Southside Kindergarten

Southside Kindergarten is an independent, co-educational kindergarten, founded in 2000. It occupies the eastern wing of the upper terrace of The Repulse Bay; a charming colonial style building overlooking the South China Sea.

Southside is recognized within Hong Kong for its caring, innovative, and highly individualized approach to the education of preschoolers. We teach in English, but provide exposure to Putonghua on a daily basis, and provide options for additional classes. Southside children typically progress to Hong Kong’s leading international schools.

Parents usually choose to enroll their children initially into either morning or afternoon sessions, and subsequently attend an extended day class when they are four and five years old. During this period we make extensive use of Sylvan’s Beginning Reading and Early Mathematics programmes to ensure children are well-prepared for primary school.

Our educational philosophy is rooted in the works of Helen Parkhurst and Lev Vygotsky. However, it has been heavily influenced by subsequent refinements of the Dalton Plan and developments such as those documented in “Tools of the Mind”. Like all professionals, we are constantly learning, and adapting our methods.

Parents are strongly encouraged to arrange visits to Southside, and other kindergartens, before making their choice of preferred school. What matters most is not the words in a website, but the intuitive feel that parents, and their children, can experience by visiting us.

The original edition of “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum dominated the New York Times best seller list throughout 1989. I mention this in the hope that it will remind you that your choice of kindergarten will have a significant impact on the rest of your child’s life.

“The true business of the school is not to chain the pupil to preconceived ideas, but to set him free to discover his own ideas and to help bring his powers upon the problem of learning… Let us think of the school as a place where community conditions prevail as they prevail in life itself”. Helen Parkhurst in “Education on the Dalton Plan”.

Southside is committed to cultivating excitement and joy in the ongoing process of learning. We nurture the natural inquisitiveness that exists in all children and help them to develop self-confidence and a positive approach to life. We lay the foundations for future success. Not just in academia, but in all aspects of life.

Southside provides a homely environment. It is a place of transitions; between home and primary school. Our aim is to make those transitions as smooth as possible.

Southside understands that many parents in Hong Kong worry about securing admission to the “better” international schools. We are proud of our results. We are even more proud that these results have been achieved without resorting to cramming or rote learning. Our approach is highly individualized and we work closely with parents to achieve what is best for their child.