Finding the right school for your child is a very important part of parent’s responsibilities. Where they go to school will determine the rest of their lives. So it is essential that you focus on finding the best suitable school for your child. In Hong Kong there are various types of schools available. They can mainly be differentiated into two groups. One group consists of schools run by the government or schools which are aided by the government. The other group consists of different types of private schools
Now the first group can be further sub divided in three parts. These are government and aided schools. Then there schools directly subsidized by the government and then there ones that are subsidized by the English schools foundation. This takes up a large part of the school population but the private sector contains the local private schools and International Schools in Hong Kong. These schools tend to have a higher standard of education but are much harder to get into. That is to say there are huge waiting lists to get into these schools and in addition to that there are a lot of situations where people engage in shady deals to get bumped up on the waiting lists as there is no regulation body observing the intake process in these schools. So be careful when applying to such a school.
When you look at the government run schools the staff are civil servants and the government education body decides on such things as the curriculum etc. Whereas subsidized schools tend to have a bit more autonomy when it comes deciding such matters. That is to say the government provides certain things like financial aid to help run the school but the school administration and all is mostly in the hands of the school. The schools subsidized by the English Schools Foundation were formed to provide students a cheaper English education. This seems to be still preferred by a lot of people, check this Primary years programme.
When you look at the private schools the local private schools tends to be more expensive as they deliver a higher standard of education. But these schools tend to be highly competitive and are tough to survive in unless you are smart. A majority of the International Schools in Hong Kong tend to follow the IB program. This is an international curriculum which has gained a lot of recognition over the past couple of years. This program focuses on enriching students from a young age to think independently.
All in all there are quite a few options available for you. Based on what kind of characteristics your child has you should choose a school that would benefit him the most.