The stupefaction of many parents over Mr Lyden's resignation was not in querying the inspection process, rather than that one of the pillars of the ESF had caved in so tamely. Mr Lyden had refused to accept any criticism of his school in all the exchanges we had over the past year. There are many parents who regard Beacon Hill as a necessary evil for their children to suffer in lieu of a serious affordable alternative. They object to paying large sums of money for a regular 1:30 teaching ratio and a learning environment that would be described as unexceptional compared with the average UK government school. Western families are short-changed for many reasons. Classes are under resourced in human and material terms; the English environment is increasingly diluted; the time spent on creative activities is minimal and unconventional learners are viewed with suspicion and labeled with various learning disorders. The only mechanism for dealing with complaints is bullying parents into retracting their comments. I could go on. Expatriate families are, in consequence, staying away in droves. The response from the ESF is predictable: 'We understand that you want value for money but . . . well this is Hong Kong and over here people are quite happy to shell out cash for pretty standard fare. Besides, we've got an excellent reputation in the community. And an impressive waiting list.' TOM CASSIDY Tuen Mun
