Hong Kong school fees 2026–27: tuition, levies and budgets

The short version

The short version

For the schools profiled here, 2026–27 annual tuition examples include HK$238,687 for Harrow Years 6–11, HK$244,500 for HKIS Grades 6–8 and HK$271,300 for Kellett Years 7–11. Each school defines its grade bands differently. CIS is the most expensive in this group, with reported fees of HK$300,300 for primary and HK$359,200 for senior years. Levies, joining costs and programme extras come on top.

Annual levies are the second recurring cost: HK$24,500 at HKIS, HK$30,200 at CIS, HK$40,000 at Kellett and GSIS, HK$43,000 at CDNIS and HK$60,000 at Harrow, each per pupil unless a qualifying capital instrument covers the child (HKIS charges its levy regardless). A secondary survey of 75 schools reports a 4.3% median tuition increase for 2026–27.

CIS reported senior tuition

HK$359,200

2026–27 secondary reporting

Harrow annual capital levy

HK$60,000

2026–27; exemption with qualifying certificate or debenture

HKIS Grades 9–12 tuition

HK$272,600

2026–27 official schedule; HK$24,500 levy on top

Median 2026/27 tuition rise

~4.3%

Secondary survey of 75 schools

The numbers

Every profiled Hong Kong school: tuition and capital charges

The table combines school-issued schedules with identified secondary reporting, checked on 2 September 2026. Amounts are in Hong Kong dollars. Grade bands, payment credits and levy exemptions differ by school. The linked school profiles explain the programmes and the evidence behind each figure.

GSIS tuition comes from BrightKey’s compilation. CDNIS and CIS tuition bands come from secondary reporting, while their levies, entry fees and reservation payments come from the schools. HKIS annual tuition is twice the official semester amount: HK$115,800, HK$122,250 or HK$136,300. HKIS also publishes tuition-plus-levy totals, which are higher than tuition alone.

Levies and advance payments

Annual levies, levy cover and reservation payments

A capital levy is a non-refundable charge, collected annually or once depending on the school, and it belongs in the annual budget next to tuition. At Harrow, GSIS, CDNIS and CIS a qualifying debenture, certificate or nomination right replaces the levy. HKIS is the exception; its HK$24,500 levy applies to every pupil, including debenture holders. Kellett’s HK$40,000 levy, introduced for new joiners in September 2025, carries no refund or admissions priority. GSIS limits levy access to selected applicants and year groups, and CDNIS exempts Nursery. What those capital instruments cost, and how they are repaid or transferred, is covered in our guide to Hong Kong debentures and nomination rights.

Reservation payments change when money is due and are often credited against fees already in the budget. HKIS takes the semester’s tuition and levy in advance; its new-student refund window ends ten calendar days after the due date or before the semester starts, whichever is earlier. CIS’s non-refundable HK$150,000 reservation payment includes the annual levy, with the balance credited to tuition. CDNIS takes an HK$80,000 reservation payment. Ask CDNIS how that payment is credited and when it becomes non-refundable. None of these amounts should be added a second time to annual tuition and levy totals.

ESF

ESF fees and the subvention phase-out

Secondary reporting lists HK$188,300 for ESF secondary tuition in 2026–27. ESF also charges a one-off, non-refundable capital levy on entry. Its government subvention is being phased out over 13 years through 2028–29, from a 2012–13 recurrent amount of HK$249.7 million, and the original terms protected already-enrolled cohorts from increases caused by the withdrawal. The phase-out concerns ESF’s funding only. How ESF fits into the Hong Kong system

Worked examples

Two children over three years: illustrative budgets

These examples follow two children through three school years, starting from the 2026–27 schedules. Tuition rises by an assumed 4.3% in each later year; levies and Kellett’s annual family fee are held unchanged. Both examples exclude transport, meals, uniforms, devices, activities and trips, and neither includes a debenture purchase. They illustrate selected costs, not future quotations. Amounts are rounded to the nearest Hong Kong dollar.

Scenario A: Kellett, entering Year 7 and Year 3 in 2026–27. The children remain in the Senior and Preparatory fee bands respectively throughout these three years. Starting annual tuition is HK$271,300 plus HK$218,200. Each child pays a HK$40,000 levy, and the family pays the HK$500 Association Fee each year.

• Year 1: tuition HK$489,500 + levies HK$80,000 + application fees HK$4,500 + family Association Fee HK$500 = HK$574,500.
• Year 2: tuition HK$489,500 × 1.043 + levies HK$80,000 + family fee HK$500 ≈ HK$591,049.
• Year 3: tuition HK$489,500 × 1.043² + levies HK$80,000 + family fee HK$500 ≈ HK$613,002.
• Three-year subtotal: approximately HK$1,778,551. This includes HK$240,000 in levies and HK$1,500 in annual family fees. Excluded transport, meals, devices and other programme costs must be budgeted separately.

Scenario B: HKIS, entering Grade 7 and Grade 4 in 2026–27. Starting annual tuition is HK$244,500 plus HK$231,600. By the third year, the children reach Grade 9 and Grade 6, so both move into higher fee bands. Each pays the HK$24,500 annual levy. Initial entry and application charges are included below, but the semester reservation payment is part of the tuition and levy already counted.

• Year 1: tuition HK$476,100 + levies HK$49,000 + entry fees HK$30,000 + applications HK$4,000 = HK$559,100. The two semester reservation payments total HK$262,550 and are part of the tuition and levies already counted, not an additional annual cost.
• Year 2: tuition HK$476,100 × 1.043 + levies HK$49,000 ≈ HK$545,572.
• Year 3: the 2026–27 base rates for Grades 9–12 and Grades 6–8 are HK$272,600 and HK$244,500. Applying two assumed increases gives (HK$272,600 + HK$244,500) × 1.043² + levies HK$49,000 ≈ HK$611,527.
• Three-year subtotal: approximately HK$1,716,199. The annual levy remains payable even if the family also buys an HKIS debenture for admissions priority. No debenture purchase is included in this subtotal.

Keep a cost schedule and a payment calendar alongside each other. The cost schedule records tuition, levies, joining fees and extras. The payment calendar shows when those charges are due, which advance payments are credited, and what may be forfeited on cancellation. Record a debenture separately with its actual repayment and transfer conditions. This avoids both double-counting an advance payment and overlooking a non-refundable charge.

For the offer letter

The HR negotiation checklist

• List covered charges separately. Agree whether the employer pays tuition, levies, application and entry fees, devices, transport and trips. Specify who makes advance payments and how credited amounts are reconciled.
• Agree who pays the levy. A levy is charged per pupil every year (HK$40,000 per child at Kellett, HK$60,000 at Harrow), so three years at Kellett add HK$120,000 per child at the current rate. Put it in the allowance explicitly.
• Use corporate capital coverage where it exists. An employer may already hold a debenture or nomination right that covers the levy and gives admissions priority. Ownership, nomination and exit terms for those instruments are set out in our debentures and nomination rights guide.
• Price the programme and transport costs. HKIS lists Middle School PEAK programmes at HK$3,000–12,500 and High School Interim programmes at HK$3,000–26,000, plus a MacBook requirement for Grades 6–12. Kellett excludes transport, lunch and senior devices. Harrow’s 2026–27 weekly boarding adds HK$135,672 per year.