Kellett Pok Fu Lam Preparatory School

What The Good Schools Guide International says

Head of school

Since 2015, Ben Dixon, BEd NPQH Dip SEN. Leadership roles, teaching and SEN provision within the independent and state sector. Headship career spanning the UK and Asia, including deputy headship at the British International School in Ho Chi Minh for four years before making a conscious move back to the UK. Determined to return to Asia, opportunity came knocking in the form of Kellett, a school he was already familiar with from his time in the region.

Staff, parents, and students are full of praise: ‘likeable, approachable leader, all-round gem’. At the helm for nearly a decade, his undisputable energy and enthusiasm is untarnished. Well-established in the role, he simultaneously provides solid guidance whilst being open to new ideas, all part of the prep head's double act. Affable to all on campus, from maintenance staff to visitors and teachers alike, he instinctively knows who is on site, possibly because everyone must walk past his office located beside the main entrance.

Proud of his teaching staff who are ‘brilliant, just brilliant’, he treats them like family; thinks nothing of bursting into a class with aplomb mid lesson to see what is being taught. The teacher and students welcome him just as enthusiastically and are delighted he does so. The energy he dissipates is addictive; smiles and waves are handed out and received wherever he goes, reception students are just as confident with him as those in year 6.

A doting father, he has two daughters (Kellett graduates) at university in the UK, seeing them when his schedule allows. A man with many hats, he furiously juggles them simultaneously making it all look so easy.

Principal and CEO, since April 2024, Paul Tough BA MA. Formerly principal at The British School in Tokyo, he arrived off the back of high praise from that community. A return to Hong Kong (previous head of Discovery Bay International School and deputy principal of West Island School), he is delighted to be back in his old stomping ground, spending the first few months getting under the skin of the Kellett community, talking to staff, parents, and students alike.

Entrance

Key entry points in reception and year 1. Currently waitlists for both years, high demand for other years too. Three form entry as opposed to two at Kowloon Bay. School tours and open evenings continue abundantly; most recent one was oversubscribed. Parents required to specify campus preference on application - there is no switching to the other campus once a place has been allocated.

Families cite Pok Fu Lam campus as like a typical UK prep school; smaller and more traditional in style than Kellett's Kowloon Bay school which sits on the larger ‘international’ style campus. It ultimately boils down to family preference and availability.

Exit

At the end of year 6, majority of students advance into Kellett senior school, merging with Kowloon Bay prep graduates to become one cohort as they enter year 7 together. Strong academic results higher up the school have curtailed the previously large exodus to boarding school.

Those that leave to the UK do not receive common entrance preparation (assessment and interview practice) from the school. For those taking UK schools' 11+, this is done externally, entirely under parent direction, with invigilation taking place at the British Council. Academically on a par with UK schools, transition is therefore relatively smooth.

Teaching and learning

Head is a stalwart supporter of his teaching staff who are of high calibre and long-serving. Teachers are dedicated and enthusiastic, they seem to have drunk from the same fountain of gusto as the head.

Early years follow EYFS, moving onto the English national curriculum as they progress through prep. Head puts it in layman’s terms, likening teaching as a ‘menu’, the meal differs depending on who the ‘chefs’ are. Teachers are looked after too; a peek into the newly revamped staff room on the top floor affords them fantastic private and communal working spaces alongside a rather super kitchen area.

Previously dark corridors of classrooms have been modified to include internal windows letting natural light flood in and to allow for class observations; students now used to this are oblivious to visitors peering in.

Learning here is fun; teachers are not afraid to explore different ways, whatever makes the children tick and want to learn. Observing a year 2 class, we saw the children being taught phonics, enraptured by their teacher who performed the lesson with a beanbag frog upon her head without skipping a beat. Further up the school, year 6 were enthusiastic to impart recently acquired knowledge about Shackleton in their classroom, much to the head’s cries of ‘marvellous’.

Learning support and SEN

Non-selective, the school provides support to those who need it - limited number of places available. Additional support needs (ASN) is based upon a points system (ie one point if they need in-class support, more points attributed if more support is needed, up to a total of 20 points). They accommodate a certain number of students for each year group based upon the points system, to ensure a balance within cohorts.

External providers work with the school (paid for by parents) including speech therapy, occupational therapy and educational therapy providers.

Breadcrumbs around campus tell us all we need to know about the school championing support, from the dedicated ASN room to the books we spotted on display in the library for dyslexia week, all advocated by the head and his prior SEN experience.

Language support

Many students are bilingual but must be fully fluent in English to access the curriculum. As such, there is no language support provided.

The arts and extracurricular

Parents satisfied with the huge selection on offer, students find ones that appeal to them (out of an enormous music and sport offering). Those in the reception and year 1 are limited on the number they can take part in, no limit for those in the upper years. Majority of sporting extracurriculars (ECAs) are held offsite.

Art room on the ground floor, located off the central atrium, is not the brightest. However, the bubbly art teacher and the plentiful offering more than makes up for it. We saw a fabulous representation of a David Walliams’ book (currently being read in class) interpreted into ceramic forms.

The Rutherford room, a legacy from an Old Kellettonian family, is where drama takes place. Years 5 and 6 put on full working productions each year (students must audition). Performed in a super new theatre, past performances include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Annie Jr, with students either acting or backstage. Props are just as impressive, the production of a life-size model of a car by staff makes the mind boggle as to where it is stored!

