FACT SHEET Harrow International School Hong Kong is the first international boarding and day school in Hong Kong. It opened in September 2012 and now has a combined roll of 1180 students from Early Years to Y13 in its Lower School and Upper School. Located in a magnificent crescent-shaped building with custom-built facilities near the Gold Coast, Tuen Mun, the School integrates elements of educational philosophy, practice and traditions from Harrow School in England into the diverse international community of Hong Kong to provide a highly distinctive education. Leadership Learning activities and experiences in and out of the classroom focus on the development of the six leadership attributes outlined in the School’s vision statement Leadership for a better world: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Contributing positively to the community Applying knowledge with compassion Solving problems collaboratively Solving problems creatively Making fair and just choices Facing challenges with determination
Key Characteristics of a Harrow Hong Kong Education 1. High academic expectations: excellent public examination results and entry to top universities combined with inspiring students who want to learn for their own sake and to aspire to scholarship. 2. A diverse extra-curricular programme, a significant proportion of which is integrated into a longer than normal school day for all students and which seeks to develop skills associated with service, charity, teamwork, creative expression, leadership and challenge in all students. 3. A strong emphasis on community, the quality of relationships and the personal formation of character that stems from the School’s boarding ethos. 4. The sense of tradition, and the adoption of elements of philosophy and practice, that comes being a member of the Harrow family of schools and its heritage. Pastoral Care and Boarding Boarding can begin from Y6 in the Prep School on a weekly basis from Sunday evening to Friday evening. Just under 50% of students in the Upper School board, but all day students are members of a House. There are currently three boys’ and three girls’ Prep Houses (Y6 to Y8), and three boys’ and three girls’ Senior Houses (Y9 to Y13). House Masters and House Mistresses, supported by designated Upper School teachers who are tutors in their House pastoral team, have the primary role in the pastoral care of students and are responsible for managing the daily routines for boarders from getting up to going to bed. Liaising closely with parents to provide personal support for all students in the House, day and boarding, they encourage them to develop their talents, help them in times of difficulty, and guide them to pursue excellence. For more detailed information, please visit the School’s website at www.harrowschool.hk.
Harrow International School Hong Kong 38 Tsing Ying Road, Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong Tel: +852 2824 9099 Fax: +852 2824 9928 www.harrowschool.hk
School structure
The Lower School § Early Years (K1 and K2) § Pre-Prep (Y1 to Y5) The Upper School § Prep (Y6 to Y8) § Senior (Y9 to Y11) § Sixth Form (Y12 to Y13)
School hours
Curriculum
Teaching media Other language programmes
Class size In the Early Years, 16 in K1, 18 in K2; in Pre-Prep, 22 in Y1 to Y2, 24 in Y3 to Y5; 24 in the Prep School (Y6 to Y8) and Senior School (Y9 to Y11); and 15 in the Sixth Form (Y12 to Y13) Lower School Early Years (K1 and K2) 8.00am to 2.00pm Lower School Pre-Prep School (Y1 to Y5) 8.15am to 3.50pm Upper School (Y6 to Y13) 8.00am to 4.50pm On designated Wednesdays each term, all Upper School day students are expected to remain at School with the boarders to participate in inter-House competitions. They have supper and return home at 7.15pm. § The Early Years (K1 and K2) follows the English based ‘Early Years Foundation Stage’ Curriculum. § The Pre-Prep School (Y1 to Y5) follows the English based ‘National Curriculum of England (2014)’. § The Prep School (Y6 to Y8) offers a skills-based curriculum based on the National Curriculum designed to manage the transition from the homeroom environment in the Pre-Prep School to the more subjectspecific environment in the Senior School. § The Senior School (Y9 to Y11) curriculum is based on IGCSE courses studied over three years. § The Sixth Form (Y12 to Y13) curriculum is based on A-level courses studied over two years, together with the Extended Project Qualification and the School’s own Harrow International Perspectives course. English is the inclusive language of the classroom, playground and boarding Houses for all students irrespective of their mother languages. In addition to English, all students have the option of studying other languages: Chinese (Mandarin), French and Spanish. § Pre-Prep (Y1 to Y5) All three languages are offered in Pre-Prep and students either follow a four-hour programme in Chinese, or study Chinese and French or Spanish for two hours per language. § Prep School (Y6 to Y8) All students study Chinese for four hours and either French or Spanish for three hours in the Prep School. § Senior School (Y9 to Y11) and Sixth Form (Y12 to Y13) Students continue to develop their linguistic skills in Y9 then choose at the end of the academic year whether they wish to continue to study Chinese, French and/or Spanish for IGCSE in Y10 and Y11 and A-level in Y12 and Y13.
