Batgung

Well, it's been nice. After a flurry of worry about choosing a kindergarten for Daughter Tall, Mrs Tall and I have been able to cruise for a couple of years.

Daughter Tall ended up in one of Hong Kong's better-known kindies, and we've been very happy with the choice. She's never been anything but eager to get on her school bus, and she's done well enough. We should know, as her report cards are assembled at a level of detail that far exceeds my universiy transcripts, much less my own kindergarten reports. (I seem to recall Mother Tall's delight with a sharp reduction in my paste-eating in one academic quarter, but that's about it).

Unfortunately, it's unlikely we're going to be able to keep Daughter Tall parked in kindergarten for more than the obligatory one more year, especially as she's already the tallest girl in her class. This means we must face the inevitable: choosing a primary school for her. And since she'll be starting P1 in just a year and a half or so, it's obviously high time to get started on the process. [No, really, it is!]

As I've mentioned before, Mrs Tall and I decided some time ago that we'd send Daughter Tall to local schools if possible, and we're grateful that so far this plan still seems viable. Yes, Chinese homework is a pain, but Daughter Tall is handling it with aplomb.

The downside, however, is that choosing a Hong Kong primary school is orders of magnitude more complex than choosing a kindergarten. It's like having a go at Mt Everest after you've only practiced on Victoria Peak.

Over the past couple of years I've been convincing myself that I've got a pretty solid handle on how the whole school selection process works here. But as Mrs Tall and I have actually started talking about it, I've realized my grip on the key issues is mostly illusory. When I start trying to list out all the variables, I feel like I'm trying to group hug a pack of weasels.

With that rather unsavory image in mind, I'll just try to calm down a bit, and sketch out a preliminary list of some of the factors we'll need to confront as we work through this school choice process. Believe me, this list is going to be as much for my benefit as it is for yours! Oh, and keep in mind: this list applies only to Hong Kong's 'local' schools, i.e. ones that teach in Chinese as well as English. The 'international' schools sector is a whole other ball game.

So what do Hong Kong parents choosing a primary school need to balance off in making their decision?

• Is the school single-sex, or co-ed? Mrs Tall thinks this is a much bigger factor at the secondary level than at the primary, and I'm inclined to agree, but it's still something to think about.
• Does the school have a 'through-train' arrangement with a secondary school? That is, do students coming out of P6 automatically get a secondary school place at a sister secondary school? This is a big deal, actually, because many parents have had enough of the whole school selection process by the time they've made it through the kindergarten and primary school rounds. They just don't want to have to face the whol rigamorole again in six years, and at even higher stakes. I don't blame them at all. Another potential advantage of a through-train school -- depending on how you look at it, I suppose -- is that they may be less likely to assign really heavy homework to primary school kids. Why? Well, since they're feeding their own secondary school, they don't have to worry about their primary school graduates making it into other 'name' schools. For this very reason 'standalone' primary schools may be more likely to push kids hard, thereby building up their own name.

  One caution on this point: if you want to book a place on a through train, you'd better double check your ticket. That is, some organizations in Hong Kong certainly do run both primary and secondary schools, but they maintain fewer secondary places than primary. They then cream off their top primary graduates each year into their secondary system, leaving the 'leftovers' to go find other schools, where they're obviously labelled de facto as being lower achievers. Brtual approach, this, so if you're interested in a school system that practices it, you'd better be ready to push your kid.

• Is the school religiously affiliated? As in the UK, many schools in Hong Kong are government-funded, but run wholly by religious organizations. In Hong Kong this means mostly Christian and Buddhist schools are available. There are also completely secular schools, too. Many people in Hong Kong don't really care about this -- they just want their kids in the most reputable one possible -- but I do. I would prefer Daughter Tall went to a Christian school, but would be okay with a secular one. I would not want her at a Buddhist school, so at least that's one choice-limiting factor!
• How close is the school to you? This is crucial for your chances of getting your kid admitted to some schools, and of course a matter of logistical convenience for all of them.
• How is the school funded? This is a complicated but utterly crucial issue. There are basically three types of schools in Hong Kong, as per how they get their money.

  The Hong Kong Government simply pays for one set. To make it just a bit more difficult, though, this group of schools is subdivided into 'government' schools that are secular, and hence more like public schools in the USA; and 'aided' schools, which are the aforementioned ones run by religious organizations, but that are nevertheless mostly funded by government.

  The second group is the DSS -- i.e. Direct Subsidy Scheme -- schools. They're mostly government-funded -- hence the 'subsidy' in their category name -- but they are allowed to charge a limited amount of tuition to top up their government grants. They're also allowed a somewhat greater degree of autonomy. Many of Hong Kong's 'best' -- i.e. most traditionally-reputable -- schools fall into this category, along with quite a fewer newer and perhaps more experimental or 'progressive' schools.

  The third group comprises truly private schools, i.e. those that are funded by student fees. This is a wide-ranging bunch, with some good schools, and some that are not so good at all.

  It's important that you know how a school is funded for two reasons. First, of course, is how much you pay. But for many parents the much more crucial difference between these types of schools is how you get into them. And that's where things really start to get hairy.

  In fact, just getting this far into breaking things down has left me pretty exhausted. I'm therefore going to save the dirty details of the admissions process itself for a later article.

Comments from parents who have been through all this already are very, very welcome! You may also want to have a look at this compendium of comments on school choice in Hong Kong if you're interesting in this ever-fascinating [hah! --ed.] topic.