HK$10,000 extracurricular classes to get into La Salle Primary School: mother

A mother has spent over HK$10,000 per month for her son’s extra-curriculum classes including sports and language classes to get into La Salle Primary School.

This came as nearly half of more than 48,000 children were offered a place in Primary One discretionary places this year, 1,669 fewer than last year.

Parents on Monday found out whether their child's application for a discretionary place was successful or not.

Unsuccessful applicants will get another chance to vie for their preferred choices through central allocation in January.

Outside La Salle Primary School in Kowloon Tong, parents said they were happy their children could attend the prestige school that they or their husbands went to. 

One of them was a mother, surnamed Yip, who said her husband is an alumni from the boys’ school, and her son was admitted to the school with 25 points out of 35.

"Although more people have emigrated, I heard that the number of students applying for the school in the Discretionary Places Admission was higher than before," Yip said.

To better equip her son for the highly competitive school, she said she had enrolled her son in swimming, tennis and language courses, costing her more than HK$10,000 per month. 

Asked about authorities' compulsory requirement for schools to teach national education, Yip said: “I think it’s the right thing to add national education to primary schools. Hong Kong is a part of China and students have to know that.”

Another father, who was also an alumni of La Salle Primary School, said that his son was admitted into the school with 25 points. 

He said he had enrolled his son in English and Mandarin classes, as well as taken him to soccer, swimming and interview courses.

In order not to put all of his eggs in one basket, the father said he had also applied six to seven direct subsidy schools and private schools for his son.

As for national security education, he said that it is part of the curriculum that Hong Kong people should learn about.

“My son should also learn about that and as a parent, I think it’s acceptable,” he said.