One of the question I get asked most since I moved back to Hong Kong is:
โ๐๐ผย ๐๐ผ๐ย ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟย ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ดย ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ดย ๐ผ๐ฟย ๐ฆ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ?โ
Honestly, both has their pros and cons, and I love both places for different reasons. The list is pretty long, so I decided to do several blog posts about it.
So letโs start off with the first topic - Schools and Extra Curriculum Classes.
As a mother, this is a topic that I am very passionate about, and one that I have researched into quite a bit. As I do believe finding the right school for your child is very important. Because I believe that even if your child got into the most prestigious school but if it is not the right fit, your child will still not thrive.
I would just like to clarify, I am writing this blog post as a mother, and not an educator. This blog post is written in my perspective and based on my personal experiences, as a mother and as someone who is dyslexic. I know first hand how different educational system can affect someone's learning and confidence based on their learning style.
I am a huge believer in "finding the right school for the child". Because life is more than just obtaining good grades. Take it this way, the kid who is always at the top of the class does not mean or guarentee that they will be the most successful in their career later on in life. Good grades can help you get into a good university, but does not guarentee success. Even top universities now look for more than just good grades.
Now that this is out of the way, letโs dive in. I am splitting the blog post in to 5 topics:
Pre-schools
Local Schools
International Schools
Extra Curriculum Classes
Summary
Pre-schools
Most pre-schools in Singapore also doubles up as childcare (18months to 7 year olds), and some even offers infant care. (2 - 18 months) Which is a dream for parents. So the kids can stay in school for the whole day! (7am - 7pm if you really need to.) Which is ideal for working parents, especially for those with long working hours.
Even as a Stay-at-home mum,ย having access to full day pre-school was amazing. It really allowed me to do my own thing during the day, which was great for my mental health, as I didnโt feel like I was losing myself completely to motherhood. My kids use to go to school around 8:30am and come home around 5:15pm, which was such a GAME CHANGER! I was able to do so much during the day, and gave me such a good balance. (My ideal Balanced Motherhood lifestyle.)
I particularly liked the pre-school my boys went to, because they offered a well rounded extra curriculum classes after lessons each day. (Swimming, Mandarin, Maths, STEM and Music) Which was ideal, because it really freed up our weekends to do something fun with the kids, rather than having to take them to extra curriculums classes. But I would like to clarify, not all preschools in Singapore offer the same service. But even if they didnโt, the kids still came home around 3:30pm, which is already most of the day, but still enough time for them to go to extra curriculum classes or play for the rest of the afternoon.
A lot of my Singaporean friends choose not to have a helpers because pre-school childcare is so good there. They can both be working parents and know their children are well taken care of during the day. On top of that, did I mention school is pretty much open ALL YEAR ROUND, making it easier on parents.
This is a vast contrast to Hong Kong pre-schools, as school is ONLY 3 HOURS! If you are talking about infant class (Below 2 years old), it is only 1.5 hours and ACCOMPANIED!!!
Which really doesnโt leave you much time to do anything. Not to mention hardly anything is opened until 11am, so your options are really limited. If you live close by or drive, you can still go grocery shopping and go home in-between, but if you donโt, the only thing that is open during that time are a few cafes and restaurants. So I spend most mornings at a cafe, have some breakfast and try to do some work before I have to pick up my son again. Which really is not the most productive way to spend the morning. (Honestly those 3 hours only allows me to eat, post on Instagram and reply my messages. Before I know it, I will have to start making my way back to school.)
Not only that, because pre-school is only 3 hours a day, you still need to find activities for your child to do for the rest of the day! Which means more logistics and an adult is tied up taking the child from A to B all day. That is why in Hong Kong there is such a big Helper culture, where a lot of household have more than one helper. I use to think it was excessive to have more than one helper per household, but now I get it. If both parents are working, and you have two children with different schedules, you will need two adults to do the school runs. Some families are lucky enough to have one parent who is a stay-at-home parent or grandparents who are willing and capable to help out. But those who donโt and have to work, the only thing they can do is hire one helper per child. (Crazy isnโt it, especially when you consider how small Hong Kong apartments are.)
