Education in Hong Kong has been undergoing many changes in recent times. This is true of both the Local education system and the International education system in the country.

The main international schools in Hong Kong are operated by a non-profit organization called the ESF (English Schools Foundation). This foundation was originally setup to offer a UK education to the children of foreign expatriate workers here in Hong Kong. When Hong Kong was controlled by the British any person from Britain could come and work in Hong Kong without a visa. Therefore at that time it was the case that the majority of expatriate works living in Hong Kong were British. These expatriates did not want their children to miss out on their UK schooling.

Over time the nature of the expatriate community in Hong Kong has changed. It is no longer the case that the majority of expatriates are British. The expatriate community is now very multinational. It is also the case that many Hong Kong parents now use the international schooling system in Hong Kong. Parents who wish their children to attend university overseas often feel an international education would be superior to that of the local Hong Kong education. This has seen the ESF secondary and primary schools running at capacity with long waiting lists.

The ESF has now taken a decision that the UK A levels is no longer the most appropriate International education to be offered. The management points to the fact it is now a minority of students who attend ESF schools that actually go to the UK for tertiary study. This promoted the ESF to decide to switch to the International Baccalaureate (IB). The IB is an International syllabus that is flexible enough to adapt to the country in which it is being taught. The IB requires students to undertake subjects in six different areas as well as doing community service and completing two major research projects. The extended essay (EE) and the TOK (Theory of Knowledge) essay.

The Hong Kong education system has also changed this year. Up until this year Hong Kong students were required to do the HKCEE, ?????? (Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination) for year 10 and 11 (equivalent to the UK GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and the HK A Levels (equivalent to the UK A Levels) at year 12 and 13. The Hong Kong government though has now shortened the secondary education system by on year i.e. students now only attend school until year 12. The Tertiary system has been extended by 1 year i.e. a degree which was previously 3 years is now 4 years. The new system is called the 3,3,4 (3 years of junior secondary school, 3 years of senior secondary school and 4 years of university). The senior secondary school certificate is now called the HKDSE (Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education). As of this time it is unknown to what level this certificate will be recognized by international universities.

The result of these changes is that many parents in Hong Kong are extremely worried about what these changes mean for the children. There has been a large increase in demand by parents for private UK A Levels. Tutorial schools like ITS Tutorial School offers support for students undertaking these courses. ITS does more than just provide and English tutor . The school can provide one to one or group support in most major syllabuses. ITS also can help students who wish to go to the USA by providing a wide range of SAR courses and individual tuition. If the students needs to undertake an IELTS test ITS will also provide one to one or group classes to prepare for the IELTS exam in Hong Kong .

Give us a call on +852 2116-3916 or drop us an email at info@tuion.com.hk for further information.