'Outsiders' have slim hope of landing ESF places
New scheme gives priority to staff and sibling connections and families who pay HK$500,000
Pupils hoping to land a place at an English Schools Foundation school in coming years will have a slim or non-existent chance of even securing an interview unless they are well connected to the ESF or have paid a costly nomination rights fee.
This is indicated by figures from the ESF, which announced on Monday that it would no longer give priority to non-Chinese-speakers and children from ESF-affiliated kindergartens.
Under the new scheme, priority will be given to those with staff and sibling connections, families who have bought the nomination rights costing HK$500,000 a student, and children of former ESF students.
A new assessment system will also be introduced to test applicants' English proficiency and their suitability for an ESF school through interviews with both the child and the parents.
But data revealed by the foundation show the annual offering of primary one places can easily be surpassed by the number of applicants who are connected to the ESF. More than 400 pupils who are either siblings of current students or children of staff applied for year one entry for the 2013-14 academic year.
These students get priority for interviews for one of the 1,020 year one places available every year, along with 600 graduates of ESF-affiliated kindergartens,