Admissions: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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General Admissions FAQs

An applicant’s priority status may change, for example, through making a Nomination Rights application or as a result of a sibling gaining entry to an ESF school. In such cases, the applicant will be placed on the waiting list in their newly acquired priority group according to the date the priority change occurred.

Parents may submit one online application for admission for the current academic year or for the following academic year for ESF primary or secondary, Discovery College or Renaissance College. There are waiting lists at each of our schools and the offer of a place is dependent on vacancy being available.

Central Applications for 2024/25 K1 (born in 2021) for ESF Kindergartens , Year 1 (born in 2019) for ESF primary schools, Discovery College and Renaissance College and Year 7 (born in 2013 for ESF secondary schools) will open in September 2023. Those who are applying for years other than Year 1 and Year 7 need to apply through General Applications.

For General Applications, parents may submit an online general application for admission for the current academic year or the following academic year for an ESF primary or secondary school or Discovery College or Renaissance College. There are waiting lists at each of our schools and the offer of a place is dependent on vacancy being available.

Each applicant may choose up to 4 ESF kindergartens or 4 ESF primary or secondary schools, including Discovery College and Renaissance College, in the order of preference. It is mandatory to choose one school.

Applicants on the current waitlist will be sent a system email in February or March inviting them to reapply. (No reapplication fee is required.) If no reapplication is received, the application will be considered withdrawn.

Please consider your choices carefully before submitting your application. Changes to choices may be done in February during the annual re-application exercise if the application is still on the waiting list.

Kindergarten Online Admissions​

Please refer to the email acknowledgement slip for the link of the online payment.

You may send an email to ESF admissions at kindergarten.admissions@esfcentre.edu.hk stating the fields which have to be corrected.

The automatic system email acknowledgement / application slip is sufficient to replace the online application form. We are able to track down your application with the application number.

Please email to ESF admissions at kindergarten.admissions@esfcentre.edu.hk quoting your application number. We will check it from the system and send back an acknowledgement. If it did not go through please refer to Q1 to settle the payment.

Please email ESF admissions at kindergarten.admissions@esfcentre.edu.hk  quoting your application number. We will check it from the system and send back an acknowledgement. If it did not go through please refer to Q1 to settle the payment.

If you need the form as supporting document, please refer to Q3. Unfortunately we are not able to provide a copy of the application form for your reference. Please save a copy before closing the window.

Please email the applicant’s name to ESF admissions at kindergarten.admissions@esfcentre.edu.hk to check if an application is submitted.

Please email ESF admissions at kindergarten.admissions@esfcentre.edu.hk quoting all reference numbers that you received. We will delete the duplicates accordingly. Application fee paid for duplicate applications will not be refunded.

If you experience technical difficulties, please try on other computers or update your internet browser to the latest version. The supported browsers are the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Chrome on Windows and Mac OS with the browser’s security settings at or below default levels to access this online system. 

We would strongly encourage parents to apply for and pay the application fee using the Online Admissions System.

Saves Time – The student application form is received immediately on the school database. No delays in posting the application form.

Immediate Acknowledgement Receipt – Parents will receive an automatic acknowledgement with a 12-digit unique application reference number once application has been submitted through the admissions system.

No Missing Application – No worries of the application being lost in the post.

Primary & Secondary Online Admissions​

Please refer to the email acknowledgement slip for the link of the online payment.

The automatic system email acknowledgement/application slip is sufficient to replace the online application form. We are able to track down your application with the application number.

Please email to ESF admissions at admissions@esfcentre.edu.hk quoting your application number. We will check it from the system and send back an acknowledgement. If it did not go through please refer to Q1 to settle the payment.

If you need the form as supporting document, please refer to Q3. Unfortunately we are not able to provide a copy of the application form for your reference. Please save a copy before closing the window.

Please email ESF admissions at primary.admissions@esfcentre.edu.hk or secondary.admissions@esfcentre.edu.hk  quoting all reference numbers that you received. We will delete the duplicates accordingly. Application fee paid for duplicate applications will not be refunded.

You may refer to the e-mail acknowledgement slip for the link to access to your online application for upload. We require a proper passport/student photo in JPEG measuring 4cm (W) x 5cm (H).

Yes. You may click on the link on the e-mail acknowledgement slip to access to your child’s application.

If you experience technical difficulties, please try on other computers or update your internet browser to the latest version. The supported browsers are the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Chrome on Windows and Mac OS with the browser’s security settings at or below default levels to access this online system.

