Good morning all!

I am planning on moving over to Lamma - from Macau - in the near future. My only concern is schooling for my 6 year old (7 in July as he never fails to remind anyone who will listen). He is currently finishing Grade one at the international school, here in Macau. I have heard there is a government school on Lamma - are there English classes offered? As although I would like him to learn Chinese (he is currently learning Mandarin), I don't want it to be his main language of instruction. Any information would be very much appreciated.

Alternatively, does Lamma fall in a catchment area for a specific school in HK? Does anyone have any info on fees, transport/ferrry arrangements, waiting lists etc.?

We do not have HK ID. Would this make a difference to schooling?

I would love to hear from people with young kids what they decided to do - local vs private school-.

Thank you so much in advance for any information you may be able to give.

The North Lamma School does have a few foreign kids, but the main language of instruction is Cantonese. A kid can adapt, but they have to work at it.
My daughter attended that for six years, but she grew up bilingual.
It's certainly much easier, and cheaper, to get them 5 minutes' walk to the local school rather than an hour by ferry and bus to HK.

If you have a residency visa, you will be able to get an ID card.

Thanks for the info Alan. Do you know how many non-Chinese speaking kids attend the school, as I would much rather he went to school on the island if we are going to move there? Do you know how the other foreign kids have adapted? I thought I read somewhere that they have an English teacher who teaches at the school (Australian I think - is she still there?)

I am having a real dilema over this as I cannot decide what to do and it is the only thing stopping us from making the move.

I don't know how many are there now. My daughter is in high school now.

There has been one foreign (NET: native English) teacher for the last several years. Last year it was an Australian woman. You should just come over and talk to her, or whoever is in that position. The headmistress is okay, but I think she tries to discourage foreign students as they're more work. But as a government school, they're obliged to take any local residents. You can get extra tuition at the local Hans Andersen Centre, to help with homework.

Thanks very much, I think you're right, I need to come over and check it out. I just thought there might be someone on the forum who could give a first hand account of either sending their kids to the local government school on Lamma or opting to send them to HK and what were their deciding factors.

Thanks again for your feedback

I am sorry I am so late in responding. My daughter goes to the local school on Lamma. Northern Lamma School is a pretty decent school. There are many native-English students there, including my daughter, but there are a few local Chinese and a few more Filipino.

The biggest decision for us was whether we should have had her continue on the path into P2 (as she had completed 1st grade in the US) or give her another year at P1. We chose to have her repeat P1, so that she could benefit from having some familiarity with the concepts taught. It proved to be a smart choice.

We had the fortune of having a baby sitter from Beijing, her mom being from Hong Kong, and growing up in the US, she learned to speak Mandarin, Cantonese and English. She still didn't learn how to read or write Chinese, but with hiring a tutor she was able to catch up to getting 100% in her last two Chinese dictation exams, and almost equal to the native Chinese locals in writing and reading in just 9 months.

One of the things I like most about the school is that we can literally be there in minutes via the back entrance. I also enjoy that every now and then I can join my daughter for lunch, or take her to Beer Garden for a nice chicken curry lunch set.

All things considered, I am quite pleased with the school. Other than some philosophical differences with the school, I am proud to have chosen this local school for my daughter. . . After all, I can always tell my daughter to ignore what I disagree with.

Send me a PM if you are interested in chatting.

I'd say it is essential to speak to the school. My children attended years ago but I moved them to a Western school after a few years simply because I could not give them the support at home. They had a tutor 5 nights a week to help with the homework and that sometime took a few hours. Overall I loved the school but the 100% Chinese environment (except a short spell in English) was just too overwhelming for them to learn properly. Those children who already have a base in Chinese, say from kindergarten age find it easier.

That said, the school does great stuff overall. The Hans Anderson is a great benefit for after-school help now.

From the Primary School noticeboard in Tai Yuen, on Back Street, just on the corner going up up to the Basketball Court and the North Lamma Primary School.

For an idea of how a graduation ceremony there looks like, see my photo gallery:
http://www.compunicate.com/Lamma-zine/PG-2/Primary-School-090706.htm

As always, all schools, playgroups, kindergartens, after-school centres, etc. on Lamma, old and new ones, are most welcome to post their news in this "Parenting on Lamma" forum!

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