Playtimes HK Magazine The School Book 2019-2020 | Page 14

RIGHT SCHOOL
WRONG
SCHOOL
Y
ou’ve done your homework and have secured a
place for your child in a wonderful school. But the
school turns out to be not-so-wonderful for your
little one. Your child’s glum; you’re glum. Should
you move your child to another school? Or is this a learning
opportunity for resilience? We ask parents and experts for the
inside scoop on what to do when school life goes awry.
What’s wrong?
Mum-of-two Laura selected an international school close to
home. Having heard about its supportive, caring community,
she assumed her children would thrive at the school.
However, her younger son, age 8, soon felt the pressure
mounting as he was pushed to play catch-up with the older
kids in his class.
“It’s already an expensive international school with a
high proportion of students receiving learning support. Any
family whose child was judged by the school’s own arbitrary
measures to not be meeting grade level expectations was
soon targeted for paying additional fees. Even if it was for a
child who was young in his year who would naturally catch up!
The pressure on my son and us was intense,” Laura recounts.
When the school gave parents two weeks to agree to re-
enrol under a higher fee level for the new school year, Laura
knew it was time to move on.
Academic pressure also played a role in Nicola’s decision
to switch schools. She had originally selected Island Christian
Academy—a school in Sheung Wan that was perfect for her
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son. But a year in, personal circumstances forced her to
transfer her son to a local English medium school.
“Henry did well with the transition, and he made friends
easily. But things soon went downhill. He’d be up late every
evening completing homework, which was hard on him; and
he had to sit exams every three or four months. PE is his
favourite subject – walking around a classroom for exercise is
not my definition of PE!”
A poorly handled incident confirmed Nicola’s suspicions:
this was not the right school for Henry. Missing its supportive
teacher and parent community, Nicola and Henry returned to
Island Chritian Academy 11 months later.
Both eight-year-olds are now flourishing at their
respective schools.
Laura enthuses, “The change in my son has been
remarkable: it has boosted his confidence, self-pride, and
happiness. The new school was in disbelief that there were
any issues in his schoolwork and the whole thing is happily a
distant memory.”
Do you stay or do you go?
Laura and Nicola thought long and hard before making the
decision to move schools. Seeking professional advice, Laura
consulted with Top Schools, Hong Kong’s go-to education
experts. She was advised to make the change quickly and
received guidance on other possible schools to switch to.
“Typically, Top Schools assists parents to move from a
local school to an international school because the parents