We would strongly encourage parents to apply for and pay the application fee using the Online Admissions System.

Saves Time – The student application form is received immediately on the school database. No delays in posting the application form.

Immediate Acknowledgement Receipt – Parents will receive an automatic acknowledgement with a 12-digit unique application reference number once application has been submitted through the admissions system.

No Missing Application – No worries of the application being lost in the post.

Nomination Rights

Yes. Applicants will need to complete an online application form and also an Individual Nomination Rights (INR) application form, which is available for download from the ESF website. The INR application and cheque are submitted in hard copy to ESF Centre.

INR applications may be made at any time, with the exception of Year 1 and Year 7 entry in August 2024, which can only be made from 1 to 30 September 2023. Applications should be submitted to ESF Centre, 25/F, 1063 King’s Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. All Nomination Rights applications will be handled by the ESF Centre.

INR applications registered today before midnight will be processed before the applications are received on the next day. INR applications with cheque received will be processed accordingly by online date order and time received.

Applications received within the same day will be processed in random order and will NOT be processed on a first come first served basis.

INR nominees are the fifth priority after Corporate Nomination Right nominees, ESF staff’s children and siblings of ESF students.

No. The nominee has to be a named individual on the application form. The INR holder must be a parent of the nominee. However, a company can apply for a Corporate Nomination Right. If you are interested to obtain further information, please email us at admissions@esfcentre.ed.hk.

In any academic year, the number of places offered to INR applicants will be limited to 150 across all ESF schools from Years 1 to 13.

The HK$50,000 deposit is refundable only if the child fails the admissions assessment.

If the child passes the assessment, the HK$450,000 must be paid when the place is accepted.

No, the HK$500,000 is for a named individual and is non-transferable and non-refundable once paid for a confirmed place

Placement is subject to success at interview/assessment and place availability. Priority is accorded to waitlist placement and consequent timing of consideration for interview/assessment.

Yes, placement is subject to availability at the school and a commitment to remain at the school for a defined period. INR applicants may indicate up to three schools in order of preference at which the Nominee can be considered. Waitlist placement will be considered for each school listed in turn. Nominees must be prepared to attend any of the schools indicated. A transfer is possible after a period of time, but it is applicable only if the family resides in the school one.

Like all other applicants, the INR Nominees will go through the standard interview assessment procedures. Overseas families may be assessed when they arrive in Hong Kong.

ESF Kindergartens has the Kindergarten Class A Debenture scheme which parents may gain a priority for admissions. Please click here for more information.

No. The INR scheme is not applicable to applicants for Learning Support and Jockey Club Sarah Roe School. 

After confirmation of a school place, INR applicants will have to pay the INR balance of HK$450,000, the admissions deposit and the non-refundable capital levy of HK$38,000 (for Year 1) and will be reduced, on a sliding scale, for students who join the system in later years. 

Kindergarten Class A Debenture

The cost is HK$500,000. Parents must pay a deposit of HK$50,000 with the Debenture Application Form. The HK$450,000 balance is due seven days following your child being offered a place at the Kindergarten.

A child born in 2021 applying for K1 admissions to August 2024 may purchase the Class A Debenture. It will give the child a priority fast track for a Play Visit for a kindergarten place.

No. The Kindergarten Class A Debenture is optional. If parents do not purchase a Class A Debenture, the Class B Debenture HK$7,000 is paid upon joining the kindergarten. This is refundable when the child graduates from K2.

The deposit of HK$50,000 for the Debenture is refundable if the child is not successful in gaining a place at Kindergarten. If the student is suggested for placement within the learning support provision or Jockey Club Sarah Roe School and is processed through the Admissions and Review Process (ARP) for placement, the Debenture will be refunded if there is no immediate available Year 1 placement. It will not be converted into an Individual Nomination Rights.

All outstanding fees or other amounts owing to the Kindergarten must be settled before the Class A Debenture can be redeemed.

The Class A Debenture is non-redeemable once the acceptance of a Year 1 place at an ESF primary school or college is confirmed by the parent.

The Class A Debenture is non-transferrable.

The Debenture is redeemed in full upon graduation from Kindergarten. All outstanding fees or other amounts owing to the Kindergarten must be settled before the Class A Debenture can be redeemed.

The deposit of HK$50,000 is refunded and the application process is completed and removed from the Kindergarten list. It will not be considered for an alternative ESF Kindergarten.

