

May I ask what proportion of them will take IBDP Chi  vs German?

honeybunny8

Well... when I started this thread, I didn't expect it to turn into another "SPCC vs. DBS"-style debate, because this is supposed to be the IS forum, which is for people who respect and value diversity... what a "surprise"!
Jokes aside, I feel that many of the responses stemmed from having different vantage points and/or misreading my statements. But, the incremental insider knowledge offered as a result of the "debate" could definitely benefit others coming to EK to research about GSIS and HKIS.

With the same consideration, I may as well clarify my points to offer different opinions:

First, from the get go, I caveated my opinions as being from the standpoint of an American family. After hearing from different sources, the culture at GSIS would not be the best fit for us. HKIS offers an American education and provides the opportunities and resources to support their students' development in areas that are particularly aligned with what US colleges look for in their candidates, so it would be a more straight-forward pathway for those of us who have our sights on US colleges and nothing else. However, for those who would like to keep other options open, or those who know that they won't choose US colleges, then GSIS with IGCSE and IB would make more sense.

Secondly, I specifically said that I was comparing "工程系 vs. 商科", not "理科 vs. 文科". When I saw the response said "文科也強，IB 40幾分，頂尖名校法律系學生一地都係", I immediately know that the person is referring to the UK/HK system. In US, law (and medicine) are graduate studies, i.e. people have to first get their bachelor degree before getting into these schools. And US colleges do not only look at the students' test scores. When we interview candidates, we look for well-rounded development, passion in the chosen field, other interests (sports/art/music), contribution to society... the list is long. That's why I got to assess the students from different IS/LS regarding their research / internship experiences. I am from both 工程系 vs. 商科 but I usually interview 工程系 applicants. Actually, "GSIS 升學 Office 會 focus支援多人選擇嘅學科" was a comment from a GSIS student I interviewed. Another student in another year said because she was the only one in her year pursuing that particular field, the school did not provide support / guidance. Well these students could be lying to cover for their own lack of effort... but that gave me reservation, because what if our kids want to pursue something other than "頂尖名校法律系".

Yuacc

964000 發表於 22-5-6 16:57
May I ask what proportion of them will take IBDP Chi  vs German?

I doubt this data will be available.
The data I got was originated from a survey organised by a student in Y10.

ratafan

小加子 發表於 22-5-6 16:13
Did your child at ESF sit for IB Chinese A and it was common path for those in the advanced Chinese ...

Yes most highest set students must sit for Chinese A IB exam (standard level ) which is SUPER hard. Unfortunately (or luckily)  my son wasn’t good enough in end of Year 11 exam and the teacher asked him to go for Chinese B instead (emoji)(emoji)

ratafan

Yuacc 發表於 22-5-6 16:15
本帖最後由 Yuacc 於 22-5-6 16:18 編輯

不是呀, 有學生只揀chem and biology, 沒有take physics

Oh sorry for not articulating clear enough . If students opt for all 3 subjects, in ESF they can allow you to take double science. Meaning 3 subjects but be awarded 2 bundled grades only. But in ESF, all 3 subjects are like bundled and students hv to take all. But those who do better would be asked to go for triple science route ( be awarded 3 separate grades) and those mediocre or average students would be streamed to double science route. In Gsis, there is no such option. If you go to physics + chem, they are awarded 2 separate grades (single science) And the scope for these 2 different options are of course different. Single science is more in-depth and difficult.

honeybunny8

Thirdly, I said my GSIS alum friends "擔心小學嘅中文課程比較（其他 IS）弱", hence I was only referring to primary schools. Since nearly half of GSIS secondary school students are from LS and other schools such as St. Stephen's and SIS, no doubt GSIS can afford to offer more rigorous Chinese curriculum in secondary. The consideration is not the same as my child is entering the primary school.


