Possibly moving from HK - when to apply for schools?

[riseandshine]

We may have the option of moving to Singapore next summer (June 2011), our son will be 5 (born April 2006), and our daughter 3 (born June 2008). We currently live in Hong Kong and our son will be due to start school just after the move, we are applying to schools here in HK but it's 50:50 that we will be here or in Singapore when the time comes.

So - should we be looking at and applying to schools in Singapore too now just in case? Can we apply if we are not resident in Singapore yet?

I would also be interested to hear any experiences and opinions of the differences between HK and Singapore schooling in general for those who have experienced both.

Background: We are an English speaking western family originally from the UK, our son currently attends a bilingual Mandarin / English preschool (but only speaks / understands simple words and phrases in Mandarin). We will probably end up going back to the UK at some point, probably after another 2 - 5 years but who knows!

Thank you for your advice!

[riseandshine]

Well, rightly or wrongly we have decided not to apply for schools until our move to Singapore is confirmed - probably not until next Spring a few months before we would need to move.

[riseandshine]

Thanks for your PM - sorry i can't reply as I don't have enough posts yet! You are right in that Tanglin Trust is top of our list and it does have a fairly hefty application fee. This is our dilemma - waste thousands in application fees for them both only to find out we won't be moving at all, or leave it until our move is confirmed but then have to wait another year before we are offered a place. If we apply now then hopefully we will get to the top of the wait list by the time we arrive in Singapore. My husband is of the opinion that I am worrying about it too much and that if the company want us to move they will just have to pay extra for a placement when the time comes, I'm concerned that this might be a bit naive of him though... Hopefully it will all work out! He is in Singapore at the moment and we are all going out for a week in May, I'm wondering whether to try to look round schools while we are over or to just forget about it all until things are confirmed!

[BigSis]

If you are here then I'd definitely suggest you take the opportunity to look around some schools - at least then if you do find that you are moving here, you may have already decided on a school by then and will be able to apply as soon as you find out.

Most of the popular ones have waiting lists, especially in pre-school and primary, but people are always coming and going and I've heard of some who've been told they'll have at least a 12 month wait and then they've received a call from the school after only 4-6 months saying that a place has come up.

Another thing that might be in your favour is the time of year that you mention moving here - assuming it does end up being June next year, you'll no doubt find out about it some months earlier and as the summer holidays are a popular time to go if people are repatriating, there's more chance of a place coming up for the August/September term start.

But don't stress about it too much, at the age your children are, they're not going to end up at the bottom of the class if they miss a few months at school while you wait for a place.

[scarbowl]

The wait list at the "better" International Schools can be quite lengthy - up to 2 years or more. It is the rare company that will pay the substantial fees for preferential treatment - the Nominees program at UWC is $225,000 SGD ($160,000 USD) for the privilege of paying the annual tuition fee. You husband wants to save a few thousand now so the company can pay several hundred thousand later? And in the interim you get to worry.

For a few thousand dollars you can get peace of mind about the school you want for your child/children.