Yes. The Kindergarten Class A Debenture will be fully and immediately converted into an Individual Nomination Rights for Year 1 and parents will have a choice of school based on quota availability for a ESF School or College. The child is guaranteed an ESF School or College subject to be able to benefit from a mainstream English education.

In the case of taking a Year 1 place at one of the Colleges, only HK$400,000 out of the HK$500,000 will be applied to convert into an Individual Nomination Right. The difference of HK$100,000 will be refunded to the Debenture Holder.

Non-refundable Capital Levy

Non-refundable Capital Levy is introduced to replace the existing Refundable Capital Levy (RCL) to build up a sufficient capital funding stream to finance redevelopment projects of ESF schools.

Parents of students who are enrolling into ESF schools from August 2015 will be required to pay NCL, alongside with admission deposit, when they accept an offer of a school place.

NCL will be charged in full, as per the sliding scale table, for the first two children of a family. For the third and subsequent children of a family, parents will only be required to pay 40% of the sliding scale provided that the first two children of the family have already paid full NCL and they are still in ESF schools when their sibling enrols.

If a family has more than two children enrolling in ESF schools within the same school year, the concession will apply to the third and subsequent children attending the highest year group.

For students who are eligible for sibling concession, they are required to pay the full NCL upfront upon enrolment. After the information regarding NCL payment history or sibling concession as declared on the enrolment form has been validated, the refund will be arranged within three months after the school start day.

All students who have Refundable Capital Levy (RCL) on account are not required to pay NCL. When a student in primary school reaches Year 7, the student will not be required to pay NCL as long as RCL is still on account.

Yes. Students studying in private independent or ESF kindergartens are required to pay NCL if they join ESF schools from 2015/16 onwards.

Yes, all students will have to pay NCL on enrolment. As NCL is a one-off levy, once it is paid, the student will be exempted for the rest of his time with ESF schools. Parents have to indicate this information in the enrolment form upon re-enrolment for verification. Once the information is verified, ESF will arrange a refund within 3 months after the commencing of school. This arrangement is also applicable to the leavers who have paid NCL before and re-enrol in ESF schools again.

Yes. The student has already left the ESF system and never paid NCL before. You will be required to pay NCL when he re-enrols in the system.

For students newly enrolled in ESF schools, advance fees are already paid by means of an admission deposit. They will not be required to pay advance fees. For the rest of the students without RCL on account, they will be required to pay advance fees, regardless of NCL is paid or not.

ESF Financial Assistance Scheme is the scheme for eligible students who are already in the ESF system. NCL is the levy charged to new students only. Financial assistance on NCL is not applicable.

Zone-Free Policy

Each applicant may choose up to four primary or secondary schools including private independent schools in the order of preference. It is mandatory to choose one school.

The zone-free policy is effective from 1 August 2023.

No. All applicants will be given the option to update their choice of schools. Each application will retain the original date of submission.

All applicants on the current waitlist will have an opportunity to update their choice of school during a two-week period starting in mid-July 2023. No extra fee is applied. Parents will receive an email in July from ESF Admissions with a link to access your application form to update choices.

ESF K2 students transferring to primary school may also enjoy the zone-free policy. Students will have four choices of primary schools.

Allocation to a preferred school is not guaranteed and is dependent on the availability of places. Allocation based on priority categories and non-local vs local passport holders percentages remains in effect to meet EDB requirements. All parents should indicate more choices as high-demand primary schools are oversubscribed every year. We will direct K2 students where there are available Year 1 primary places if your chosen schools are full.

An applicant will waitlist for the first choice school. If you want to wait on the second choice, please place that school as the first choice school. The second choice will be considered if there is availability of a place and there are no applications on that school’s list. The same with a third or fourth-choice school.

Please consider your choices carefully before submitting your application. Changes to choices may be done in February during the annual re-application exercise if the application is still on the waiting list.

The zone-free policy does not apply to Y6 primary students transferring to secondary school. Allocation is according to the ‘associated secondary school’ which remains unchanged. Please see the ESF website here for more information.

School bus routes will remain unchanged unless there are viable numbers for new routes to be arranged. There are currently some routes that cross the harbour from Kowloon to Hong Kong. Please contact the school for information.

Yes, address documents are still required to confirm the applicant’s residential address for the records.

The zone-free policy applies. The student may request to transfer to any ESF primary or secondary school including the private independent schools.

