Hong Kong School Interviews & Assessments (Singapore International, Chinese International, Kellett)

Around this time each year many parents in Hong Kong are stressing about best ways to prepare their kids for the upcoming Nursery, Kindergarten and Primary School interviews. We in turn have also received many queries around this. To be accepted into most schools in Hong Kong, it is a common understanding that an interview would be conducted. The key to achieving a relative high chance of success in such interview is to have sufficient preparation so you know what your child is walking into. If your child is thoroughly prepared, he/she will be more confident and do the best job naturally during the session.

We have specifically made mentioning of Singapore International School, Chinese International School & Kellett here because of the overwhelming demand (and intels) from parents. However, the types of assessments conducted and criteria being used are pretty consistent across many other schools in Hong Kong.

Here are some common types of assessments and criteria schools in Hong Kong use and mark your child on:

Observational Testing

• Observational testing assesses whether if your child is able to demonstrate an ability to be attention to detail in any given situation.

• Tests often rate your child’s ability to summarise a creative story in a logical manner (how coherent the child is) and your child’s ability to work and relate to peers in his/her age group.

• Through exercises and activities based on the actual reasoning tests, your child will immensely develop reasoning skills and be prepared for any variety of tests.

• For younger kids, there would be songs, dances or stories being taught during the session. The schools are looking at how interactive and receptive kids are during these segments.

  • We know Victoria Nursery & Kindergartens (in particular the Causeway Bay branch) regularly adopt the above format during their group observation sessions. Therefore it is good to have such interactions with your child at home, so they are used to reading, dancing, singing and answering questions.

Both Singapore International School and the Chinese International School also use the above as their primary assessment method for Preparatory and Primary School assessment days.

Singapore International School would ask kids to draw shapes and pictures during a group class, and ask them to describe what they have drawn (and why).

The Chinese International School would involve group dance activities and story interactions to assess how your child interacts with both the teacher and children.

Other key assessment criteria schools look for are:

Communication Skills

• Strong communication skills

• Whether if the child is able to use complete sentences, clearly articulate thoughts, and greet teachers and adults with respect.

• Development of vocabulary at the child's age level.

Story Telling

• Reading a story and asking students to recall the details and retell the story is a popular activity in interviews

• Children are expected to speak in full sentences and be able to articulate

• For younger kids, they are expected to answer using single words or perform certain actions (such as Victoria International Kindergartens)

Picture Description

• Describing a picture is a common practice in most school interviews in Hong Kong (and based on our understanding, in Singapore)

• Your child will be provided with a picture, usually one with lots going on, and then asked to describe what they see. Older students maybe asked to supply a title for the picture, or to describe the main idea.

Reading & Phonics

• Children will often be tested on their phonetics skills by giving a story book to read. They are not expected to be able to read everything in the book, but they should demonstrate sound phonetics foundation.

Reasoning Skills

• Reasoning skills are crucial in making great impressions. In interview situations, students are tested to gauge their critical thinking.

• They must reason the causes and reactions to circumstances within a given series of events.

Mock Interviews

• Children will participate in mock interviews which are conducted in the manner of real interviews.

• These mock interviews will take place both with parents and without. This is the final step in equipping your child to enter the school of your choice!

Be sure to also remember the basics too:

Be on Time: Know where you’re going, as being late is usually unacceptable. Being early will allow yourself, and your child time to settle in to a new environment. Don’t be too early though as your child may lose patience waiting too long.

Be Confident: Make eye contact with your interviewer, and SMILE when you introduce yourself. Believe in yourself, and the interviewer will be more likely to believe in you.

Manners, Manners, Manners!: Sit up straight. Don’t fiddle with your hands, hair etc. Look at the interviewer when engaging in conversation. Always say please and thank you.

Follow Instructions: Be co-operative and always listen to instructions. The interviewers have no way to assess your ability if you do not do what you are told to.

Dress Nicely: If you’re a girl, wear a skirt. If you’re a boy, wear a shirt and trousers. No jeans. No shorts. The key here is to make it look as though you put in some thought into your appearance because that shows the interviewer that you are taking this opportunity seriously. We understand the Chinese International School actually ask parents to have their kids dress in track suits and sports shoes due to the physical activities they will be conducting during the group observation session.

School Visit: Visit the school before the interview. Tell your child some nice things about the school.

At First English, we have helped many aspiring kids successfully ace through their assessment sessions. Our primary focus is to help your child build up confidence, guide them to answer in complete sentence formats and think laterally.

We also arrange mock assessment session (in a fun way!) for our students, each time having a different tutor conducting the session so your kids will get used to having interviews with strangers.

Feel free to inquire with us if you have any questions about our Interview preparation courses.