However, I would like to mention that, if I have gone down the International school route in Singapore, where the school is only a Kindergarten with no childcare service, it will be very similar to Hong Kong. School is just 3 - 4 hours a day and they will have term times and half terms just like Hong Kong.
For this round, Singapore Wins, because parents have a choice for Infant-care and Child-care.
Local Schools
Hong Kong and Singapore are very similar in this aspect, and both competitive in their own way.
Local school are FREE for both countries. The top schools are very competitive, and hard to get into. To apply for local schools, both countries are the similar. You are placed depending on the district you are living in. (However, Hong Kong local school administration is a bit more complicated. You can read more about it here.) Hence why a lot of people move when their children are applying for Primary school to be in the right catchment area. The only thing that can help is if you are an alumni.
In Hong Kong, expats can apply for local schools and they will definitely be placed, but the challenge is the language, as everything is taught in Cantonese. (Some schools have English schemes with more English, but Chinese is still the dominate language used.) So if your child does not speak or understand Cantonese, this will be a challenge. (Not impossible, because I have met families who has done it, but they started the kids from Kindergarten.) Local schools do offer special support for non-Chinese families, but it is still very tough as the child will need to pick up Chinese fast in order to keep up. (And letโs face it, Chinese is not an easy language to learn.)
While the local schools in Singapore, expat can apply but it is very hard to get in. As the priority goes to local citizens. Your child will have to have exceptional grades to be considered, and most of the time, expats won't be placed in the top local schools. So most opt for the International schools route. However, the good thing about local schools in Singapore is that language is not a problem, as everything is taught in English. (Click here for more information about applying for local schools in Singapore.)
Local schools in general are more academic, more disciplined and more homework. So there are more pressure for both the children and parents when attending local schools. The way they are being taught are more old school and more ridged, so it is not for every child or parent. If your child has a hard time focusing and sitting still in class, they will have a hard time in local school. As teachers do expect children to be quiet and listen in class. There is also less emphasis on creativity and more on academics achievements.
Local schools are great for kids who are academically inclined, because they can really excel in the local system. Reading/Writing learners best suited for this system and they can go far in local schools.
Even though this can be great for some children, it can be detrimental for some. Take myself for example, if I was placed in a local school, I would have really suffered in both my grades and my confidence, because local schools donโt have the support for dyslexia, ADHD or any other learning difficultities. I would have been labelled as โstupidโ or โlazyโ because I wasnโt picking up as quickly as the other children. I have seen this first hand from other members of my family, where they end up giving up on school in general because they had a hard time keeping up and felt that they didnโt have the support they needed. I was lucky that my mother clocked my dyselxia when I was young, even when it wasn't widely known in Asia back then. She got me diagonised and got me the help that is needed, and I will always be grateful for that. I think I would have turned out very differently if I wasn't.
For this round, I think Hong Kong wins, because Local schools are more accessible for both foreigners and locals.
International schools
For International Schools, I will say both countries are very similar, in the way they are run and their tuition fees. You have plenty of options, depending on your preference.
The biggest difference between Hong Kong and Singapore is, local Singaporeans cannot apply for International school. If Singaporeans wants to apply, they will need to apply for special permission from the government. (One of the exception is if the local school is unable to support the childโs learning needs.)
While in Hong Kong, International Schools are open to everyone. The schools have certain percentage of intake for international students and local students. (For example ESF, it is 70% students who holds a forgein passport, and 30% who holds Hong Kong passports. However different schools have different ratios.)
Different International schools have different teaching philosophy, teaching style and facilities, so you can pick one that is most aligned with yours. Some International schools have great support for children with learning difficulites, take Dover Court International School in Singapore for example, they have 3 different path ways for students depending on the child's need. Which I think is wonderful.
International school fees also varies from school to school and are similar in both countries. Some have debentures, some donโt. To apply, they all have application fees which are non-refundable. (Click here for more information about Hong Kong school fees 2024/2025)
Tip: If you have your heart set on a particular International school and you want a higher chance of getting in. Apply when they are doing their first intake. (ie. Reception or Kindergarten depending on the school.) During that time, the school has the most spaces, so you have a higher chance of getting in.