Year 1 Central Application for 2024/25 - Key dates
(For children born in 2019 and for entry in August 2024)

1-30 September, 2023
1 September, 2023  Nomination Rights applications open
6 October, 2023 Deadline for receipt of supporting documents
11 October, 2023 Acknowledgement email sent to parents to advise admission process
November 2023 to January 2024 First round interviews conducted at primary schools
March to August, 2024 Further interviews conducted by primary schools as necessary

Year 7 Central Application for 2024/25 - Key dates
(For children born in 2013 and for entry in August 2024)

1-30 September, 2023
1 September, 2023  Nomination Rights applications open
5 October, 2023 Deadline for receipt of supporting documents
9 October, 2023 Acknowledgement email sent to parents to advise admission process
Mid-October to the end of November, 2023 Interview period
8 December, 2023 Offer for Year 7 places sent out
15 December, 2023 Deadline to confirm places offered by payment of a deposit and non-refundable capital levy

ESF Jockey Club Sarah Roe School (JCSRS)

2B Tin Kwong Road, Homantin, Hong Kong

About Our School

Everything we do at ESF Jockey Club Sarah Roe School is based on an understanding that every child is unique, with their own skills and passions. We offer our students some wonderful facilities to keep them happy, engaged and always learning. Our bespoke curriculum puts our students at the centre.

We reach our goals alongside our students through personalised, progressive and challenging lessons that offer students multiple opportunities for repeated, frequent experiences. Parents are an important facet of this team, since nobody knows your child better than you. Our teachers and therapists work with you to help establish suitable and practical goals for each student and how to support this learning at home. By helping each child to develop their own interests and personality, we help them to be the best they can be.

Meet the Principal

Anna Smakowska

Anna has almost 20 years of experience as a teacher and leader – with a strong focus throughout her career on helping students reach their full potential, regardless of any and all challenges that they may face.

School Bus Routes

The bus service for JCSRS students is managed by ESF Centre and JCSRS. School staff work as Bus Escorts and they are First Aid trained.

*The stops along the school bus routes may be subject to change. For more information, please contact the school.

K1 Central Application for 2024/25 - Key dates

1-30 September, 2023
1 September, 2023 at 1pm ESF Kindergarten Class A Debenture application opens 
First Friday of October Deadline for receipt of supporting documents
October 2023
November, 2023

Parents receive Play Visit status notification letters

November, 2023 to January, 2024 First round Play Visits conduct at kindergartens
January to Early March, 2024 Parents receive letter with Play Visit result
March to August, 2024 Further Play Visits conduct by kindergartens if necessary

ESF Year 6 students transferring to secondary school for August 2024

ESF’s all-through education, K1 to Year 13, enables a seamless transition from kindergarten to primary and from Year 6 to secondary. The close links our primary schools have with their associated secondary schools play an important role in delivering a positive experience and a good start to the year, for our Year 7 students.

ESF will process and allocate according to an ‘associated secondary school’ for Year 7 placement. Below are the associated secondary schools for each primary school.

ESF primary schoolAllocated ESF secondary school
Bradbury SchoolSouth Island School
Quarry Bay SchoolSouth Island School
Glenealy SchoolIsland School
Peak SchoolIsland School
Kennedy SchoolWest Island School
Beacon Hill SchoolIsland School
Kowloon Junior SchoolKing George V School
Clearwater Bay SchoolKing George V School
Sha Tin Junior SchoolSha Tin College

All Year 6 families complete the Gateway Y7 Transfer application to secondary school form during the first 2 weeks of September. 

All Year 6 students enrolled in an ESF primary school by 1 December are guaranteed a place in an ESF secondary school on completion of Year 6.

For Year 6 students in Learning Support (LS): the child’s placement will be managed and allocated through a different process that takes account of the availability of Year 7 LS placements across all secondary schools. The student’s Year 7 placement will be confirmed by the end of November.

A student joining Year 6 from 1 December onwards can not be guaranteed a secondary school place at their corresponding ‘associated secondary school’ but offered a Year 7 place at an alternative secondary school where there is availability.

For Renaissance College and Discovery College Year 6 students

The guarantee of Year 7 place is with the corresponding secondary sections. Transfer requests to an ESF secondary school may be considered based on availability and date of written request starting from 1 September to your school’s admissions office. There is no guarantee of transfer to Year 7 in an ESF secondary school.

Please note transfer between a private independent school and an ESF school and vice versa will mean payment of deposit and capital/building levy to take up the school place.

Please note the following key dates:

1-15 September 2023 Parents complete the Gateway Year 7 transfer form
End November 2023 Year 7 offer letters are sent via email from ESF Centre
4 December 2023 Deadline to confirm places the Year 7 places offered. ESF primary students are requested to pay the deposit to confirm the place.

