ESF: 45% Fee Discount and Fee Deferrals

As students in Hong Kong start their 13th week of distance learning, the English Schools Foundation (ESF) is reducing fees by 45% and offering deferred payments as part of a new Covid-19 package.

Hong Kong’s largest provider of international education runs five kindergartens, nine primary schools, five secondary schools, two Private Independent Schools and a school for children with SEN in Hong Kong. Today (April 28), the ESF announced a triple assistance package to support families in financial difficulties.

All ESF fee-paying families can opt in to receive a 45% discount per student on their fees in June. A Covid-19 Emergency Assistance Scheme will offer fast-track support to families, giving them the option to defer up to 50% of their April, May and June 2020 fees – with the option to pay back over 24 months starting in January 2021. And the current ESF Financial Assistance Scheme, which offers up to 100% fee remission, will be extended to include Year 1, Year 7, Kindergarten and students in their first year with ESF.

Speaking about the new package of measures, ESF CEO Belinda Greer said:

“These are unprecedented times. The impact of the global pandemic has left many of our families facing economic difficulties – and we want to do everything that we can to support them.

“The triple assistance package that we are announcing today is designed to give immediate assistance to those who need it most.

“When times are tough – as they undoubtedly are now – families pull together. Our students and their parents are our family – and we want to make sure that we are playing our part in helping them get through this incredibly challenging period.”

Read more: Fee Freezes & Discounts in Hong Kong's Schools

What will be the ESF fees for 2020-21?

Last month, the group announced that it would be freezing its fees for the 2020-21 academic year; ESF typically increases its fees an average of 4.5% every academic year.

Tuition fees in Years 1-3 at ESF’s primary schools will stay as HKD 115,800 per year, and Years 5 to 6 will remain HKD 98,500. This applies to Kowloon Junior, Beacon Hill,  Sha Tin Junior, Bradbury, Peak School, Glenealy School, Clearwater Bay, Quarry Bay and Kennedy schools.

At secondary schools including Sha Tin College, South Island School, King George V, West Island School, and Island School, the fees for Years 7 to 11 will stay as HKD 133,800; families of students studying the IBDP in Years 12 and 13 will continue to pay HKD 140,700.