Does Yew Chung is a good Primary & Secondary? Please advise

MomMom

Any parents have kids study in Yew Chung primary or Secondary?  Is it justify to pay so much school fee?  Please comment.

MomMom

UP!  Please help!

ozcat

Before I make any comments, it is recommended to forget the school fee. I can say nothing about the school fee. It is really higher than expected.

If kids can meet the school requirements of Yew Chung, their Chinese standards are definitely upto or above local primary school and their English standard are almost the same as international school. The major shortfall is the campus. They are smaller than a standard school.  There are no problem for kids in Yew Chung communicating by English and PTH. P2 or above, PTH is the teaching media for Chinese.
In fact, the top rank students in Yew Chung are almost of same standard in comparing with students in top rank local school.
It is an international school. They accept kids with slow development. It doesn’t like the local school. They would not push too hard on kids with slow development. Therefore, there may be a gap between the top rank kids and others.

yyyy

ozcat,

I am really interested in how Yew Chung's "their Chinese standards are definitely upto or above local primary school and their English standard are almost the same as international school".  As I know, most of the chinese in Int'l will be lower than local school.  Can you explaine what's their chinese standard, like in P2 and how they teach children chinese?
Thanks.

ozcat

In their P1(=local K3), kids have to learn and recognise about 500 Chinese words. They do not request the kids to do dictation in P1. With recognising 500 words, kids can build up confidence to read independently. They expect the kids learn about 1000 words in P1 and P2. Kids in P2 will have dictation. When they are P6, they will learn about 3000 words. They said "要懂得讀和寫，就必須識字。"

Zhi

On the other hand, I have heard a lot of comments that the English standards of Yew Chung students, both spoken and written, are not that good. They are lower than those of many ESF schools or other international schools. I do not know how much truth there is in these comments. Maybe ozcat is right that there is a big variation in standard among the students. I am also quite puzzled as to why their tuition fee is so high given the fact that their campus is small and facilities are not exceptional when compared with other international schools.

paramount

I think one should not judge YC students by using usual international school standard because the mother tongue of 99% of the YC students is Chinese, and not English. It is fair to say that the level of most of the YC primary students' English is below the level of other international schools. One, however, has to bear in mind that YC primary students have to spend 40% of their time in learing Chinese at school, and doing the Chinese homework at home.
Also, most - perhaps not all - international schools would not accept kids who do not communicate English fluently. But YC would almost accept all - leaving aside the painful question of $$$$.

In the longer term, I think YC students will catch up - voluntarily.
Parents interested in YC may pay a visit to the school and ask the school for an explanation directly.
I think the question is just whether one share YC's philosophy.

(p.s. my kids are in YC)

MomMom

ozcat,

Thanks for your comment.  I seems your kid is studying in Yew Chung now.  What is his/her grade?  How's the behaviour of Yew Chung's students?  It seems the turn over is quite big in Yew Chung.  Do you know why?

I know Yew Chung has a IEP which is offered for their students that their English not up to standard.  They will polish & train up them in IEP.  After a period of time, then switch back to mainstream class.  Do you know this?  Is it a good and workable program?  Please help & advise.

Zhi

The fact that the overwhelming majority of the students are HK Chinese probably explains why their English is not as good as the students of other international schools. On the other hand, what YC is advertising is that they offer a bilingual program that aims to educate students to master both English and Chinese as a first language. If it turns out that students of the school will only be able to master English as a second language, then they are falling short of what they proclaim to achieve. The question is, could this situation be improved? I have read a lot about how the school has developed a curriculum that would allow students to master the Chinese language proficiently even given that only 25% of their curriculum is devoted to studying Chinese. I am not aware that they have done as much to ensure that students master English as a first language.

Another measure that will improve English teaching is the linguistic environment. I know that CIS makes a great effort to recruit students whose mother tongue is English, such that an English speaking environment can be maintained. It is indeed an irony that an international school that claims to educate the global child with an international outlook has zero diversity in its ethnic composition. I wonder why YC does not make an effort to internationalize its student composition.

These comments might sound a bit tough, but I think for a school that is charging the highest school fee in HK, parents do have a right to expect something of exceptional quality.

ozcat

Zhi commented "Students of the school will only be able to master English as a second language, then they are falling short of what they proclaim to achieve"

Your comments are really a "bit tough". I did not aware of that they promote students must master their English as a first language. It all depends on what is their family linguistic environment. Some YC students are local Hong Kong people but their parents speak both English and  Chinese at home. Some parents even only speak English at home. Thus, I cannot see why these students cannot master English as per students in international school. You can find some students at P1(~K3 local system) having P3-P4 English reading skill and can write ~70 - 100 words with minor mistakes. Of course, there are parents never speak English at home. Thus, how can a student have the same English level as per international school. School is only part of the life. Family also contributes a lot in the education process.

Demanding students of Chinese standard as per local school, this is a very very tough requirement for English native speakers. Thus, it is not easy to recruit native speaking students. Also, there are so many choices in the market for native speakers.

