Cosima Underwater

A few sweets, little toys, and school utensils, that’s what I put into the “Schultüte” of my son. Then I dressed him in his new school uniform, and we took off for his first school day. A “Schultüte” is a cornet of cardboard filled up with little presents. In Germany, every school child gets one on the first day. Although I knew that he would probably be the only kid holding one, I couldn’t resist continuing this little German tradition, especially after little man had seen so many in the stores in Berlin.

At his school were his new school friends with their proud daddies and mommies, holding cameras and video cams. He goes to a small international school, which we chose after much looking around, and the children have backgrounds from all over of the world. The school grounds look like a summer camp, with small buildings, lots of green, and a playground. That’s pretty rare in Hong Kong, where most schools look like education factories.

In Hong Kong, there are essentially three school types that parents can consider. The first are normal government-funded primary schools in which Cantonese is the language of instruction. Little man speaks three languages but only ten words Cantonese, so they were out of the question.

The second choice are government-subsidized schools of the English School Foundation. Because of Hong Kong’s colonial history, English is an official language, and there are lots of children, local as well as expatriate, for which English is either the first or the very well spoken second language. ESF schools are very popular, because they provide very good international education at a lower tuition fee than private schools. I had applied for a place at an ESF school near us, but was immediately informed that all places were taken and that little man had been put on a waiting list with little hope of getting a place this year.

The third choice are private schools. I could write a long book about the trials and tribulations of trying to get your child admitted to one in Hong Kong, but I don’t want to bore you with it. The short version is: most of them are ridiculously expensive, have snobby admissions officers and teachers, and put their own prestige above the interest of students. Luckily, there are exceptions, and I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am to have found one, thanks to the recommendation from another mom at little man’s kindergarten.

I hope that my son will love to learn at his school and have lots of fun with his new school friends.