Choosing a School Curriculum in Hong Kong When Your Next Move Is Unknown
Few cities offer as many school systems as Hong Kong. Families can choose British, American, Canadian, Australian and International Baccalaureate programs, as well as French, German, Swiss, Japanese, Korean and Singaporean schools, among others. With so much choice, the hardest families to advise are often the ones who do not yet know where they will go after Hong Kong. This post explains how Bennett’s Hong Kong consultant Yun Sun helps them decide.
The first question: when, and where next?
Yun always starts by asking a family when their next move is likely to be, and where. The advice changes with the answer, and with the age of the children.
If a family knows they will return home and want their children to rejoin the school system there, it usually makes sense to study the home country’s curriculum, in the home language. Schools in Hong Kong that follow a national system, such as Australian, French, German, Swiss, Japanese, Korean or Singaporean programs, generally give priority to children who hold that country’s passport or who can follow the curriculum in its language, which can make them both the most suitable and the most accessible choice.
When the next destination is open
For families who do not know where they will go next, or who want to keep their options open, there is no single right curriculum. Yun weighs many things together: the child’s age, academic ability and personality, the family’s background, and the child’s interests outside the classroom.
A few general points help:
- In the primary years, a move between systems is usually manageable, and the quality of the school matters more than the label on its curriculum.
- The final years of secondary school are the hardest time to move. A two-year program such as the IB Diploma or A Levels is best started and finished in one place.
- The International Baccalaureate is offered in many countries, which can make a later move easier, and is widely recognized by universities.
- A national curriculum suits a family who will return to that country, but can be harder to transfer from if the next move is elsewhere.
Curriculum is only one part of fit
Yun often tells parents that curriculum is only one of the things that make a school right for a child, and that two schools teaching the same curriculum can be very different. A school’s culture, its teaching style, the families it serves, its approach to languages and its support for students all shape a child’s experience at least as much as the program on paper.
Language is part of the same decision. Many families now weigh an English-medium school against an English and Mandarin bilingual program, and our post on choosing a school language in Hong Kong explains the trade-offs.
Thinking ahead to university
Students from Hong Kong’s international schools go on to universities in Hong Kong itself, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe, Singapore, Mainland China, Japan and elsewhere. In Yun’s experience there is some link between curriculum and destination, but school culture, peer influence and the strength of a school’s university counseling matter a great deal too.
For a family with a teenager, that makes the choice of school in Hong Kong part of a longer plan. Yun’s interview on starting a school search in Hong Kong says more about university routes from Hong Kong.
How a Bennett consultant helps
A Bennett consultant asks where your family may go next, looks at your child as a learner, and recommends schools whose curriculum and culture will serve your child in Hong Kong and after it. Because Bennett has consultants in many countries, we can also tell you how a school system at your likely next destination will view your child’s records.
Our Hong Kong education consultants help families plan for the next move as well as this one.
Get in touch with a consultant who can help you plan beyond Hong Kong, for an hour of clarity →
Bennett International Education Consultancy works directly with hundreds of families each year across the globe. We support families by helping them make informed decisions about the best-fit schools for their children; with our guidance, they secure placement in preschools, private day schools, public/state schools, boarding schools, colleges and universities, including schools with particular programs, such as special needs support.