At last, like the "SPCC vs. DBS" debates, it is often not the case that one school is absolutely best of the best. You don't see current parents respond to those threads, arguing that their schools are better than the other one. As we know when the schools are in the same echelon, the choice should be made based on fit instead of test scores. On another thread, a parent even offered a list of non-Ivies whose graduates are most hired by the Silicon Valley tech giants. Knowing one's goals, and having looked at and considered everything relevant, including the software and the hardware (at primary school stage, the facilities and classroom set-up say a lot about the school's priorities), and then chooses the school that aligns better. It's that simple for us.

ratafan

Yuacc 發表於 22-5-6 16:44
I don't think it is a joke. After the Y10 students took IGCSE Chinese lang B exam , the teacher wil ...

I was saying the IGCSE Lang B was too easy and is really more for complete non Chinese speaking students (meaning those without any Chinese origins).  That’s why ESF actually won’t allow set A students to take IGCSE Chinese B.

ratafan

Yuacc 發表於 22-5-6 16:44
I don't think it is a joke. After the Y10 students took IGCSE Chinese lang B exam , the teacher wil ...

You can take 2 x Lang A subjects , which means you get a bilingual diploma.

ratafan

honeybunny8 發表於 22-5-6 17:01
Well... when I started this thread, I didn't expect it to turn into another "SPCC vs. DBS"-style deb ...

Yes I think hkis would be a good platform if your aim is going to America as most families are of American background and when the peers discuss amongst themselves, they hv more resources on different US colleges and not just focused on top ivies (which the acceptance rate is low single digits ). I believe most of them are great kids but I think we need to be realistic too. Many non ivies schools are great too. And hkis is a much bigger school. So they are  very different schools indeed

964000

honeybunny8 發表於 22-5-6 17:01
Well... when I started this thread, I didn't expect it to turn into another "SPCC vs. DBS"-style deb ...

I think you have made the best choice for your kid already, no worry.

shadeslayer

在絕大部份真IS 中，學生中文勁的，多半靠的是學生自己，或家庭。

shadeslayer

ratafan 發表於 22-5-6 17:24
You can take 2 x Lang A subjects , which means you get a bilingual diploma.

But a bilingual diploma doesn‘t have a university admission advantage

Yuacc

ratafan 發表於 22-5-6 17:21
Oh sorry for not articulating clear enough . If students opt for all 3 subjects, in ESF they can al ...

Well noted. Thanks for the clarification

I have same understanding regarding the billingual diploma requirement as you do, but I doubt on the use of it.
Managing 3 cores and 6 subjects in IBDP are demanding. Thus,  I consider taking 2 Lang A subjects is "destructive" rather than constructive . 純粹個人意見

ratafan

Yuacc 發表於 22-5-6 20:08
本帖最後由 Yuacc 於 22-5-6 20:22 編輯

Well noted. Thanks for the clarification

Absolutely from the practicality perspective, the stress outweighs  benefits brought by bilingual diploma. But it might be of an advantage in future job . That said,  as an employer, I never really referred to such info when I screened candidates. However, if you are pursuing a professional degree like medicine/physio or law or accountancy and plan to practise your professions in countries that require fluency in both Chinese and English , perhaps a bilingual diploma helps.

Yuacc

ratafan 發表於 22-5-6 20:33
Absolutely from the practicality perspective, the stress outweighs  benefits brought by bilingual d ...

Understand your point. It may be the current situation, but in view of the improvement and introduction of AI , I guess the use of billingual diploma will become insignificant

ratafan

Yuacc 發表於 22-5-6 20:42
Understand your point. It may be the current situation, but in view of the improvement and introduc ...

I am not a linguist. But I guess people who are truly bilingual would possess the ability to think  and speak in both languages. Anyway, it would be really tough and I saw the materials of Chinese A for IB, I guess it is on par with, if not more difficult than, local DSE standard.

annie40

魚與熊掌，難以兼得。先為孩子找間合適的學校，其他的隨緣吧，多想不等同多得。