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Can a child go to primary school directly without kindergarten.?

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  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by Baewkon:
    In many countries yes. Look for homeschooling schools too, you might want to consider the freedom with this type of education.
    As far as I'm aware, homeschooling is not permitted after kindergarten. By law, all children aged 6-15 must attend a registered school.

  2. #12

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    My advice would be to go through the list of kindergartens in your area that accept vouchers. Quite a few voucher schools have an English curriculum so you can likely find something that suits you. The list also includes non-voucher schools so you could consider those also.

    I wouldn't worry too much about getting knocked back from one interview, I think its par for course. I'd suggest you try interviewing at 4-5 and then see what offers you get and pick the one that you like the most. Also in my experience the interviews tend to cover the same material, so you could look at what questions they asked at Delia and just prepare a little more for them, for example for K1 they tend to ask colors, see if the child can follow instructions and get them to do simple puzzles. I saw more or less the same process in all of the schools we interviewed with.

    Another thing to consider, the 'competitive' kindergartens tend to be more strict, and somewhat less warm in my experience. So depending on what you want for your child you may not want to target competitive kindergartens anyway.

    KGP 2017


  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by jmbf:
    As far as I'm aware, homeschooling is not permitted after kindergarten. By law, all children aged 6-15 must attend a registered school.
    I'm quite surprised that you believe this. There is a huge homeschooling community in Hong Kong.
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  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by SpeakCantonese:
    I'm quite surprised that you believe this. There is a huge homeschooling community in Hong Kong.
    But I'm not really wrong am I? From : LCQ11: Home-schooling

    "The Government provides nine years of free and universal basic education to children aged between six and 15. According to sections 74 and 78 of the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279), parents have a legal responsibility to ensure that their children within these ages attend school regularly. When cases involving school-age children failing to attend school regularly are found, officers of the Education Bureau (EDB) will contact the parents concerned or make home visits to see if the educational needs of the children have been properly addressed. The cases will also be assessed and followed up regularly. If the parents insist on keeping their children at home without valid reasons, the Permanent Secretary of the EDB may issue an attendance order under the Education Ordinance, requiring the parents to send their children to school."

    So technically it is a legal requirement, although it appears that the EDB considers each instance of homeschooling on a case-by-case basis. If the parents can't provide a reasonable excuse then they can be required to send their children to school.
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  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by SpeakCantonese:
    I'm quite surprised that you believe this. There is a huge homeschooling community in Hong Kong.
    Interesting. I can see there are several online groups. Any idea how many kids are homeschooled after kindergarden?

  6. #16

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    Check this link. There are some more liberal and non-competetive kindergarens on there who will most likely be happy to enroll your little girl. Sun Island and Heep Hong for example.

    In answer to your original question, kindergarten is highly recommended here in HK both as feeder into international but especially local schools as they are generally supposed to be able to read, write and do some simple maths BEFORE they enter primary.

  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by jmbf:
    So technically it is a legal requirement, although it appears that the EDB considers each instance of homeschooling on a case-by-case basis. If the parents can't provide a reasonable excuse then they can be required to send their children to school.
    I suppose so. But this is Hong Kong. You're not allowed to idle your car for more than two minutes, you're not allowed to run businesses from Go Downs, you need permission to build extensions on your house, etc, etc... Most homeschoolers get a visit from the EDB in the first year and that's the end. I've also heard it said on these boards that it is mostly expats....it is not! Many local people are also opting out of mainstream education. If I could find a way...I would homeschool my boys.

  8. #18

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    Homeschooling not against the law.

    "In Hong Kong, there were 33 homeschooling families registered with the Education Bureau as of April, 2015. We do not have the exact numbers, as many do not register. The Homeschool Meetup Group has around 119 families."

    I'm guessing here...but I estimate around 1000ish...

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by SpeakCantonese:
    "In Hong Kong, there were 33 homeschooling families registered with the Education Bureau as of April, 2015. We do not have the exact numbers, as many do not register. The Homeschool Meetup Group has around 119 families."

    I'm guessing here...but I estimate around 1000ish.
    1000 is more than I would have guessed but that's still a tiny percentage of the nearly 700,000 pupils in Primary and Secondary schools.
    Last edited by jmbf; 03-12-2017 at 01:46 PM.

  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by SpeakCantonese:
    I'm quite surprised that you believe this. There is a huge homeschooling community in Hong Kong.
    It's still illegal though. Many helpers work part time for other employers too, that doesn't make it legal.