bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Peace Chiu

A British private school set to open in Hong Kong in September has made the enrolment process easier by lowering the financial threshold, and announced the setting up of new campuses in Kowloon.
Critics said the move by Mount Kelly School could be related to controversies surrounding its scheduled opening.
On Thursday, it said the location of its operations this year would be changed and that the completion date of its original Tuen Mun campus would be pushed back to September 2018 instead of September this year.
A post on its Facebook page said it would open new campuses in Kowloon City and Yau Tsim Mong this September instead, but did not reveal the exact sites.
According to the post, the new campuses would be for preparatory and pre-preparatory pupils.
“Design and development continues for our main campus at So Kwun Wat, Tuen Mun, which is due for completion in September 2018,” Mount Kelly School said in the Facebook post.
Parents angry as Hong Kong’s Harrow International School fees and levies almost doubled to fund HK$500 million expansion
The Hong Kong branch of the British boarding school has been plagued by controversy since the project was announced in July last year. Critics expressed doubt over whether the school would open on schedule after it revealed in November that it had yet to seek government approval to build its So Kwun Wat campus. According to its Facebook post, the new campuses will be for preparatory and pre-preparatory pupils.
The school also recently updated its website to include the option of a non-refundable annual capital levy of HK$50,000 per pupil. It said this was required for applicants who did not subscribe to a refundable, non-depreciating HK$1.92 million nomination certificate, which it previously said was necessary to secure a final interview. The school earlier also said that those who did not get a place would be refunded.
Ruth Benny, founder of education consultancy Top Schools, welcomed the move, saying it would make the institution more accessible to a more diverse range of students as not many could afford the initial application costs.
Education lawmaker Ip Kin-yuen said it was possible the capital levy was introduced as a way to attract more students after the school’s reputation was hit by yet another controversy.
He said that “the school’s frequent changing of plans could lead parents to question its administrative capacity”.
Mount Kelly School has not responded to the Post’s requests for comment by phone and email.
No copying! British school poised to set up in Hong Kong cries foul over identical application
Ip also criticised the school for changing the campus location so close to the scheduled opening in September, as some parents had purchased individual nomination certificates with the intention of taking their children to the Tuen Mun campus. “[The school] has not even revealed the exact location of the new sites,” he added.
Mount Kelly School had previously said that parents would get a refund for individual nomination certificates if the school did not open on schedule, but it also repeatedly said then that it was very confident the Tuen Mun campus would be completed as planned by September this year. But it did not tell the media whether a change in location would also mean refunds for parents.
The Education Bureau issued several warnings to the school to not make declarations that might mislead the public or parents after it withdrew its school registration application in late July.
The bureau also warned the school not to call itself an “international school” until its application has been approved.


How international schools are preparing students to make the right financial decisions

How parents and schools can work together to boost students’ progress, from field trips to talks

Showing the way for tomorrow’s leaders: how Hong Kong’s MBA programmes are nurturing talent that will change the business landscape

Top international school, education foundation allocated 2 Hong Kong campuses

International schools in Hong Kong

Private British school in Hong Kong lowers financial threshold and announces Kowloon campuses

Mount Kelly School will not initially open in So Kwun Wat, Tuen Mun. Photo: Edmond So

Model of Mount Kelly International School in Tsim Sha Tsui. 07NOV16 SCMP / Nora Tam

News

Hong Kong

Education

Troubled Mount Kelly School makes it easier for pupils to enrol but delays opening of permanent Tuen Mun campus until September 2018
