News and Events

In recent years, an increasing number of international schools have been established in Hong Kong.

That, together with a group of existing international school students transferring to overseas boarding schools, means that many places in international schools have been vacated.

This has led parents to consider whether to let their children, often currently in local schools, transfer to Hong Kong's international schools.

Others, whose children are already studying in international schools, may choose to transfer to another school they prefer.

When discussing with families, we have observed that parents often have different considerations, and there are a few points worthy of attention.

First, a majority of the parents want their children to transfer to international schools mainly because they want to improve their English ability.

Additionally, they believe it will serve as a stepping stone to facilitate their children to continue studies overseas, such as universities or boarding schools.

Some families are also considering emigrating, and parents want their children to enroll in an international school first, to prepare them for studies abroad with an easier transition.

Local schools tend to have a heavier workload, and parents would like to reduce the pressure from homework and give children more breathing space.

Last but not least, some parents believe the way of thinking in such schools is more flexible.

For example, the IB curriculum tends to cultivate an international perspective and focus on inquiry-based learning, thus training students' creativity, independent thinking and research ability.

For parents interested in enrolling their children in international schools, a practical question will be: When is the best time to make the transfer?

Frankly, there is a fixed standard when it is more appropriate to make the transfer, but overall, we caution against waiting too long, such as entering a new school a year before public exams. For example, if students transfer during middle school, this will give them more time to adapt to the curriculum at international schools; this way, students can cope better when they face public exams such as IGCSE, A-Level GCE, or IB Diploma Programme exam.

Another point to note is that the level of difficulty and question tasks are progressively more complicated for older year groups. Finally, it is important to consider the student's maturity and comfort level in going through the entrance test exams.

Those are some of the factors we balance when discussing with families to plan ahead for children's study path.

Once parents have decided their children will aim for an international school, we will suggest the sooner the student prepares for the transfer, the better.

As for the most appropriate preparation time, if you want to enroll around August or September of the new school year, the entrance exam for students will generally be held between November and April of the previous school year.

Preparation is recommended to start 1 years before starting the new school, which allows parents and students more time to explore school choices, attend open days to understand the school's educational philosophy, and prepare for the entrance examinations.

The entrance examination is generally divided into a written test and an interview; the written test mainly assesses the students' English, mathematics and cognitive abilities.

In addition to preparing students' knowledge and abilities for the entrance examination, parents also need to prepare them psychologically, knowing that they may tackle the entrance examinations soon and start at a new school. Being mentally prepared helps students face the transition more smoothly.

We will continue in the next issue with how to choose schools and how to prepare for the entrance examination.