Admission to ESF Discovery College

1. Preface

Discovery College is currently operating with students in Years 1-9 and will grow by one year level annually i.e. 2009 (to Year 9), 2010 (to Year 10) etc., up to Year 13 in 2013.

The College provides an all-through education for primary and high school students on one campus. Students can 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 provide Chinese as a specialist subject for all students.

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

There will be 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.

It is within the requirements for the Private Independent School (PIS) that:

 
• Discovery College has no catchment area: any student resident 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, Renaissance College and ESF primary and secondary schools are guaranteed a place within a PIS or ESF school.

2. Enrolment Applications

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 criteria; students who are:

 
• Siblings of students already attending Discovery College
 
• Children from ESF Educational Services Ltd kindergartens (for start of Year 1 only).
 
• Former Discovery College students returning from a period overseas
 
• Children of former Discovery College students.

This means, for  example, that a sibling of a student currently enrolled at Discovery College will be offered an interview before a former student returning from overseas, or a student who does not fit any of the priority categories above.

3. Admission Procedures

 
• Applicants must submit the application package in full.
 
• All applications will be acknowledged by email/mail within 2 weeks.
 
• All Year 1 and Year 7 applications received within the Application Period (Year 1 from 01 September - 30 September 2009; Year 7 from 01 September – 30 September 2009) are PROCESSED IN RANDOM ORDER and are assigned a computer generated sequential number. From this list, students are then ordered according to the priority categories. 
 
• Any Year 1 and Year 7 applications received after the Application Period will be placed at the end of their respective priority waiting list in date order of receipt.
 
• Applications for Years 2-6, 8 and 9 are considered under application date order and added to the waiting list.
 
• 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 successful interview and admissions assessment, a place will be offered.
 
• Acceptance of the offer must be confirmed with a 2 month deposit (see Fees below)
 
• Enquiries about this policy should be directed to the Principal.
  
  
• 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. Admissions for 2009/2010

Discovery College is currently accepting applications for admissions to Academic Year 2009/2010.
All Discovery College application forms are sent directly to the school at “Discovery College. 38 Siena Avenue, Discovery Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Attention: Admissions”

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 on a separate application form to other ESF schools.

6. Assessments for Admission

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.

7. Fees
There is a non-refundable application fee of HK$800 to offset administration costs.  

For Primary students (Year 1-6), the current fee for 2009-10 is HK$68,400 per annum.
For Secondary students (Year 7-13), the current fee for 2009-10 is HK$92,400 per annum.
Upon offer of a place there is a 2 month deposit of HK$13,680 for Primary and HK$18,480 for Secondary. The first half of the deposit is offset against the first month’s fees while the remaining half will be credited against the fees for the last  month of enrolment, subject to a two month advance notice of withdrawal in  writing. The two-month deposit is non-refundable if the school place is not subsequently taken up.

Any annual fee increases are subject to approval by EDB.

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