Moving to hong kong in June -help with renting in discovery bay

[HowardCoombs]

I know 2 families who are currently waiting on their move to Hong Kong and will move as soon as schools are confimed. I also know several families who moved to Hong Kong and they moved out again due to problems with school waiting lists. And, further to both of these I know some families where the father is working in Hong Kong and the rest of the family are waiting to move over.

I dont doubt what you are saying but I need to repeat what I said a few months back.
I also know a number of families that waited and left - in every case I found that the family were specific and inflexible with their wishes.

There is no shortage of school spaces in Hong Kong. If one is flexible, there are spots of all kinds. In this specific instance, with the kid being 9years old its actually easier to find a spot than if the kid was 6. Alas, DBIS will be very hard no matter what the age as the demand for that specific school is very high.

[TheBrit]

Every parent needs to evaluate the choices and make their own decisions. Some will compromise on their choices; others won't... This is life.

[Carmann]

We arrived in HK last year and couldn't get our 2 boys into school for 5 months...nightmare believe me! I did get in touch with the education board and left a very long email letting them know that i was not happy with the situation and what could they do to help. The secretary of education in HK phoned me and told me that I would be breaking the law if i did not send the boys to school. Also informing me it was illegal to home school my boys and we could face a hefty fine.
Anyway, long story short...a lot of calls/emails back and fore, many heated conversations and the education board would still not let me home school, so we enrolled them in a local school until a place became available at an international school.
Lucky for us both our boys were accepted last September into a great school on the island, the local school was great for the short period of time they were there though.
Speaking with a friend yesterday who lives in DB, she informed me there were a number of vacancies within the school over there as a lot of children are leaving there to attend the new school openimg at Tuen Mun, The Harrow School.
Good luck with it all, things normally work out in the end, I hope you don't have too much trouble with finding a school

Our boys were 5 and 9 when we arrived.
Also, schools will break up for the summer holidays next month and are usually closed for 8 weeks, I'd make enquiries now and explain your situation to the schools, some will be flexible for you with the applications.
Plus, a lot of children from DB go to school on HK Island. If you are flexible with where they go to school you may have a little more luck with getting them in somewhere. We live out at Tuen Mun and travel to Kennedy Town everyday, the boys and us are ok with this,
Good luck

[bryant.english]

The places with facilities is not worth it because there are great clubs for like 500hk a month with same facilities.

IMO if you want clubhouse facilities you should stick to buildings that have them, especially swimming pools. Even a swimming pool 'next door' is no substitute for being able to nip upstairs for a book or whatever.....especially with kids in tow...

500HKD? 500HKD each? More I'd say.....

[ClueMinus]

Let's skip over the semantics of whether it's "legal" or "illegal" to homeschool and figure out what to do.

The Permanent Secretary for Education is granted the power under Hong Kong’s Education Ordinance Cap 279 s 74 to order attendance at primary school or secondary school. Whatever label you want to use, "illegal" or what not, you the parent will receive an official attendance order if you failed to send your kids to school.

Now, how come there are still kids homeschooled in HK? Cap 279 s 74A provides for a process to appeal the attendance order.

Best to hook up with people who were granted exemptions to homeschool and pick their brains, such as The Hong Kong Homeschool Meetup Group as posted before. Once you see that the framework is "you usually can't homeschool in HK but you can appeal to get an exemption", it's moot to get stuck on whether it's "legal" or "illegal".

[Colzers]

TheBrit is not beIng rude here (neither was I nor most of the others).

I didn't mean to respond with quote to thebrit lol I hit wrong key.

[Colzers]

Dont understand what you are considering rude or why even taking this personally. You asked a question and you received very valid answers in return. The options that were given to you are ones that are regularly chosen by those in the same predicament.


A small bit of advice to follow on from your comments that I've quoted. I mean this with sincerity and with no disrespect:
You are moving to a new country with a very different set of laws, practices, value system, history & language. It would be in your interest not to expect things to be the same as "back home" nor make assumptions based on your country or pure logic for that matter.
Get ready to be shocked again and again on many fronts with schools being just one part of it.
Read, ask, learn, experience, embrace and enjoy; you'll love some aspects and hate some but I guarantee it will be different.

Regarding what I thought was rude was just some word choice but maybe I just read to in to it. It is hard to hear a tone of voice in typing.

I am well aware of the culture shock. I am sure not as much as I think though . More things keep coming up. I will embrace it and I am excited. I know a few things I will hate and love already but who know knows maybe I will end up loving what I think I will hate, like smaller living spaces= less cleaning. . All advise is appreciate greatly.

[Colzers]

I am sorry you felt that I was being rude, this was not my intention. The sad fact is that I am telling you the actual situation, rather than what you want to hear.

I know 2 families who are currently waiting on their move to Hong Kong and will move as soon as schools are confimed. I also know several families who moved to Hong Kong and they moved out again due to problems with school waiting lists. And, further to both of these I know some families where the father is working in Hong Kong and the rest of the family are waiting to move over.

I note you are moving to Discovery Bay, from what I have read on these forums the competition for places in schools there is very strong too. Have you called up DBIS and asked them if there is any possibillity of your nine year old getitng in? They might be able to give you a guesestimate chance before you formally submit your paperwork.

When you are armed with this information you can consider the options.

Sorry! I didn't men to reply to you on that! I understand what you are saying but I am in a situation where we can not stay. (can't afford mortgage here and rent there ). I will call school Monday morning and discuss options thank you!!

[Carmann]

Everybody has their own experience of the education system here in Hong Kong and I suppose we can all only comment on our own experiences
Some have a smooth ride and others have a stressful time of it, at the end of the day all you can do is try not to be disillusioned by the whole process.
We were also in a position that I had to arrive at the same time with the hubby
You can use an agent in HK who can arrange school tours and interviews for you, these agents usually have tutors also that can teach your children whilst looking for a school. They do charge a fee for their services but they can take the stress out of looking for you, to an extent.
We have friends in DB who have 2 children and both go to different schools. The youngest is in DB and the oldest, who is 7, goes to school on HK island. Not ideal for the family but it's working out really well for them
Things will work out for you in the end, I know from experience it can be very stressful at first trying to get kids a place especially when still in another country. We did find it easier when we had arrived in HK as all schools like to interview the parents and children...set some interviews up for when you arrive and take it from there.
Good luck

[Colzers]

I sent an email to the DB international school to see if I can apply with pending visa any advice on tge next closest school? And this that commute to schools are there school buses or is it all public transportation? I know Hong Kong is much safer then here I could never send my kid on her own to school via public transportation here so just curious on how tgat works there so I am prepared. Thank you for all tge great advice!