https://www.scmp.com/rss/325975/feed Head Girl of Top Schools en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ruth Benny Ruth Benny Navigating the maze of schools in Hong Kong’s competitive education scene is no small feat. As an education consultant with more than 13 years’ experience steering families through this high-stakes journey, as well as many years of being a teacher before that, I’ve seen the process spark everything from blind hope to sheer panic. Yet, the secret to finding the perfect school is deceptively simple: it all hinges on a conversation: real, human interactions that provide a window into a school’s... https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3321839/school-admissions-expert-ruth-benny-says-choosing-school-best-done-face-face?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/special-reports/article/3321839/school-admissions-expert-ruth-benny-says-choosing-school-best-done-face-face?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 Aug 2025 07:21:27 +0000 For decades the Education Bureau (EDB) has been turning a blind eye to the way that private schools – including international ones – routinely charge multiple “other” fees. The long list of additional payments forced on parents can include debentures, capital levy fees, entry fees, application fees, deposits, learning support fees and more. In January this year Hong Kong’s ombudsman finally sat up and took notice of this irregularity and published a report that slammed the bureau for allowing... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3091190/what-hong-kongs-education-bureau-doing-about-various-other?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3091190/what-hong-kongs-education-bureau-doing-about-various-other?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jun 2020 07:47:39 +0000 The process of applying to international schools in Hong Kong can push even the calmest of parents over the edge. It’s a notoriously competitive scene that repeats itself year after year. At Top Schools, we have been working with families for more than eight years to provide support and guidance each step of the way and place children in schools where they’re able to thrive. Typically, we advise parents to get in touch at least one full year before they need a school place. Assessments and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3077890/fees-fears-and-uncertainty-will-parents-frustrations-about?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3077890/fees-fears-and-uncertainty-will-parents-frustrations-about?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2020 04:29:32 +0000 Parents choose different schools for their children for many reasons. They often don’t do so deliberately yet, when faced with this as a necessity, it turns out to be a positive experience. As a decision, it may come down to the child's personality, curriculum, learning “style”, class size or location. A growing number of parents are bucking the traditional “one family, one school” model and splitting up the children, a path they feel supersedes the convenience of the single commute and aligned... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2170680/one-family-two-schools?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2170680/one-family-two-schools?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Oct 2018 02:00:00 +0000 Raising youngsters is largely about nurturing personal growth – kindergarten is a German word meaning “garden of children” – but not all flora flourishes under the same conditions. When creating an education plan for your child, there’s no point in planning too far ahead. The process is daunting enough without the burden of trying to predict what your needs will be in 10 years’ time, or how that little person living in your house will best learn when he or she is a teenager. So here are a few... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2147722/7-pointers-help-you-plan-your-childs-early-education?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2147722/7-pointers-help-you-plan-your-childs-early-education?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 May 2018 02:30:45 +0000 In today’s world, most educators would argue that we should be encouraging children to play at every opportunity. Yet many Hong Kong parents – and some schools – continue to undervalue the educational value of play, often believing in a false dichotomy that “play is play” and “learning is learning”. This quiet resistance to play is driven by the fear that, the more children play, the less they learn. In fact, especially in the formative early years, it might just be the opposite. Genuine... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2142024/power-play-kids-are-learning-through-having-fun?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2142024/power-play-kids-are-learning-through-having-fun?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 17 Apr 2018 02:00:15 +0000 Many parents in Hong Kong feel so overwhelmed by the process of choosing a school for their child that they are adamant they will only do once. Early on, many tend to fixate on through-train schools where their four- or five-year-old can stay for 12 or 13 years with the result that they disregard primary-only schools. Since our children and our circumstances change, the possibility that a child will change schools at least once is high. With the competition for places always greater in primary... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2122886/primary-only-schools-square-through-schools-battle-pupils?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2122886/primary-only-schools-square-through-schools-battle-pupils?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Dec 2017 03:15:30 +0000