About Admissions

South Island and other ESF schools receive a subsidy from the Hong Kong Government to provide an education for English speaking children who cannot access the local system. Our schools are not selective: admission depends above all on the student's ability to benefit from an ESF education.

Admissions Policy

Students can only apply to the school of zone according to their Hong Kong residential address.
Students must be able to cope with an English-medium curriculum.
Admission is through interview and/or assessment.
Places will be offered to successful applicants subject to availability.
Only one online application may be submitted per student.

Interview Priority

We prioritise applications according to the groupings listed below and by date of submission. Interview priority is given to:

Children of ESF teachers;
Siblings of children already attending an ESF school;
Children who are Nominees under the Nomination Rights Scheme. (Effective from 3 October 2012. Please click here for details of the scheme.)

then to:

Category One

Children who speak English as a first or alternative language but do not speak Cantonese and/or read and write Chinese characters.

Category Two

Children who can access the local system but who also meet ESF's entrance requirements. Within each category priority for interview will be given to students who:

are former students returning from a period overseas;
have a parent who is a full-time employee of ESF;
are the children of former ESF students.

Age to Year Level Placement

The ESF system places children in the year group according to their date of birth (January-December). Please refer to the year of birth to year group table below.

Year	2012/13	2013/14	2014/15
7	2001	2002	2003
8	2000	2001	2002
9	1999	2000	2001
10 & 11*	1998 & 1997	1999 & 1998	2000 & 1999
12 & 13*	1996 & 1995	1997 & 1996	1998 & 1997

*Students in the year of birth for Year 10 -11 and Year 12-13 need to study for a 2-year programme and therefore may need to enter at a lower year group. There is a possibility of entry into Year 11 or Year 13 if there is a significant curriculum match and they have followed the IGCSC/IB Diploma programme in Years 10 and 12 in another school.

Application Procedures

For 2013/14 Year 7 (Born in 2002)

Admissions for students moving from Year 6 to 7 are handled by a centralized ESF admissions process. Parents may refer to Central Application Year 7 Procedures for further information and submit online form within Central Application period.

Central Application period for 2013/14 academic year: 1 - 30 September 2012

Applications received after 30 September 2012 are considered LATE and placed on the waiting list according to category and date received.

Supporting documents along with a copy of your completed online application form should be sent by registered mail to English Schools Foundation, Year 7 Central Admissions, 25/F, Fortis Centre, 1063 King's Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong.

For Years 8-12 (and current Year 7)

Parents should submit online application through General Applications. (This form is not applicable for 2013/14 Year 7 application during 1-30 September 2012.)

Supporting documents should be sent to South Island School, Admissions Office, 50 Nam Fung Road, Hong Kong for our consideration. Once online application is submitted, your child will be placed on the waiting list of designated school. School Admissions Office will contact applicants in due course when opportunities come up.

List of Supporting Documents

1. Copy of completed ‘Online Application’ form or the Application slip/acknowledgement email;

2. Copy of application fee online payment result;

3. Copy of student’s current and last year’s school reports;

4. Copy of child’s passport and current visa status for Hong Kong;

5. Copy of parent’s passport showing current visa status in Hong Kong;

6. Copy of parent’s and child’s identity cards, if applicable;

7. Proof of HK address document e.g. personalized copy of lease, utilities bill, etc…;

8. A reference letter from your child’s current school (for secondary application);

9. Copies of examination certificates/results (for Year 12 applicants);

10. Two recent photographs of the student.

An application can only be considered when the necessary documents and application fee are received by the school of zone.

School of Zone

South Island School catchment area covers: Causeway Bay, Happy Valley including Tai Hang Road, Wong Nai Chung Road, Blue Pool Road, Wan Chai, Stubbs Road, Queen’s Road East, Kennedy Road (east of Hopewell Centre), Jardine’s Lookout, North Point, Shaukeiwan, Chai Wan, Shek O, Stanley, Chung Hom Kok, Repulse Bay, Deepwater Bay, Tai Tam and Shouson Hill.

To determine the school of zone, please refer to ESF School Zone. If in doubt, you may call the school of zone or email admissions@esfcentre.edu.hk to enquire.

School Fees and Refundable Capital Levy

Please refer to the School Fees page for further information.

School Tour

We welcome prospective students and their parents to visit our school and meet with one of our Vice Principals. Regular school tours are offered on the following dates (Tuesdays) from 10:30am to 11:30am. Please contact School Admissions Office for tour arrangement.

2012/13 – Term 1

25 September
09 October
16 October
30 October
06 November
20 November
27 November
04 December
18 December

Click here to see the FAQs on admissions and the Online Application System.

Please feel free to contact School Admissions Office at 2555-9313 or via email at admissions@mail.sis.edu.hk for any queries.