CDNIS VS KJS

gweiloproblems

Hi Everyone!

I was just wondering of your opinions in the above.

Under the assumption that we have received solid offers for Y1 CDNIS and KJS with School Fees not being a concern (My Company Pays), which school would you recommend us to join till she finally goes off to study abroad.

Any information / experiences you have would be highly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance :)

Cusausa

Both are great schools. Which areas are your key focus? Academics? Chinese? Chinese / Western mix? Others?

gweiloproblems

Cusausa 發表於 23-10-9 17:58
Both are great schools. Which areas are your key focus? Academics? Chinese? Chinese / Western mix? O ...

Purely Academics and Extra Curricular. Mandarin I'm not too concerned with at this age / moment. Specially the little they will teach at school.
I would also like a very good student nationality mix as we are also expats.

Adiezz

CDNIS has smaller class size, better facilities and more structural programs.
Its bilingual program is good if you want better Chinese learning.

CDNIS begins to emphasise academics earlier now. Some parents may like but some may dislike.

gweiloproblems

Adiezz 發表於 23-10-9 22:25
CDNIS has smaller class size, better facilities and more structural programs.
Its bilingual program ...

I was told the same but someone also had informed me that the KJS+KGV is 3x the size and still able to score the same in IB results therefore being better in academics.
I did have a look at CDNIS during the tour and the campus is really quite amazing.

kooliestgirl

gweiloproblems 發表於 23-10-10 12:53
I was told the same but someone also had informed me that the KJS+KGV is 3x the size and still able ...

many ESF students go to extra tutorials, not sure CDNIS.. but I will go for CDNIS for facilities

Moonlight819

Actually I think you don’t need to bother this issue at this moment until you get these two offers. For CDNIS, all grade level waiting list has already more than 800 people last year.

Choochootrain

But I heard that the location of CDNIS is very very bad, the Private cars/taxi are not allowed to drive to the school. You have the option of walking downhill or taking the school bus. But the school bus service is very bad and have not improved in the past few years.

Adiezz

ESF should send out offer earlier.
If you get CDNIS offer, you need to give up the non-refundable capital levy of ESF.

7jai

Moonlight819 發表於 23-10-10 21:24
Actually I think you don’t need to bother this issue at this moment until you get  these two offers ...

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7jai

Choochootrain 發表於 23-10-10 22:53
But I heard that the location of CDNIS is very very bad, the Private cars/taxi are not allowed to dr ...

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Choochootrain

7jai 發表於 23-10-11 10:10
Yes, the location is quite in the middle of nowhere so may not be for everyone.  VSA is also around ...

It seems CDNIS does not allow any vehicles to go the school. I heard that for students living in Kowloon, paid $$$$$ it takes almost three hours to get home by school bus. The bus took students to another school, skip a stop, and took the wrong route many times….school does not manage the school bus at all

7jai

Choochootrain 發表於 23-10-11 11:03
本帖最後由 Choochootrain 於 23-10-11 11:29 編輯

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gweiloproblems

Oh I had no idea the distance was going to be such an issue. I am going to be travelling from To Kwa Wan via Hung Hom Station + South Island Line. I will try this route out myself first to see if it is feasible.

KJS would be so much easier in terms of distance travelled but I just wanted to make sure that I was not sacrificing anything due to the distance.

My wife says HongKongers are spoilt with travelling time as any other city 40 mins to school would be considered normal haha

7jai

gweiloproblems 發表於 23-10-11 13:59
Oh I had no idea the distance was going to be such an issue. I am going to be travelling from To Kwa ...

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gweiloproblems

From CDNIS Website:

1. All full day students are required to take the bus to school and home*. Half-day students (Early Years 1 and Early Years 2) are exempt from the bussing programme but are highly encouraged to take advantage of the bussing on offer.


2. Yes. A free shuttle bus service for Prep to Grade 12 students operates between the Wong Chuk Hang MTR station (near Exit A2) and the school campus. The Lower School bus departs at 7:25am and the Upper School bus departs at 8:20am. A return service is available for Grade 3 to Grade 12. Prep to Grade 2 students may also ride the bus down to the MTR as long as they are accompanied by the older sibling.

https://school.kcm.com.hk/cdnis/

gweiloproblems

7jai 發表於 23-10-11 14:13
Yes, traffic will be a big issue for you then as if you take the school bus, it will take at least 1 ...

I guess that is true. KJS would prove to be a lot easier in terms of commute.

slowlyslowly

回覆 gweiloproblems 的帖子

Yes, CDNIS has a shuttle bus service, but you have to take students to Wong Chuk Hang first and then transfer to the shuttle bus. If you don't live on Hong Kong Island, you will indeed spend a lot of time in transportation, and CDNIS starts very early.
It should be much simpler if you choose door-to-door service, but Hung Hom is far away and there are not many buses in Kowloon. It may take a long time and may not arrive directly to your place of residence.
You have to consider whether it's worth spending so much time commuting to and from school, whether you still have opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities after school, and whether your time can accommodate it.
I personally think transportation is the biggest problem of CDNIS, because as someone said before, school buses are not very perfect yet.

aurora0326

gweiloproblems 發表於 23-10-11 14:19
From CDNIS Website:

1. All full day students are required to take the bus to school and home*. Half ...

Buses from To Kwa Wan/Ho Man Tin/Hung Hom to CDNIS takes approximately 30 to 50 min. However, the duration may vary each school year depending on the number of stops arranged by KCM along this route. In some cases, the pick-up time in the morning in certain areas of Kowloon may even be later than those in the Central and Western districts of Hong Kong Island if they are not too far away. The return journey takes about 40-50 minutes as well. Of course, at the beginning of each school year, there may be a chaotic period of one to two weeks due to new comers and new bus stops, or the KCM drivers who are not yet familiar with the routes.

EY students can be picked up by private cars, and for Prep year or above, you can take the free shuttle bus at Wong Chuk Hang MTR station. For those who live particularly far away from school, such as Fo Tan or Tseung Kwan O, the travel time can be significantly longer. The school does help parents communicate with the bus company, but there is almost no bargaining power since KCM has a virtual monopoly over the entire school bus industry in Hong Kong, especially for large-scale schools. It is believed that schools using KCM have many parents who are dissatisfied with it.

gweiloproblems

aurora0326 發表於 23-10-11 15:22
Buses from To Kwa Wan/Ho Man Tin/Hung Hom to CDNIS takes approximately 30 to 50 min. However, the du ...

This further reinstates the travel time problem. Thanks!

In my selected schools it seems except KJS, all are quite far either in Wong Chuk Hang, Tai Tam or Peak.

According to their schedule, KJS bus will pick us from our home to school 37 Minutes before school starts.