International schools in general are more relaxed with less to no homework. Most people refer to International schools as โHappy Schoolsโ in Hong Kong, as it is more free and the teaching style is less rigid. Saying that, some International schools are still very academic, so it really varies.
I personally prefer the International school route, because I believe in the joy of learning. I believe that it is more important to nurture a child into a lifelong learner rather than studying simply to obtain good grades. I want them to want to go to school, rather than thinking it is a chore.
When choosing schools I also take my childrenโs personality into account. Not all children learn the same way. Some children learn are Visual learners, some are Auditary learners, some are Kinesthetic learners, and some are Reading/Writing learners. So I do that take that into account when applying for schools.
Take myself for example, I am a visual and kinesthetic learner. So I love learning through watching videos, comics, looking at graphs and diagrams, doing it myself once so the information sinks in. That was why, I was never great in lectures as I easily drift off, and I wasn't great at remembering model answers for exams, I would have much rather presented the answer in pie charts or bullet points or even diorama. That is why I am much better when it comes to courseworks, and I can present it in a way that makes the most sense to me.
This is the part that I feel International schools excel in, because they are more open and embracing to different forms of learning and expression. Allowing different types of students to shine in their own unique way.
For this round Hong Kong wins because it gives the flexibility for local and international parents to apply.
Extra Curriculum Classes
I think both Singapore and Hong Kong offer a wide range of extra curriculum classes for children of all ages.
If you want to pick and choose specific classes from specific companies because you like their teaching style, they will be dotted around all over the place, which is the same for both countries.
The biggest difference for me was, the school the boys attended offered different extra curriculum classes within the school, which made a big difference to me as a parent. Because I didnโt have to go pick them up, and take them to their extra curriculum classes every day. Which really helped freed up my time to do my own things. But I do want to clarify, this is not the same for all pre-schools in Singapore. The one the boys went to offered a lot, that is why I loved that school so much.
Some preschools and schools in Hong Kong do offer extra curriculum classes within their schools too after class, and other students outside of the school can apply. Some of these classes are outsourced, and some are taught by the school staff. Each school offers different things depending on the schoolโs facilities. But if your child decides to stay for extra curriculum after class, there will not be school bus available for you afterwards, so you will need to go pick them up afterwards yourself.
For this round, I will say it is a draw, because in general most things are similar. But based on my own personal experience, Singapore wins.
Summary
Hong Kong & Singapore both offer children great education and extra curriculum options. In the childrenโs prospective, I think their experience will be somewhat similar.
The biggest difference is actually for the parent or caregiver. Since I have moved back to Hong Kong, my lifestyle has really been flipped upside down. My life literally revolves around my childrenโs schedule, and I have a lot less time for myself.
My pre-school experience in Singapore has been wonderful. For a mother with two young children, having access to full day pre-school was pretty amazing. Especially when the pre-school we went to offered a very well rounded extra curriculum classes, with loving and nurturing staffs and a lovely school bus company. So as a mother, I really couldnโt have asked for more.
I remembered when Joshua first went to pre-school in Hong Kong, because he was under 2 years old, not only were the classes accompanied (which means I get no free time), they were only for 1.5 hours! Donโt get me wrong, it was lovely seeing Joshua interact with different kids and enjoying class. But as a Full-time Mum, it mean that I am still taking care of my kids but just in a different environment with a teacher. Which doesnโt give me any down time.
However, if I have went down the International school route when I was in Singapore, my experience would not have been that different to Hong Kong. International schools in Singapore has shorter hours, half-terms and term break as well. Which is very similar to Hong Kong.
I am grateful for my experience in Singapore, as it taught me #balancedmotherhood is achievable. It allowed me to grow as a person, and find myself again after motherhood. Which is one of the best gift I could have ever asked for.
I am not saying Balanced Motherhood cannot be achieved in Hong Kong, but it does require more planning and help. Which I am working on each day.
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