ICHK Secondary: A dynamic IB World School set in the beautiful New Territories
In collaboration with International College Hong Kong
The holistic well-being of students is at the heart of our philosophy at ICHK. We believe the secondary school experience should deliver both character and academic achievement. ICHK is a community of innovation that attracts global attention for its thoughtful approach to learning and unique curriculum, offering experiences that prepare students for life beyond school.
Top 100 Most Innovative Schools Worldwide
ICHK students follow BTECs, IGCSEs and the IBDP, and we are the first school in Hong Kong to graduate students with a Mastery Transcript. We are proud to be recognised by Cambridge University as one of the top 100 most innovative schools in the world.
We configure students’ school experience around an ‘epistemic apprenticeship’, which underscores how school provides guidance and role modelling for every aspect of students’ performance – including the academic, social, emotional and values-driven dimensions of students’ lives. From Year 7 through to Year 9, we offer an exciting and innovative curriculum to prepare students for senior school. Learning is centred on emerging best practices, using insights and innovations from around the world. Fundamental to students’ journey is ensuring that they develop resilience as well as attitudes and mindsets that will underpin ongoing enjoyment of life, performance and success. All students participate in a full range of school activities, including sports teams, drama productions, outdoor expeditions, and service projects – these programmes stretch and stimulate students into fully-rounded young learners.
As students progress to senior school, they achieve outstanding IGCSE and IBDP results and all secure their first choice university destinations. In addition, ICHK students routinely go far beyond expectations and demonstrate skills critical to their future success at university and beyond. We are proud of our graduates who have secured places at prestigious universities worldwide. Many have been awarded coveted university scholarships and elected into student leadership roles by their peers.
The benefits of Curriculum X
At ICHK, we believe that how we teach students is just as vital as the content delivered; the learning experience is always a combination of both. The keystone of our educational approach is Human Technologies, as a lens for thought and action, this informs all aspects of the educational experience.
When students start in Year 7, they begin to follow a programme which features a combination of established subjects, including English, Mathematics, Science and Languages, and our innovative ‘Curriculum X’, which encompasses everything we offer beyond the traditional curriculum.
This framework has been developed and refined through our timetable, curriculum and pedagogy innovations for several years. It includes Human Technologies, Free Learning, Deep Learning, Enrichment & Flow and Outdoor Learning, all of which offer students more choice, flexibility, different work practices and opportunities to develop skills and attributes not addressed by examinations. Through these initiatives, we introduce new passions and open students’ eyes to different ways of thinking. Through a combination of Curriculum X and traditional school subjects, we value and recognise our students for all their attributes, capabilities, passions, achievements, and interests, not just for their academic abilities.
We work closely with students to identify their passions and provide them with personalised learning opportunities. The Free Learning Programme introduces our younger students to the concept of self-direction and allows them to take more control of their learning through a varied map of challenges and experiences. Enrichment & Flow is an adjunct to the IGCSE programme which offers students the chance to consolidate, extend and innovate the curriculum they follow.
Encouraging a growth mindset
Our unique curriculum initiatives aim to enrich our student’s school experience and develop a greater understanding of themselves as people and learners. The curriculum is supported by our unique ‘5+1’ pastoral model, which is based on the work of five thinkers in education and fosters a culture of growth, hard work, acceptance and collaboration.
Comprehensive research into the factors that contribute to school attainment in the secondary years has prompted this model for nurturing success in our students. It provides guidance on how to encourage a growth mindset and support students in the “learning zone” through an imaginative, innovative curriculum experienced in an environment of safety and trust.
We are committed to an ethos that all children are worthy and deserving of the best possible education which aligns with their needs. We have long catered for young people who find mainstream education a challenging match for their learning styles and developmental journeys. We employ an extensive team of committed and inventive learning support assistants who apply themselves daily to support those students who need a little extra input to allow school to truly come alive for them. Two years ago, we proudly opened the +1 Centre, a specialist facility for students with pronounced educational needs.
Benefits of a small community
ICHK is a community school. It is intentionally small, and our policies, approaches and culture all flow from this deliberate decision. Research indicates that small communities do a better job of recognising and catering to the needs of their members.
Small classes allow our teachers to design and deliver their lessons to meet the needs of individual students. With a low student-to-teacher ratio, learners receive the personal attention and guidance they need; there is a high degree of interaction between teachers, students, and students themselves, which is key to our learning philosophy.
Students with specific interests and passions are more likely to have these passions identified and encouraged, while learners experiencing difficulty can be quickly identified, and issues rapidly addressed.
Community spirit is encouraged in the small environment. Strong relationships are formed across the home–school partnership, and school leaders can be more involved with individual students than they could be in a larger school situation. At ICHK, staff pride themselves on knowing every single child by name.
A smaller student body also offers greater opportunities for students to participate and develop leadership skills. It is a circle that promotes a sense of belonging in students: a sense of pride in their community, school, and themselves. A small school allows for flexibility within the curriculum. At ICHK, we recognise that one size does not fit all, and a substantial investment in personalised education exists.
Learning in nature
Our spacious, green, low-rise campus is situated in the stunning New Territories, providing students with unrivalled opportunities for outdoor learning. Surrounded by country parks and spectacular scenery, our school offers the ideal location for students to develop a deeper appreciation for their place in the grander scheme of natural history and human culture on a global scale, measured in both space and time. We draw on our local environment as an invaluable resource for teaching science, humanities, arts, physical fitness and leadership, and our innovative Outdoor Education Programme has been firmly established as one of the central pillars of our school.
In our unique natural environment, students play sports and enjoy many after-school activities, ranging from sailing and horse riding to environmental action. In addition, they can make full use of the nearby coastline and country parks for hiking, sailing, kayaking, cross-country running and cycling.
A nurturing environment
ICHK is a school where all students feel cared for and can flourish in a nurturing environment. We aim to provide a secure, caring environment where students can develop as learners and happy individuals. We make children feel welcome, cared for and thoroughly at home.
At the heart of what we do is a fundamental commitment: to provide our students with the very best education we can offer, day in, day out, year on year.
We passionately believe that a dual emphasis on academic qualifications and the personal qualities of character, grit and resilience is the only way to truly prepare students for the accelerating challenges of an ever-changing world.
Our innovative curricula offer students an exciting and challenging learning journey, and our focus is relentlessly future-orientated. We know that change in the world is constant and accelerating. We know that students need a new and broader set of skills if they are to meet the challenges that await: that, in an information and ideas-based economy, it is attitudes and mindsets, no less than qualifications, that will underpin ongoing performance and success. We believe we have developed impactful solutions to the most pressing challenges facing educators today. We are pushing the boundaries and expectations concerning what secondary education could and should offer young people.
And so we have created – and continue to evolve – a school experience that best prepares young people for that future.
To find out more, visit www.ichk.edu.hk or contact us via https://www.ichk.edu.hk/join/book-a-tour to arrange a visit.