Leadership Action
in
Teaching staff
Student needs support University destinations
Public examination results
UK governance
Parent involvement
A varied extra-curricular programme is an essential part of a Harrow education and, distinctively in Hong Kong a significant part of it is integrated into the School day for all students from Y1 to Y13. Activity option choices and a number of core activities take place within the timetable, as well as in enrichment time after 5.15pm for boarders. These programmes, together with the Facing Challenge programme (the School’s bespoke pastoral education programme), aim to encourage students to attain excellence in those activities in which they show talent while engaging over time in a broad range of activities that enable them to develop the skills associated with six key themes: service, charity, teamwork, creative expression, leadership and challenge. § The School has 140 teachers and teaching assistants from August 2016. § The majority of the teachers are British with some from Commonwealth countries. § The teaching staff has a tremendous blend of collective experience both in UK and international schools. § The list of teachers appointed can be found on the website. Specialist support includes the School Psychologist, Individual Needs Coordinator and EAP (English for Academic Purposes) Coordinator. Harrow Hong Kong Leavers have been highly successful in gaining places at top universities on competitive courses. In 2016, many of the Year 13 leavers have already confirmed their places at university, with the majority going to the UK. Places accepted and confirmed so far include Cambridge University, Oxford University, London School of Economics. Outside the UK, places have so far been accepted at the University of California, Berkeley; The Hong Kong University; and at Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. A-levels 49 students in Year 13 received 172 A-level grades in examinations in 14 subjects. Of the grades achieved by the Year 13 cohort, 38.4% were A* grades, 74.8% were A*-A, and 89.9% were A*-B, including seven students with four A* grades and 13 students with three or more A* grades. IGCSE 58 students in Year 11 received 600 grades in IGCSE examinations taken in 20 subjects. Of the grades achieved by the Year 11 cohort, 60.3% were A*, 85.2% were A*-A, and 97.5% were A*-B, including three students with 11 or more A* grades and 16 with 9 or more A* grades. No grades below C. The School operates under an agreement with the Governors of Harrow School in the UK. Two Governors from the Harrow School Board of Governors in the UK are members of the Governing Body; they attend its meetings and visit the School in Hong Kong three times a year to ensure quality control and guidance from the Harrow family. The Friends of Harrow is an association of parents and teaching staff that provides practical support for and assists with additional opportunities to enhance the educational experience for the students and promotes and extends productive relationships within the School community. The association organises external speakers, work placements and Career Fairs for students, as well as major charity fund-raising events. In addition, each term there are meetings of the Lower School Class Parent, Prep School House and Senior School House Parent committees, in which parent representatives discuss matters of the School’s operations and procedures with members of the senior management. There is also a ParentGovernor group, which meets termly to discuss matters related to the School’s strategic direction.
Scholarships and bursaries
The School provides merit-based financial awards for students who are gifted in academic work and/or extra-curricular pursuits where outstanding talent is evident. The aim of the scholarships and bursaries is to enable the School to draw gifted students from all sections of the global community, irrespective of their parents’ financial circumstances. With bursary supplementation, virtually full remission of fees is available depending on need. Scholarships and bursaries are available from Y6.