ESF K2 students transferring to primary school for August 2024

Students who are attending ESF kindergartens will complete the Year 1 transition process. Information from ESF kindergartens will support the transition process.

Students in ESF kindergartens identified as needing additional learning support may be recommended to apply through the Admission and Review Process. This is a separate application process managed centrally at ESF Centre. This process also applies to all students applying from outside ESF. There are limited resources for placement within Learning Support and Jockey Club Sarah Roe School. Not all students going through the Admission and Review Process may be placed, as the demand is often greater than the number of places available.

All ESF K2 families complete the Gateway Y1 Transfer application to primary school form during the first two weeks of September.

All K2 students enrolled in an ESF kindergarten before 1 December are guaranteed a place in an ESF primary school on completion of K2.

A new student joining K2 on or after Year 1 offers to go out cannot be guaranteed a primary school place but will be given high priority on the waitlist for a Year 1 place.

Allocation for primary school is based on priority order plus EDB requirements (when necessary), and computer-generated random numbers. K2 children may be directed to an alternative primary school if there is an oversubscription at their first preference school. There is no guarantee of the school of first preference. All ESF primary school offers are accepted with a two-year commitment before any transfer request, regardless of residential address.

Please note the following key dates:

1-15 September 2023Parents complete the Gateway Year 1 transfer form
End November 2023Year 1 offer letters are sent via email from ESF Centre
8 December 2023Deadline to confirm places the Year 1 places offered. ESF kindergarten students are requested to pay the deposit to confirm the place

ESF Levels of Adjustment Framework​

The ESF Levels of Adjustment (LOA) provide a framework for identifying and documenting the adjustments and accommodations for students who require support for learning.

ESF uses LOA 1 to 6 to describe the amount and type of support a student requires in order to access the curriculum. The LOA also reflects the level of provision required.

Outlined below are the most common placements for students with LOA 1 to 6. Occasionally, placements may differ depending on the profile of the individual student.

LOA 1

Mainstream with support
Additional Differentiation:

Additional, ongoing class-based teaching and learning adjustments led by the class or subject teacher, in liaison with the IN department and/or short-term small group or individual intervention in 1 or 2 dimensions of schooling.

LOA 2

Mainstream with support
Additional Differentiation:

Regular, individualised teaching and learning adjustments of objectives, outcomes, materials or equipment, in multiple dimensions of schooling, as a result of class-based assessments and teacher judgement.

A combination of additional small group support, for minimum 2 cycles of intervention, in multiple areas. The student has an IEP, there is an ongoing liaison between class/subject teachers and the IN department, and there is regular contact with parents. These students often sit well below age-related expectations in one of the dimensions of schooling.

LOA 3-4

Learning Support
Daily, continuous differentiation:

Daily, individualised teaching and learning adjustments of objectives, outcomes, materials or equipment.

Access to daily push-in support in mainstream lessons and pull-out support focusing on skill development, concept reinforcement, and functional life skills teaching. Access to alternative curriculums at the secondary level.

LOA 5-6

Jockey Club Sarah Roe School
Continuous individualised differentiation:

Continuous, individualised support. Systematic interventions and highly individualised teaching programmes through multidisciplinary approaches with a high staff-to-student ratio.

Learning Support

Mainstream with Support

Many students who require less extensive, class-based teaching and learning adjustments are catered for within mainstream classes in all kindergartens and schools.

Learning Support

Students who require more extensive, daily teaching and learning adjustments are catered for within learning support (LS) within ESF primary schools and secondary schools.

Entry to this level of provision is through a central process called the Admissions and Review Process, not through the local school.

Jockey Club Sarah Roe School

Students who require the most extensive teaching and learning adjustments are catered for within the Jockey Club Sarah Roe School (JCSRS).

JCSRS has a bespoke curriculum that is designed to be broad and balanced to meet the needs of our diverse learners. The curriculum is taught through subjects but has significant elements of project based learning that enhance transdisciplinary application of knowledge and skills.


The JCSRS curriculum is divided into six pathways, each with its own distinct learning approach and priorities. The pathways are determined by age and also by the needs of students.

Secondary School (Year 12-13)

IB Diploma Programme:

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB DP) is a course designed for students aged 16 to 19. Students can choose to follow either the full IB Diploma Programme or their choice of individual IB Diploma courses. Widely recognised as the best possible preparation for study at university, the IB DP builds research skills, promotes personal responsibility and encourages independent learning.