Music is championed here too, from Eisteddfod competitions to internal annual concerts, children participate and are included, from top performers to beginners. Students also benefit from fundraising initiatives to enhance learning experiences outside of the curriculum. Known as K squared, visiting creative professionals explore, educate and fuel passions. On our visit a well-known musician was hosting student and staff workshops over several days across all year groups in both campuses.

Sport

Use is made of the limited space on campus for PE lessons, ie the surprisingly large gymnasium and outside areas. For other sports students are bused off-site to Stanley Ho, a nearby sports ground which houses a sports stadium and large playing fields. Parents accept it for what it is; space is at a premium in Hong Kong and its enviable location on the Island means a compromise. Swimming lessons held externally too, with most testing the school swimming pool water for the first time when they progress into senior school in Kowloon Bay.

Uptick in the number of external sporting competitions since the appointment of a new director of sports who has worked alongside all year groups across both campuses. Alongside this, there is the opportunity to bag a place in the regional FOBISIA games in years 5 and 6 at both campuses, held in May/June in different Asian cities each year - places are fiercely fought for. Parents of those in younger years wished there was more opportunity to watch older students take part in sporting competitions to inspire and fuel sporting ambition.

Ethos and heritage

Founded by a group of parents in 1976 to provide a British education to the English-speaking community within Hong Kong. To this day, the school is still governed by a board of parents who are intrinsically woven into the fabric of the school.

The campus at Pok Fu Lam, located on the western side of Hong Kong Island, lies in the shadow of Mount Kellett overlooking Kellett Bay. Known as the ‘original’ prep school, the campus has been in the same spot since 1980 while the development of the Wah Fu district expands around them.

A labyrinth of classrooms and specialist areas, the school is clearly demarked into two distinct buildings, Ocean and Mountain wing. The school is bursting at the seams, expanded to its maximum capacity but without compromising dedicated teaching areas. Space issues have been addressed; corridors cleaned of books which were once piled high, dark corridors opened up with internal windows, and every inch of space utilised, including the revamped out-of-date areas such as staff living quarters, which are no longer needed. No dining room however; students need to bring in their own lunch and eat it in their classroom.

Science labs and drama rooms have a dated air about them, but this all adds to its charm. Two entry and exit points for pick up and drop off. The head is a constant on the school gate, dealing with parent issues with discretion, handling them as smoothly as directing school traffic.

The government land next door to the school, once used as a holding area for the school buses, is now undergoing a huge residential housing building project. This will block the view and, along with a huge development across the road for an extension of the local village, Wah Fu, will sadly scar the land around the school and start to close in on all sides. After years of enjoying relative (to Hong Kong) space, this will feel strange and new. Good to hear there is little impact on the community, for now, particularly for pick up and drop off.

Situated along a busy road, the hum of the traffic mingles with the happy hum of the children in the playground, which runs parallel to the busy road. Greenery surrounds the perimeter to allow for privacy and dampen down noise levels. With public transport right outside the school, those in year 5 and above can access bus routes along Southside, a typical expat enclave, or to the local MTR stop connecting them to Central and beyond.

Pastoral care, inclusivity and discipline

Class teachers are first point of call if problems arise, parents kept abreast either through direct email or via the Kellett learning diary. The head often steps in to adjudicate.

Charity initiatives instilled early on via Kellett Cares; students raise money for external charities, decided at the start of each academic year, from dress up days to creating and selling wrapping paper. Students totally onboard and do so with gusto.

Classroom and community

Volunteering runs through parent veins. Hugely popular with both working and non-working parents alike, all are engaged and involved. There is no shortage of parent support, particularly for trips outside the campus when they are always ‘inundated with volunteers’. A tight-knit bunch with organised coffee mornings and social events, through to whole school occasions such as the highly anticipated annual spring fair.

Parent stress levels reach boiling point at the end of year 6 when intensive planning goes into graduation celebrations and one-upmanship prevails over the production of a red book celebrating the child’s journey at Kellett prep complete with photos, artwork and quotes.

Nationality quota is weighted towards more Western children than its counterpart in Kowloon Bay; however, admissions are clear they ensure a healthy balance of nationalities within each cohort. Cohesiveness reinforced by the recent introduction of a house system, separate from the senior house system (unclear why); students champion their house and learn to unite across year groups forging new friendships.

Where possible, events held throughout the year help unify students across both prep campuses, from sports days to visiting lectures and GO (global outlook) week. The ultimate highlight is a trip to Beijing in year 6, as one large cohort. Seen as the pinnacle of the prep years, students look fondly back on this; a dabble with independence students visibly grow up overnight.

Money matters

After the initial debenture outlay, fees are undeniably less expensive than a UK prep school, parents are aware of this.

Bursaries on offer to those from disadvantaged backgrounds, most come through the school’s outreach programme held on campus on the weekends. Scholarships awarded to prep students at the end of year 6, before they advance into senior school.

The last word

Kellett is a stand-alone brand with its own dynamic force, offering students an outstanding prep education within the framework of the English national curriculum delivered by well-trained and dedicated teachers. This, the original British prep school in Hong Kong, delivers a first-rate education within a tightly packed campus. It is hugely popular; be prepared to wait for a place.