Hong Kong school's new policy a double-edged sword

Hong Kong school

The largest international school organisation in Hong Kong is scrapping interviews for students moving from its kindergartens to their primary schools.

Young students aiming for a place in an English Schools Foundation (ESF) primary school used to have to go through a stressful interview process to gain entry. Families also had to go through interviews.

Although it aims to alleviate the stress of young students, education sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen believes the new policy may increase competition as parents vie for spots in ESF kindergartens to secure year one slots at ESF’s popular schools.

Year one places are now offered to current ESF students after an assessment by its kindergarten and primary school teachers.

“We knew that this [interview] process could often be a stressful one. That was why we made changes,” said Adam Hughes, ESF director of education.

“Removing the need for an interview not only removed something that parents found difficult, it also meant that our primary schools would engage with the children earlier and in a much more meaningful way.”

He added that the new admissions approach is “clearer, faster and less stressful for families”. He also hopes it will give parents more certainty about their child’s education and make the transition from kindergarten to primary much easier for students.

The new policy only applies to students who are enrolled at an ESF kindergarten from the second term of K1. Other applicants still need to go through an interview.

For the assessment process, ESF primary school teachers will pay visits to its kindergartens to observe students and see if they are suitable for a spot in their schools.

“Many parents were not happy as they let their children study in ESF from K1 in the belief they would carry on there, only to find out that they did not have first priority because the school would still interview other students,” an ESF spokesperson said.

“Foreigners even [had lesser options] as their native language is not Chinese. They would be nervous if their children could not get into an ESF school.”

There were about 1,300 year one places available at its nine primary schools and about 94% of the spots at one of ESF primary schools was offered to students from ESF kindergartens.

ESF schools received 1,935 applications from the central admissions last year and 60% were external applicants, reported The Standard.