homeschooling / IELTS

Posted by gwyneth (277 days ago)

My daughter is now being homeschooled. She is going to study for her GCSE's soon. Does anyone know how to go about taking these exams in HK? Also, does anyone know if my daughter takes IELTS would that be as good as taking GCSE English?

(I am based in Hong Kong)

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Posted by cara (277 days ago)

sorry, no idea. from my understandng, after the age of 6 in hk it is illegal to homeschool, so i'm not sure if you will find anything.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by cd (275 days ago)

Its not illegal, but to do it properly you're supposed to have the permission from the head of the EMB.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by cara (275 days ago)

great! good to know...my understanding was that it was completely illegal.

maybe i can consider home-schooling my kids.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by TC Ng (275 days ago)

If you check with the EMB they will tell you that it is illegal.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by evildeeds (275 days ago)

Yes they will, but there was a great article last year about a large group of expat homeschoolers who had got together. The EMB realised they could not do anything about it due to many factors: The amount of home schooled kids is too large, they all had not been accepted into internationals here, or their parents could not afford international schooling and there is no public alternative. What there is for locals is hardly inspiring. So..........

They have been allowed to continue, the EMB will not risk "losing face" over the issues listed above which would of course come to light should they decide to take any legal action over these parents.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by gwyneth (275 days ago)

Your replies are interesting. My daughter is 16 so presumably old enough not to go to school. She feels that studying by herself will be more fruitful and enables her to do other things such as part-time work. What I wanted to know was if there was any way she could study for GCSE and take the exams in Hong Kong as opposed to going to England to take them which I know you can do (Oxford Homeschooling offers such courses).

Also, does anyone know if IELTS can take the place of doing a GCSE English exam? IELTS can be done through the British Council.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by cara (275 days ago)

yes, we understand your question. (some of us even think that homeschooling should be allowed). however, as it is technically illegal, unless you have permission from the gov't, there are unlikely to be many places that will offer just the exams.

maybe try calling the schools and asking them if they would allow your daughter to sit in on the exams.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by gwyneth (275 days ago)

Thanks for your suggestion. As a matter of interest what is the age you can legally leave school in HK? I was under the impression it was 13 but maybe I am wrong.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by turtle1 (275 days ago)

I thought it was legal to leave school after the 9 years free education provided by the government or equivalent ie after third form/year 9?

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by cara (274 days ago)

maybe i'm the wrong one....i thought that the school started at 6 and lasted for 9 years, which would make it 15...
in which case, i apologise, it wouldn't be illegal for your daughter...however, i don't think that there are many people in HK that continue on their own.

i still think that your best bet would be to call the schools that offer the exams and ask them if they will allow your daughter to sit in on them, for a fee of course.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by gwyneth (274 days ago)

Thanks for your advice which is good. I will follow it up.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by Vrindavan (272 days ago)

there are misleading points in above posts

the word "illegal" is not appropriate to HK homeschooling

please join here and ask questions
http://homeschool.meetup.com/530/

for public exams,
i think there are self study students and school students

self study students usually have to pay a bit higher exam registration fee

for exam info
http://snurl.com/212v1

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by kazasia (272 days ago)

could anyone put me in touch with parents in the sai kung area who are homeschooling their kids?
I am at my wits end with Schooling system here - cant get my son into ESF at all - private schools are extremely expensive and largely full and local schools refer me back to the private schooling system which they say is the only place for "foreigners"
My son has fallen behind in the curriculum which means he needs even more support.
I got him into the norwegian school (after virtually offering up my left kidney) and he has to commute for over two hours every day to get to school + I feel like we are walking on egg shells there ... if he puts one foot wrong they will tell him to leave. A very stressful situation.
Can anyone offer some contacts for me?

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by gwyneth (272 days ago)

Thanks Vrindavan. You are very helpful. I have just gone to the website you mentioned and will see if anyone can help me. My daughter opted out of school but is very eager to study but wants to do GCSEs and I have been up every avenue trying to sort this situation out. OXFORD HOMESCHOOLING's website looks good and they assess coursework but she would have to do exams in England.

