Admission to ESF Discovery College Policy

1. Preface

Discovery College is a Private Independent School (PIS) currently growing by one-year level annually up to Year 13 in 2013.

The College provides an all-through education for primary and secondary students on one campus. Students start Year 1 during the calendar year in which they turn 5 and graduate from the College at the end of Year 13.

The mission of the College is to provide a quality education for all students with English as the medium for teaching and learning, and to offer Chinese (Putonghua using simplified characters) as a specialist subject for all students.

There is provision for Chinese for native speakers (CNL) and for Chinese as a foreign language (CFL), including ab initio courses. All successful applicants will need to demonstrate an aptitude for language learning.

In line with the Hong Kong Government's requirements for all Private Independent Schools (PIS):

• Discovery College has no catchment area: any student residing in Hong Kong can apply to attend.
• When the College is at full capacity, at least 70% of the total students enrolled must have at least one parent who has Hong Kong permanent resident status.

Children of teachers at Discovery College are guaranteed an interview for a place at Discovery College where year levels are offered or Renaissance College or another ESF secondary school where year levels are not offered at Discovery College.

2. Priority for Admission

If demand for enrolment in any year level exceeds the places available, then children with at least one parent holding Hong Kong permanent resident status will be accepted before other students with the same priority status.

Students applying for enrolment to Discovery College may be placed on a waiting list. Where such waiting lists occur, priority for an admissions interview will be based on the following ranked criteria; students who are:

1. Siblings of students attending Discovery College.
2. Children who are Nominees under the Nomination Rights Scheme. Across all year levels. Limited to maximum 30 students in Year 1 and 30 students in Year 2 for 2012-13
3. Children from ESF Educational Services Ltd Kindergartens (for the commencement of the Year 1 academic year only) who have attended the kindergarten for a minimum two terms immediately prior to the January interview period.
4. Former Discovery College students who left the College to move overseas.
5. Children of Discovery College full-time Support Staff with a minimum one year employment at date of admission.
6. Children of former Discovery College students.
7. Other applicants.

With the exception of students applying for Years 1 & 2, Siblings and Nominees will have the same priority for admissions interviews, with the date of application determining the order.

3. Admission Procedures

Discovery College will determine the Year Group for admission according to your child's date of birth. Please note that the Year Group may be adjusted to ensure your child's date of birth matches the school's age requirements.

Year of Birth to Year Level Placement:

• Applicants must submit the application package in full.
• All Year 1 and Year 7 applications received within the Central Application Period (01 September - 30 September) are PROCESSED IN RANDOM ORDER and are assigned a computer generated sequential number. From this list, students are then ordered according to the priority criteria, apart from Nomination Rights Holders, who are ranked in order of receipt of their Nomination Rights Application.
• Any Year 1 and Year 7 applications received after the Central Application Period will be placed at the end of their respective priority waiting list in date order of receipt
• Applications for all other year levels are considered under application date order and added to the waiting list according to the priority criteria.
• Applicants will be invited for an interview at the College as vacancies become available.
• Assessments are administered at the time of interview, apart from Year 1 and 7 where the assessment and interview may be conducted separately.
• Following a successful admissions assessment and interview, a place may be offered.
• Acceptance of the offer must be confirmed with a 2-month deposit (see College Fees).
• Re-application is required when:
• An offer for an assessment/interview has been declined
• An offer of a place has been declined
• A student has not met the entry requirements at interview/assessment
• If an offer of a place is not made after an assessment/interview, even though the student meets the entry requirements for Discovery College, as at the time places are not available, the child will be returned to the age-appropriate waiting list according to his/her priority status and, in the case of Central Admission applicants, the random number he/she was assigned. In the event a place becomes available within six months of the initial successful assessment, no further assessment will be required.
• Applicants on the Year 6 waiting list will need to submit a new application for consideration for admission to Year 7 and a new waiting list will be established as described above.
  Enquiries about this policy should be directed to the Admissions Manager.
• Applicants coming from Discovery Bay International School are required to fill out a "Confirmation of Completion of Commitments" form before the offer of a place is finalised/

4. Applications for Admission

A hard copy of the completed online application form, along with supporting documents, must be sent directly to "Discovery College (Attn: Admissions Manager), 38 Siena Avenue, Discovery Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong".

Supporting documents include copies of:

• Student's Birth Certificate;
• Student's Passport (including their visa status) and / or Hong Kong ID Card;
• Student's current and last year's school reports;
• Parent's Hong Kong ID Cards / Passports; and
• Student's photograph showing his/her full frontal face with clear facial features, measuring 4cm (width) x 5cm (height).

An application with insufficient supporting documents will not be processed and you will be notified accordingly.

5. Application to ESF and ESF Private Independent Schools (PIS)

Dual applications are permitted to both systems. For statistical purposes, parents are asked to indicate schools applied by ticking the box/es on the individual application forms. Applications to Discovery College and Renaissance College are through a separate application process to other ESF schools.

6. Assessments for Admission

Applicants must demonstrate through assessments and an interview that they are capable of engaging with an English medium IB curriculum.

Students applying for admissions to Discovery College take age-appropriate assessments for English. In addition, applicants are assessed for learning skills and cognitive ability.

The assessments are accompanied by interviews that will explore each student's potential for language learning as well as their ability to engage and succeed within the curriculum being offered at the school.

Applicants' academic background, previous school reports and supporting documents will also be taken into account. Applicants must be able to demonstrate behavioural responsibility and the principles of good citizenship.

7. Nomination Rights

See Nomination Rights Terms and Conditions

8. Fees

See College Fees

9. Immigration Status

An offer of a place cannot be made to a child who is not a resident of Hong Kong unless the child is permitted by the Director of Immigration to reside in Hong Kong. Unless clearance is obtained from the Director of Immigration, no child will be admitted to any school in Hong Kong whose travel document/passport bears the endorsement "Visitor" over the immigration stamp. Parents of non-local children are advised to seek the approval of the Director of Immigration (www.immd.gov.hk) as soon as possible for entry to Hong Kong of the child in question, for the purpose of study.

10. Admissions Enquiries

Enquiries may be sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

11. Policy Review

Discovery College's admissions policy is subject to regular review.

It is the responsibility of individual applicants to check the College website for any updates to the policy.