Price... as per my first input in this forum, I would not like to comment the price. Anyway, up to now, I cannot see a similar school with YC philosophy(i.e. happy learning) and emphasising both Chinese and English, other than CIS with complete track records from primary to secondary.

MomMom
I have no idea about IEP. YC students are positive and confident. Since their philosophy is encourage and happy learning, talents of YC students are never undermined. However, parents' support is most essential for kids' development. You cannot just rely on the school.

Zhi

The proclaimed philosophy of YC to educate bilingual students, not just students who can master English and Chinese as a second language, is actually a much advertised theme in their public relations exercise. As an example, in a recent speech entitled "Educating the 21st Century Child"  made by its director Dr. Betty Chan (please go to http://www.ycef.com/en/HongKong_yewchung_school/news/docs/Speech%20in%20AIE%20conference.pdf), she said "...the school has to pay equal attention to the two languages and to make both as the native tongues of the students" (pp.6-7). In fact, one selling point of YC to the international audience has often been how with the Chinese curriculum they have developed they are able to teach non-Chinese students to become truly literate in Chinese. (Again, please refer to the contents of Dr.Chan's speech).

The YC campus in HK is probably the most non-internationalized when compared with those in mainland China and Silicon Valley. I agree that HK probably does not have a huge market of expatriate parents who would be interested in giving their kids a serious Chinese education. But CIS's success story does illustrate that a more internatoinalized student body is possible. YC Primary School actually offers a course called "Chinese as a Second Language" that are specifically catered for the need of students whose native language is not Chinese. So they are actually equipped to teach and accommodate non-Chinese students, they are just not active in recruiting them.

Having said all that, I am not trying to discourage parents from sending their kids to YC. I am sure there are a lot about YC's curriculum and teaching philosophy that are highly commendable. I am also convinced that it has filled an important market niche and has served the community well. All I am wondering is if there are ways for them to further improve so that they can better live up to what they are claiming and charging us!

paramount

I agree with you, Ozcat.

Kids are not saussages. They are just little children. What they need is education, not endless tests and exams.

I feel YC basically still adopts 有教無類 principle, which is the most important thing schools should consider (in my opinion). Kids of ordinary level, or even below, are not disregarded.  

As to MomMom's question about IEP, according to my knowledge, YC does provide IEP for new students until their English reaches the appropriate level. After joining the normal class, additional English lessons would also be given to the necessary student. Ask the school as many questions as you want to before making decision.

cpmummy

che,

One of my friend's nephew is studying in YC P5, I heard that the parents of YC kids are really very rich. Here is the below conversation I heard from my friend's nephew,
"How many horse does your daddy has?" said a boy
"What??" said my friend's nephew.
The boy repeat "How many horse does your daddy has?"
"I had two very big dogs at home."said my friend's nephew.
When my friend's nephew told us this story two year ago (he was just switch from local school to YC at that time), we told him "Good job!"
Rich people every where, you can't avoid to meet them but it is really depends how you educate your kid and how to handle it.
My friend's nephew is happy in YC and he is polite and willing to help people.
I asked him several times how did he feel to study in YC. He told me that he is very happly and enjoy to study there.

MomMom

I think there have a lot of rich people in YC is not the fault of the school and also not a "bad comment".

What I concern is they really can "learnt" in the school and not just enjoy the "happy school life".

cpmummy,

How's your friend's nephew changed when he/she changed from local school to YC.

Any parents with their kids studying in YC upper primary can share with me about the school?

yyyy

Actually, every school has rich people, even local schools.  Therefore, it doesn't matter. Rich canbe diveded into two streams: material rich and spiritual rich.  We should teach our kids to be riched in their hearts not the outsides. Some of my friends are quite rich but they will not support too much materials to their kids or themselves.  Money shouldnot be the only thing make us feel happy.

I, myself very appreciated the people send their children to a paid-school as they think the school is more suitable for their kids even thought they are not rich, or should say just enough. Their loves are great.

Cayenne

I pity that  poor 'rich' boy who thinks that owning a few horses is something to boast about.
He is lucky not to be studying in CIS / HKIS , or else his ego will be mightily bruised.

I saw this  real story in the TV some time back . The program was about those ultra-exclusive boarding schools in the UK :

A girl boasted to her roommate that she's a real princess. And indeed she is , from one of the monarchies in Europe.

To this her roommate replied : ' I'm a princess too.'

The Princess was surprised : ' What kind of princess are you   ?  Where are you from ?'

Her roommate replied : ' I'm my parents' princess . Before coming here , I used to spend every evening with them singing , laughing and talking . What about yours ?'

The Princess fell silent .

------------------------------------------

Will the horse-boasting boy some day understand the true meaning of this story ?


------------------------------------------

Just ignore those snobbish little fellows !

Smiile

In fact, apart from YC, I find that the school fee or others fee that might be needed of French International School are very high.  

paramount

  Aus Int'l Sch may perhaps be cheaper, leaving aside ESF.