I understand Kazasia's situation as I feel just like you - going round and round in circles. I am living in Lamma so can't help you much.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by cara (272 days ago)

kazasia... it depends on how old your child is...i might be able to help. i helped a young russian boy for two years before he was accepted at ESF (primary 4). when i started with him, he spoke no english at all.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by kazasia (269 days ago)

HI cara - my son is seven going on eight - He is a native english speaker - He is bright - ahead of his grade in reading but needs to catch up in maths and writing.. would appreciate any assistance

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by namaste (269 days ago)

Gwyneth, there are quite a few teens in Shatin who are homeschooling. However, although they were born and raised in HK, they hold American and NZ passports. Thus, they are seeking diplomas from those countries. Most of the homeschoolers that I know of in Sai Kung are in the younger age bracket and so probably couldn't help much.Try these website: http://www.oxfordhomeschooling.co.uk
http://www.briteschool.co.uk
http://www.homestudy.org.uk/mercers_college

On another note, for Kazasia, the Norwegian International School in Tai Po has really turned a corner in the past two years and have some wonderful teachers and very small class sizes (limited to 15) and are able to accomodate various learning levels within the grades. When I contacted the EMB about homeschooling my daughter, they said that I didn't need "permission" and there isn't a formal application or anything remotely like that. I think it's only "illegal" if you aren't actually homeschooling, such as the man who had kept his kids at home a few years ago and called it homeschooling. That story gained a lot of negative press and brought about the perception that homeschooling is illegal. On yet another note, as of this year, the children in Form 2 will be required to attend school all the way through Form 5. Previously, schooling was required for only 9 years, Form 3. After Form 5, students can sit for the HKCEE exam and those who excel can go on to Form 6.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by cara (269 days ago)

kazasia,
please pm me more details. my schedule is really tight right now, but i may be able to help or point you to someone else who can.
thanks,
cara

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by gwyneth (268 days ago)

Thanks Namaste. I rang the HK Exams Authority and my daughter can take IGCSE here (previously I had asked for GCSE by e-mail and got a negative response but by phone the confusion was sorted out). I will look up the websites you mention. I have only looked at Oxford Homeschooling who tell me we can only take exams in the UK and not here so will look at the other sites.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by kazasia (268 days ago)

hi namaste - thanks for the words of encouragement - esp regarding the norwegian school - havent been able to sleep at night worrying he is going to be "fired" from school!

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by namaste (268 days ago)

Kazasia,
I think that once your child is admitted to the school, the staff and faculty will really work with the child. I have seen a few kids there who had behavioral and social issues when they entered four years ago and after a lot of nurturing, those kids have really grown and developed. They also have a strong sense of belonging and community due to the family like setting. I'm sure I'll meet you. My daughter is in Grade 3 there.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by Lauracorin (268 days ago)

You can take exams in Hong Kong through this organisation:

http://eant01.hkeaa.edu.hk/hkea/new_look_home.asp

You can study for the IGCSEs that are offered by the hkeaa through the NEC, Little Arthur School, or InternationGCSE.com.

An alternative is to just look up the IGCSE syllabuses, get the relevant text books, and study on your own. This is what we are doing for Biology IGCSE, which my son expects to take in November.

Best wishes

Laura

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by EricBartholemew (261 days ago)

Hi there

I work for Briteschool, and one of my colleague's works for Oxford Homeschooling as well.

Briteschool has live online classrooms, where the students meet together at set times for lessons. I teach students from as far apart as Florida and Japan at the same time (most are Europe / Gulf-based). We offer Maths, English, the Sciences, French, Hirtory and Gegraphy all to IGCSE, as well as Spanish and extra-curricular Japanese and Photography and Computing at the moment. Oh, and other things as one-offs or during our annual Activities Week in December.

Oxfor Homeschooling is different - it offers correspondence courses, I believe, and a tutor sets and marks assignments, as well as being available by email and (I think) phone. This type of schooling suits the more independent learner, those wanting to do more unusual subjects, those who travel a lot and / or have more limited access to a computer, and is also a bit cheaper (I think).

Hope this helps !

- E !

(I am based in Unspecified)

Posted by gwyneth (261 days ago)

Thanks for your information. Presumably you are the website mentioned above. I will look it up as I haven't had time lately to look up all the useful information everyone has sent. The more I look into this type of education the more I find it very interesting and appealing. It seems mainstream education, though really useful and good, is not the be all and end all of life. I feel more confident about my daughter's situation and believe she can move forward without problem. Thanks for everyone's help.

(I am based in Hong Kong)