Parents in Hong Kong are raising their expectations of kindergartens, with a growing number seeking bilingual classes and preschools that can help their child pass interview assessments, as competition to secure a place at international primary schools becomes more challenging.
Primary schools can afford to be more selective than ever with the number of applicants soaring, as parents of both Western and Chinese backgrounds are increasingly keen for their children to receive an international English-language education.
'The requirements have always been roughly the same, but with perhaps a little more flexibility if a child was weak in a particular area,' explains Ginny Humpage, senior curriculum co-ordinator at Woodland Pokfulam Pre-School.
'Schools can now afford to be selective since many more applications are received than there are spots.
'The stronger a child is in all areas the better chances of them being offered a spot. Most international primary schools do an assessment on English and match skills, as well as reasoning, speaking, listening and writing. The schools are more selective with who they take based on this criteria.'
Kindergartens are responding to tougher primary school admission requirements in a number of ways, including the offer of dual-language programmes, starting at a younger age, adapting their curriculum to the latest international early learning research, development and recommendations, and staying abreast of the entrance requirements of every international primary school in Hong Kong.
Sunshine House International Pre-Schools, which runs eight kindergartens in the city, is, for example, boosting its bilingual offer by extending its Putonghua and English-language speaking sessions to infants as young as nine months in mother groups.