Job Discussion Forums

[Ger]

I believe many of you who frequent Dave's Cafe may work at International Schools in Hong Kong.

If so, could you point to to where I could get pupil/student entrance exam materials and interview questions - especially the latter.

The kids to be prepared for international school interviews are kindergarten pupils who are trying to enter at primary 1, and P6 pupils who want to join secondary F1.

I've got a child from the mainland coming for two hours each day this week starting from tomorrow!

Any tips from beautiful, handsome, wise, brilliant, clever, generous...would be greatly appreciated.

[Ludwig]

As I understand it, there are no 'set' questions. Rather, each institution will have its own oral entrance examinations. International schools are - by definition - highly independent (often as independent as schools can be in HK) and it will depend on the 'type' of international school. The Korean schools here are very different from the Dutch schools, for example (and the SA school is even the more different yet). I think you may have a bit of work on your hands as I suspect you will most likely have to prepare your own materials, based, of course, on the levels adopted in the institution's first year English texts. This will not be too overly difficult, after all, it will be the same level as that year in the UK or Australia (at British or Australian schools respectively).

Remember that many of these schools are for native speakers, not learners, and the children have to evince native speaker status at their interview (though, as I said, this will ultimately depend on the actual institution, many of which know fully well that a nascent child, in a native speaker environment, itself will, in a matter of only perhaps two years, achieve native speaker status).

[ChrisRose]

Rules for passing international school enterance examinations.

#1. Your cheque must clear.

#2. Make sure you child is not a little psycho.

#3. See rule 1.

[Ger]

The student in question told me that she sat the entrance exam for a particular international school in question but didn't attain the grade for entry so is going to go through the process again in a month's time. She said she had to write a self-introducation and then talk to the principal who gave her words out of which she had to make sentences. She assured me that she has to get into that school because it doesn't require her to re-new her visa each year, but the other international schools do.

I gave her a lot of interview questions, some words to make into sentences, verbal reasoning questions and non-verbal reasoning questions (see Athley Education).

P.S. There are two people who consider themselves to be handsome, beautiful, brilliant...you know who you are. Stand up please!

[ChrisRose]

For the most part, International schools want friendly, happy children, ehnce model answers are not such a good idea.

[Ger]

How long is a person (aged 11 yrs) allowed to be absent from school?

I thought that kids are required by law to go to school, yet the child says she doesn't attend any school, but is trying to get into one, isn't allowed in until she passes the entrance tests, she claims to have failed the first time and is going to try again at the end of the month.