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International School Interview│Questions and Tips│School Finder

Hong Kong International School Interview: Know the International School Interview Questions to get better placement

For getting prepared for international school interview in Hong Kong, it is important that one goes through the right International school interview questions at first. Not only will this ease the assessment process of a child, but help him/her to clear the evaluation process during the placement in any international school in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong boasts an excellent education system which is mainly modeled on education system of the United Kingdom. Thus, this level of assessment or interview is such that only with right knowledge of the interview process, can a student come out with flying colors in the admission round.

Keep reading to know about this assessment process in detail.

International school interview: Know the interview format

The school education system in Hong Kong can be divided into 4 levels of education. The interview format varies from one level to another.

1.Pre-kindergarten

Children aged 2 to 3 years are the ones who are eligible to appear for the interview in an international school in Hong Kong. Though there are few pre-schools which allow parents to accompany their children to the interview, there are many who don’t.

International school interview questions for admission to pre-kindergarten include-

a.Name of the child

b.How old are they?

c.Who lives along with them?

d.Do they have siblings and how many?

e.Which toy do they love to play with?

f.Their level of expertise in counting numbers

g.Skills such as identifying shapes, colors, images

Other than asking these questions, it is the applicant’s confidence which is tested.

2.Lower Primary Level

It is expected that the applicants know how to express their thoughts on a particular topic well. Some question which the school may inquire about are-

a.What do they like about their present school?

b.Why are they interviewing in that international school

c.What are their favorite subjects?

d.What are their favorite activities?

Along with confidence, the applicants need to be well-mannered during the interview process.

3.Upper Primary

Other than the usual conversational questions, the interview process of upper primary level includes some formal testing in aspects like reading comprehension, verbal reasoning, mathematical skills, English essay, quantitative reasoning, etc.

The format of this international school interview varies from one school to another. Check beforehand!

4.Secondary

Students at the secondary level of education need to appear for formal testing on individual subjects like English, Mathematics, Mandarin (in the case of bilingual schools) as well as on various Science and Arts subjects. Along with this, even the previous academic records are checked.

It often gets difficult for applicants to prepare for their interview alone. Thus, it is better to take interview preparation from expert consultants who help students with International school interview questions. This helps in getting admission to their preferred schools!

ADMISSION
Admission Procedures Application Guidelines Admission Deadlines Age Vs. School Year Chart
Interview Formats
Entrance Assessment
Interview Formats
1: Pre-School
At pre-school interviews (age 2years or so), some schools will allow parents/guardians to accompany their child to the interview. However, this is not always the case!

In general, interviews for these young students comprise simple questions about themselves, for example:

  • What is your name?
  • How old are you?
  • Who do you live with?
  • Do you have brothers and sisters?
  • What is your favorite toy?
  • What do you like to do?
  • Basic life-skills such as identifying colors, shapes, and objects depicted on images
  • Counting

Overall, the emphasis is on getting the child to talk and display their level of (English) comprehension.

A big factor seems to be confidence. Confident and vocal children seem to be more successful than shy, quiet children. Moreover, children that have obviously been prepped are not going to succeed either. So it’s a bit of a balancing act to get your quiet child to be vocal enough to be heard but not to seem rehearsed.
2: Lower Primary
For lower primary school students (up to around 7 years), interviews become a little bit more conversational. Children are expected to be able to explain their thoughts coherently. Some topics that may be covered include:

  • Reasons why they are interviewing at that particular school
  • Likes about their current school
  • Favorite subjects (and why)
  • Favorite or most recent books they have read
  • A description of their family life
  • Expected activities during interview: reading words or passages, doing simple arithmetic, writing, and/or drawing

Manners are important. A well-mannered child who is able to greet properly and say farewell properly is going to be much more impressive than a child who says nothing.
3: Upper Primary
At the upper primary levels, apart from conversational interviews to see how they child communicates and organizes their thoughts, some schools start more formal and standardized testing.

For example, at Hong Kong International School, the ISEE test is used as part of their assessment. The ISEE comprises five parts: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics achievement, and an essay.

Note that not all schools administer this test, and those that do, may change the format to suit their particular needs.
4: Secondary
The assessment at the secondary levels almost always include formal testing of individual subjects. Some schools rely primarily on these test scores (and previous academic records), with little or no personal interview sessions. Other schools also include interviews, and group-work, or challenges.
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