English exams for four-year-olds as Hong Kong school lowers test age
English tests from famed university will accept candidates younger than five starting in summer
On top of after-school classes in piano, violin, ballet and drawing, "tiger mums" now have another option to make sure their four-year-old tots stand out - a certificate from Britain's prestigious University of Cambridge.
The accreditation is granted through English proficiency tests that will now accept candidates as young as four, down from age five previously.
"Children in Hong Kong are achieving a great deal with their English language learning, which is creating a huge demand for English tests at younger and younger ages," Crystal Kwong, head of examinations at ESF Educational Services, said.
ESF Educational Services, an affiliate of the English Schools Foundation, is authorised by the university's Cambridge English Language Assessment to hold the series of tests known as Cambridge English: Young Learners.
The company lowered the test-taking age so Hong Kong parents did not need to take their children to the mainland or Macau, where the age limit for the tests was four, an ESF spokesman said. The first tests since the introduction of the change will take place this summer.
But education-sector lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen said children so young should be playing with peers rather than taking assessments. "I am worried about the pressure on the children," he said.