The full IB DP core comprises six subjects and the following key components:

Students can choose one subject from each of the groups below, three at Higher Level (HL) and three at Standard Level (SL).

  1. Studies in Language and Literature (Language A);
  2. Language Acquisition (Language B or ab initio), or a second Language A;
  3. Individuals and Societies (Humanities);
  4. Experimental Sciences;
  5. Mathematics;
  6. Arts (or a second Science, or a third language).

Specialised Pathways:

Our personalised pathways allow students to focus on creative projects and inquiries and reflect on their achievements. Students whose strengths are in applied learning are often practical and goal-oriented. Courses are routed in practical and real-world situations and are made relevant to the world of work. The courses are modular with no external examination element.

ESF schools currently provide Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC ) courses which are recognised by many universities worldwide. These courses can be studied alongside other subjects and provide a varied learning experience for students.

A number of ESF schools are also developing the International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme (IBCP) to offer opportunities for those students who have a particular career path in mind. The IBCP allows students to specialise and dedicate themselves to a career path that they know they want to pursue. The IBCP encompasses some elements of the IB Diploma Programme within its structure. It also encompasses the IB’s educational philosophy and mission.

Secondary School (Year 7-11)

IB Middle Years Programme:

The Middle Years Programme (MYP) prepares students to become active, caring, lifelong learners who demonstrate respect for themselves and others and have the capacity to participate in the world around them. Learning focuses on the development of the whole child as an inquirer, both in and beyond the classroom and encourages students to be critical, creative and reflective thinkers. The MYP is a framework on which to hang a challenging and rigorous curriculum, which provides authentic, real-world connections to the learning in the classroom.

The curriculum consists of 8 subject groups integrated through 6 interactive areas providing global contexts for learning.

Our MYP centres around and is underpinned by the following five key components:

 

As a further means of developing autonomous, self-directed learners, students are given the opportunity to demonstrate their learning through completing a project, which encourages reflection on their learning and outcomes of their work. This is a long-term project, which is embedded within a global context and generates a synthesis of creative and critical thinking and approaches to learning through an in-depth investigation.

MYP Projects
Students who complete the MYP in Year 9 or Year 10 complete the community project, enabling them to develop their commitment to service as action within the community. All students who complete the MYP in Year 11 complete the personal project.

International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE)
(Years 10 & 11):

The IGCSE is a two year course of study with an externally set syllabus with assessment criteria for Years 10 to 11. The five ESF secondary schools design courses to meet these criteria. This includes a range of language courses available in foreign, second and first languages. The examinations are externally set which is similar to the IB Diploma final examination period. Grades are awarded with students typically taking between seven to ten subjects.

Students will also be able to access a range of co-curricular courses in the creative, community service and physical domains. Some of these activities have qualifications associated with them.

Primary School Curriculum

IB Primary Years Programme (Age 5-11):

International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) is an international, trans-disciplinary programme designed to foster the development of the whole child, not just in the classroom but also through other means of learning. The PYP focuses on the total growth of the developing child, encompassing academic, social, physical, emotional and cultural needs.

We provide a wide range of curricular and co-curricular programmes and opportunities. The curriculum is expressed in three interrelated ways:

Examples of co-curricular activities include: Our schools aim to develop internationally minded students by encouraging the development of the traits described in the IB student profile. We support children to become inquirers, thinkers, communicators, risk-takers and to be knowledgeable, principled, caring, open-minded, balanced and reflective.

Kindergarten Curriculum

ESF Pre-Kindergarten (Age 2-3):

Our approach to learning is through play based theory. Across five key areas of enquiry; Wellbeing, Belonging, Communication, Contribution, and Exploration, each toddler’s voice will be heard, their progress celebrated, and their language and knowledge nourished. Our curriculum centres on the premise that everything that occurs with or for the child is curriculum. It is inquiry based and concept driven. It is designed to be stimulating yet flexible to provide for the children’s desire to explore and investigate.

IB Primary Years Programme (Age 3-5):
The Primary Years Programme (PYP) is built on 6 Transdisciplinary Themes through which students explore and engage in the different subject areas. The core of the PYP model shows the 5 Essential Elements which are common to all teaching and learning: concepts, skills, knowledge, attitudes, and action. The PYP Curriculum provides: Mandarin Chinese is the specialist language and is integrated into the PYP programme, forming a core aspect of the curriculum. At Abacus and Tung Chung International Kindergartens, there is a choice between an English stream and a bilingual English and Mandarin Chinese stream.