Relocating to Hong Kong

[neelie777]

Hello all, I've read a few threads on HK but I wouldn't mind some advice. We may be relocated to HK sometime in Q1-Q2 next year- my son turns 3 in January and my daughter turns 1 in July. Any thoughts on schools we should consider? Not a lot of international schools take children at 3 so would I be right in thinking that I should be looking at pre-schools (Sunshine House, Woodlands)? What is the assessment at international schools like for 3/4 year olds? My son is rather shy and is a thumb-sucker (we've been trying to get him to stop without success)- and I'm concerned about how he will come across. Any advice much appreciated!

Hi. Some international schools have their own kindergartens and some don’t. There are also a tonne of independent pre- schools offering mainly half day sessions ( including woodlands and sunshine house) . The key thing is to understand which international schools you have a realistic chance of getting into and what the age cut off dates/application dates and entry criteria are (Sep to Aug or Jan to Dec/ selective or wait list etc). There are also considerations between Uk curriculum or IB primary years.

You're right there are lots of international kindergarten to choose from. I believe Woodlands are only (mostly?) English stream but there are also many others that offer dual language (English/Mandarin) or even tri language stream (Cantonese/English/Mandarin).

There's a facebook group called 'Hong Kong Schools' - you'll be able to find loads of info on there. Also make sure your relocation pacakge includes your son's education as well, because international schooling is very expensive as well as competitive in HK.

Excellent pre-schools are hard to get in but your son should be able get into most good ones. But it will become significantly harder when it comes to primary education as there are not enough international places, sometimes being able to afford it doesn't even guarantee you a place.

Do lots of research before your move, as i have known friends who have relocated from HK because : 1) they couldn't afford the hkd130k+/pa school fee or 2) they couldn't get the school near home

Hope this helps.