Sha Tin Junior School is a large ESF primary school in the New Territories that shares some impressive facilities with its partner secondary school Sha Tin College.

The English Schools Foundation (ESF)’s largest primary school, Sha Tin Junior School has a population of 900 five to eleven-year-olds. Located in Sha Tin, this is a hugely popular IB school with a wide range of extra-curricular activities and new state of the art facilities for sport, the arts, and technology.

The school’s motto is ‘Learning for Life’, and it says, “We encourage children to learn from their mistakes and adopt a ‘can-do’ attitude in all they attempt.” The majority of Year 6 students transfer to ESF’s Sha Tin College secondary school, which is located next door.

Read about our tour of the school here.

In line with all ESF primary schools, Sha Tin Junior School follows the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). All subjects – English, maths, social studies, science, and the arts – are taught within the context of the IB Programme of Inquiry. This road map for education looks at Who We Are, Where We Are in Place and Time, How We Express Ourselves, How the World Works, How We Organise Ourselves, and Sharing the Planet. As well as daily Chinese lessons, the school’s curriculum has a very healthy dose of technology, creative arts, and PE. There are various leadership opportunities on the student council, and as eco monitors and house captains.

The school has undergone a recent refurbishment programme, with new facilities including learning centres, a gymnasium, a performing arts studio, a learning technologies suite, and a DARC (Design, Arts, Recording, and Cooking) room. The school shares facilities, including an indoor swimming pool, a rooftop playground, and a sports hall, with Sha Tin College. 

Admission and fees
As with all ESF schools, parents must live within the catchment area of Sha Tin Junior School. This includes the areas from Sha Tin, all of the New Territories north of the Lung Cheung, Caldecott and Tai Po Roads, the Ma On Shan side of Tolo Inlet and Three Fathoms Cove, Symphony Bay to and including Nga Yiu Tau Tsuen and Tsing Yi Island.

The ESF sets standard fees for all its primary schools, which is HKD 111,200 for Years 1 to 3 and HKD 93,900 for Years 4 to 6. There is also a one-off non-refundable capital levy (NCL) which starts at HKD 38,000 in Year 1 and reduces to HKD 28,000 in Year 6.

While ESF schools are not as cheap as they used to be, following the phase out of government subsidies from 2016, they still offer a more affordable education when compared to most international schools in Hong Kong. The ESF will see the withdrawal of its annual HKD 283 million subsidy from the government over the next 13 years. In 2018-19, all year groups except Years 1 to 3 will continue to be subsidised by the government; this helps to explain why Years 1 to 3 fees are higher than Years 4 to 6.

Are you looking for a place for your child, and want help from our school consultants? If so, click on the link below, and we will forward your request for information to the school or schools of the same type that we are confident have availability. This is a free service for our readers. Request Information