EDUCATION
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Choosing a boarding school for your child By Danny Harrington
D
eciding on the right school for your child is one of the biggest decisions a parent has to make. For many Hong Kong-based families, the decision can be even more fraught, with the option of boarding school thrown into the mix. No longer are you purely trying to find the right establishment, you are preparing to tackle a whole new family dynamic.
to Debbie Gispan of London-based firm Panoba (www.panoba.co.uk), a lifestyle service company offering assistance to people based overseas, most families find the school search a real uphill struggle and often fall foul of common mistakes such as basing their decision on a friend’s experience, or only considering the top-performing schools.
Traditionally, expat parents have tended to look to their home countries for boarding, however many independent schools now operate satellite campuses, complete with boarding, in the Asia region, providing families with more options.
Debbie warns that it’s important to keep things in perspective. “Managing to secure a place for a child in a ‘top-named’ school does not necessarily ensure the happiness and success of that child,” she advises. “Academic ability has to be considered too.” That being said, the big-name schools have the reputations they do for a reason, and can provide a great start in life.
So, with all that choice available, how do you select the right setup for you and your child? According
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