Nord Anglia International School

New campus at NAIS

Nord Anglia International School welcomes students to its new secondary campus in Kwun Tong

Making music in the auditorium

There’s been much excitement in the air over the past few weeks at Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong (NAIS). Not least because it’s the beginning of a new school year, but also because there is a whole new secondary campus to explore in Kwun Tong. Whilst across the island, the primary campus at Lam Tin has been renovated and the community recently welcomed a new principal.

New secondary campus

A few weeks ago, induction days at NAIS’s brand new secondary campus in Kwun Tong commenced. The impressive campus features specialist subject classrooms, a learning resource centre, a full-size sports hall, an indoor swimming pool and an impressive performance auditorium. Principal Kenny Duncan, who joined NAIS last year, was there to greet students at the start of induction. “We have been searching for a suitable location for a secondary campus which has the right balance of accommodation, appropriate access to transport links, and with scope for potential development for a few years now. As you can imagine, securing real estate in one of the most populated and expensive cities in the world is not an easy task. Kwun Tong was by far the best location we came across. It has been a fascinating journey which is not over yet,

we plan to fully complete the development of the site by the summer of 2023,” he added in the days leading up to the opening. When it came to staffing the new campus, NAIS prioritised secondary teachers who were passionate about their subjects and cared deeply about children and their education. “They are people who keep up to speed with the latest educational research and can demonstrate a willingness and ability to innovate with their pedagogy. We are very lucky to have a core of secondary teachers who have been with us for several years and we are delighted to be joined this year by an extremely experienced and enthusiastic group to further strengthen the team,” says Nick Rickford, Head of Secondary. “I would say that our teachers are most excited about the range of facilities that they have to explore with the students and the added flexibility to make learning varied and fun. There is so much scope for the specialist teachers to develop their subjects within the new space. I’m also extremely excited about the performances, large and small, that our music and drama departments are planning (government restrictions permitting) in our drama suites as well as this impressive auditorium,” he adds.

New principal

The NAIS community also welcomed a new principal at the end of last year. Principal Kenny Duncan brings with him eight years of experience as principal most recently at Kingsbridge College, a school ranked as outstanding in the UK and recognised as a leading hub of innovation and educational best practice. He has more than three decades of teaching experience.

Looking ahead

It’s clear that over the past five years, the school’s secondary phase has gone from strength to strength, growing in both size and reputation. NAIS is now a through-train school with its first IB students graduating this year. This summer saw the founding students complete their IBDP studies, achieving exceptional outcomes in the process. Equally iGCSE students consistently performed above regional and global averages. “Securing the secondary campus feels like the next step in maturing the school,” says Duncan. “It is exciting to be taking this step along with some of the founding students who joined us in primary school when we opened our doors back in 2014. Over the coming months, I look forward to working with the founding cohort of Kwun Tong students to fill the new campus buildings with life and learning. This is a space for the teachers to build their specialist subject areas and for the students to take ownership of this new campus,” he adds. sg

Back to school smiles (underneath the masks)

To find out more about Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong, or to arrange a tour visit

nordangliaeducation.com

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Photo: Hong Kong Interntional School