English Schools Foundation

From subsidy to fees

ESF began in 1967 under its own ordinance, with government money to educate English-speaking children. Island School and Beacon Hill School came first. Older colonial schools, King George V School among them, joined over the next 15 years.

The subsidy shaped it for decades. A 2004 audit report questioned why ESF was treated better than other international schools, and a 2008 amendment to the ordinance set up today's board. In 2013 the government said it would phase the grant out from 2016/17.

Each new year group since then has paid the full cost.

The foundation grew around the change. It opened Renaissance College in 2006 and Discovery College in 2008 as private independent schools that never took the grant, and built a chain of kindergartens through a subsidiary, ESF Educational Services.

Three tiers of school

Every ESF school is in Hong Kong. The core is five secondaries, Island School, King George V School, South Island School, West Island School and Sha Tin College, fed by nine primaries. Pupils take the IB Primary and Middle Years programmes, then GCSE or IGCSE, then the IB Diploma or Career-related Programme. That puts the secondaries among the city's IB schools and its British schools.

Renaissance College in Ma On Shan, with about 2,100 pupils, and Discovery College on Lantau teach the IB all the way through. Jockey Club Sarah Roe School teaches about 70 pupils with severe learning needs.

The kindergartens are changing fastest. Three opened in August 2026, at Quarry Bay, West Kowloon and Sai Sha, where the Tung Chung kindergarten moved. Each feeds one ESF primary. From 2027/28 every ESF kindergarten will link to named primary schools, so a K1 place will largely decide where a child goes next.

Greer and the board

Belinda Greer has run ESF since September 2013, the year the government decided to end the subsidy. A former school inspector in Scotland, she has led the foundation through every year of fee rises since, and signs the yearly fee letters to parents.

Kim Mak, an engineer and university president, has chaired the board since 2021. The board is large, with ten independent members, staff, school council chairs and parents. Parents elect seven of its members.

A non-profit with large reserves

No one owns ESF.

It is a statutory non-profit, and its surpluses stay in the foundation. It took in HK$3.35 billion in the year to August 2025 and kept HK$309 million of that as surplus.

Net assets reached HK$3.76 billion, up from HK$2.63 billion in 2021. ESF says it needs the money to rebuild ageing schools. It also owns residential flats, valued at about HK$2.5 billion in 2024, which it lets out.

For families, the money means stability rather than falling fees. The government grant shrank to HK$108 million, about 3 per cent of income, and in 2026/27 it covers only Years 12 and 13. Fees have risen every year. The average rise for 2026/27 was 4.1 per cent.

Middle-band fees

ESF primary schools charge HK$145,000 for 2026/27, and its secondaries HK$188,300 up to Year 11. Discovery College charges up to HK$225,600 and Renaissance College up to HK$203,700. Tuition at Hillside kindergarten is HK$107,200.

Those prices sit well below Chinese International School, Hong Kong International School and Kellett School, all above HK$250,000 for the oldest pupils. ESF serves local professional families first, and expatriate families who pay their own way. Families can compare its schools with others nearby.

Money still buys a faster way in. An individual nomination right costs HK$500,000 at the main schools and HK$400,000 at the two colleges, with up to 150 a year at the main schools. Companies can buy corporate rights too. New pupils also pay a one-off capital levy that is not refunded.

Results and a bribery case

Exam results are ESF's main draw. In 2025, 917 of its 936 IB Diploma candidates passed, 98 per cent, against 81 per cent worldwide. Their mean score was 36.4, and 22 students reached the maximum 45 points.

Places are hard to get. ESF received 1,982 applications for Year 1 and Year 7 in the September 2023 window, and its primary schools were full.

The queue for places brought trouble of its own. In April 2026 a court jailed a former administrator of the Wu Kai Sha kindergarten for 25 months for taking bribes to move children up the K1 waiting list between 2018 and 2021. Thirteen parents and a middleman were jailed for eight to 14 months. ESF's kindergarten arm helped the anti-corruption investigation.

ESF is one of the oldest of the school groups in Asia, though groups now run nearly two in five of the world's international schools.

FAQ

Is ESF a private school group?

ESF is a non-profit foundation set up by Hong Kong law in 1967. A board of governors runs it, and fees pay for most of it.

How much are ESF school fees?

For 2026/27, tuition is HK$145,000 a year in primary and HK$188,300 in Years 7 to 11 at the main ESF schools. Discovery College and Renaissance College charge more.

Does ESF still get government money?

Yes, but little. The subsidy is being phased out and in 2026/27 covers only Years 12 and 13.

Do ESF schools teach the IB or the British curriculum?

Both. Pupils follow IB programmes in primary and early secondary, take GCSE or IGCSE at 16, then mostly the IB Diploma.

How many children attend ESF schools?

About 18,500, from kindergarten to Year 13.