The English Schools Foundation (Chinese: 英基學校協會, abbreviated: ESF or 英基) is an organisation that runs 20 educational institutions, most of which are international schools, which are all located in Hong Kong. It is the largest international educational foundation in Asia and was founded in 1967 as a direct result of an ordinance that started the foundation to provide a "modern liberal education" for expatriates in Hong Kong. Today, the ethnic groups of the foundations' students include local residents of Hong Kong, Europeans and other nearby Asian countries. At the same time, most of their students have parents who are permanent residents of Hong Kong. Its schools have traditionally provided a curriculum based on the British curriculum, but the organisation is undergoing a transition to a more international curriculum from the International Baccalaureate, starting with changing the Year 12 and 13 programme from the British GCSE A-Levels to the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme from September 2007.
The foundation receives an ongoing subsidy (called the "subvention") from the Hong Kong Government as well as charging a substantial tuition fee to parents. In the 2007–2008 academic year, these fees stand at HK$61,000 per annum for primary school students and HK$93,000 per annum for Years 7-11secondary school students (HK$94,000 for Years 12 and 13).
Although all of the ESF schools are comprehensive and "non-selective", students in the foundation have generally done well academically, 90% of their graduates going to different universities around the world.
The schools have progressively improved their facilities, especially in ICT with the help of donations from Parent Teacher Associations.
The current Chief Executive of the English Schools Foundation is Mrs. Heather Du Quesnay
Read more about English Schools Foundation: Government Subsidy Debate, Ordinance
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