Finding a school in Hong Kong
Rapid growth in expat numbers and local demand, had led to an undersupply of school places for the children of international assignees in Hong Kong in recent years. However, significant investment in the international schools sector in recent years means that the situation is now changing.
Recent international school developments
Some existing schools have expanded. These include the International Montessori School network in Hong Kong, which has renovated its Stanley campus to cater for a further 700 kindergarten and primary-school pupils.Development of a new campus for the Christian Alliance International School in Butterfly Valley, Lai Chi Kok, is underway. The campus, which will offer a Canadian curriculum, opened Autumn 2017, with additional phases due to be complete by 2020.Harrow International School Hong Kong, the first international coeducational day and boarding school in Hong Kong, opened in September 2012 and has grown rapidly. Currently boasting a student roll of over 1,500, it underwent a five-year period of strategic development between 2013 and 2018.September 2014 saw Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong (NAIS HK) open in the Lam Tin district of East Kowloon. The school received permission to extend its campus to allow it to take students up to Year 11 and it began to welcome Year 11 students in August 2018. NAIS HK also opened its new campus in Tin Wan, Aberdeen, in the southern part of Hong Island in 2017 to cater up to Year 13 offering the IB Diploma Programme.Malvern College Hong Kong, a British International School offering the IB curriculum from primary years to upper secondary opened in 2018. The school inherits its ethos from Malvern College in the UK with its 150-year history.Established school options
Li Po Chun United World College (UWC) of Hong Kong celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2017. The school is part of the UWC movement, which follows a unique education model aiming to develop responsible, tolerant leaders who can bring about change in the world. It is an IB World School and actively pursues diversity within its student body, which represents over 80 different nationalities.One of the largest providers of English-medium international education in Hong Kong is the English Schools Foundation (ESF). It was established and subsidised by the government to provide families, particularly local citizens, with access to affordable English-language education. ESF’s schools cater for different ages, from kindergarten to 18. They include two private independent schools, and they are very popular. Over 17,000 students attend, more than 5,000 of them expatriates.Debentures and capital levies
Several premium international schools in Hong Kong also demand some form of capital payment or debenture, either as an attendance requirement or, in some cases, as a route to application priority. Some payments are refundable when the child leaves a school; others are not.Developments
Following the on-going protests in Hong Kong, global mobility specialists, ECA International (ECA) commented at the end of September, “Although Hong Kong remains one of the safest major cities in the world, developing protests throughout the city represent the greatest threat to public security since the government of Hong Kong returned to China in 1997.“It is clear that events in Hong Kong at present are extremely fluid and, with no end in sight to the protests, employers in the territory will need to stay aware of developments... Most international staff continue to live and work in Hong Kong reasonably normally as yet.”It remains to be seen what impact recent political events will have on expatriate numbers and the demand for international school places.This article is from Relocate Global's Guide to International Education & Schools 2019/20 which is packed with expert tips and information for those relocating and the professionals supporting them. For volume options, co-branded editions, digital or online licence agreements and advertising opportunities, contact Fiona Murchie at +44 (0)1892 891334 or email fiona@relocatemagazine.comNow available as an ebook on Amazon! Simply download from Amazon onto your Kindle, mobile phone or tablet to read wherever you are!
Subscribe to Relocate Extra, our monthly newsletter, to get all the latest international assignments and global mobility news.Relocate’s new Global Mobility Toolkit provides free information, practical advice and support for HR, global mobility managers and global teams operating overseas.Access hundreds of global services and suppliers in our Online DirectoryFor more education and school-related news, visit our Education and Schools pages.© 2019. This article first appeared in the 2019/20 edition of the Guide to International Education & Schools published by Relocate Global, Spray Hill, Hastings Road, Lamberhurst, Kent TN3 8JB. All rights reserved. This publication (or any part thereof) may not be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of Relocate Global. Relocate Global accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.
©2024 Re:locate magazine, published by Profile Locations, Spray Hill, Hastings Road, Lamberhurst, Kent TN3 8JB. All rights reserved. This publication (or any part thereof) may not be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of Profile Locations. Profile Locations accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.