Pricey EtonHouse aims to lure parents kindergarteners to New Territories

A Singapore-based kindergarten group is hoping an innovative curriculum and the green spaces of the New Territories will attract parents to part with some of the priciest tuition fees in town at its second school in the area.

EtonHouse, which opened its first kindergarten in Tai Tam last year, has secured a site surrounded by luxury housing estates at Pak Shek Kok, making it the only preschool in the vicinity of the Science Park in Tai Po.

The preschool - which has no connection to Britain's famous Eton College - will charge annual fees of up to almost HK$100,000 for a curriculum that it says will develop "problem-solving skills, critical thinking and creative thinking".

The 14,000 square foot site is rented from developer Sino Land, owned by the family of late Singaporean tycoon Ng Teng Fong. Members of the family had attended EtonHouse schools, school founder Ng Gim Choo said. "This particular location is near the Chinese University and the Science Park," Ng said.

"This is also a very beautiful area with a seafront view."

Bipasha Minocha, EtonHouse's group brand director, said many parents expressing interest in the new kindergarten were moving from Kowloon to the Tai Po area. She believed the natural environment had attracted these families.

Minocha did not disclose the rent, saying only that it was in line with market levels. She said the contract with Sino Land was "long-term", but did not reveal how long.