As Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong celebrates its tenth anniversary, Playtimes reflects on the school’s achievements and growth over the decade and discovers the exciting plans that are in place for the future. Playtimes has had the amazing opportunity to speak directly with Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong to glean their insights during their tenure here and what is to come.
The History of Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong (NAIS Hong Kong)
Over the past ten years, NAIS HK has grown from a single campus to three dedicated campuses (Primary, Secondary & Kindergarten), from less than 500 founding students in 2014 to almost 1600 students this year. The NAIS curriculum has adapted to encompass international programmes to ensure that students receive a well-rounded, rigorous education to form the future pioneers in the global society.
Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong (NAIS Hong Kong) opened its first campus in September 2014, completely renovating an old school site in Lam Tin and transforming it into a modern space offering cutting-edge technology and facilities. The school initially welcomed over 500 families, all keen to be part of the internationally minded school and to benefit from its unrivalled network of knowledge and experience via its global family of Nord Anglia Schools – at the time 35 schools worldwide (it now stands at over 80 schools).
In 2017, NAIS HK opened their second campus in Sai Kung. Dedicated to Early Years education, the site provided a space for young students to flourish, play and learn in an environment that supported their skills, interests and understanding. Today the Sai Kung Campus remains a place that nurtures confident, well-rounded individuals who love to learn.
NAIS HK’s success continued to grow and by 2021 an additional campus opened in Kwun Tong. This permitted the school to split Early Years to Sai Kung, Primary to Lam Tin and Secondary to Kwun Tong. Giving each age group more space to grow independently, and develop as compassionate, informed and cooperative global citizens. In addition to creating additional physical space, NAIS HK also built curricula to benefit and support each student enabling them to achieve the results they strive for, stemming from the belief that no two children learn alike.
Through a decade tenure, Nord Anglia facilities have also undergone significant development and enhancement, including state-of-the-art science labs, creative and performing arts spaces, and sports amenities. Each facility and feature were designed to inspire creativity, innovation, and collaboration. Student support has been a cornerstone of their philosophy. The introduction of personalised learning plans, enhanced well-being initiatives, and robust guidance programs, every student is given the opportunities to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
The Future of Nord Anglia Hong Kong
NAIS HK have pursued a motivating social purpose, empowering children to become change-makers with a passion to make the world a better place. At NAIS HK, their mission in education is that every learner:
“Be academically successful;
Be independent, creative thinkers, learning effectively on their own and collaboratively;
Have respect for themselves, other people and the environment;
Take responsibility for their own actions and make informed choices;
Develop personally, socially and emotionally through enriching opportunities inside and out of the classroom;
Make a positive, effective contribution as global citizens;
Be tolerant of others in keeping with the multilingual, multicultural nature of the school.”
The Share a Dream Programme at NAIS HK teaches social responsibility through fundraising and volunteering about issues that students truly care about. This gives students the responsibility and self-motivation to promote awareness or raise money for a cause that they feel passionately about. In addition to this, every year, students support hundreds of local causes tackling the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. In the last year alone, Nord Anglia students volunteered over 50,000 hours for local community projects and raised nearly $800,000 for local charities.
Aside from extracurricular endeavours, NAIS students are granted excellent opportunities to work with experts in a variety of fields that they express an interest in. NAIS HK’s collaboration with The Juilliard School, the world-renowned performing arts school, combined with their outstanding dance, drama, and music programmes, inspires students’ creativity, introspection and development. The Arts are crucial for Students to be well rounded contributors to society and Julliard offers students a chance to flourish their creative side. Additionally, NAIS HK works closely with MIT to provide students with a hands-on, engaging and interdisciplinary STEM education platform. This collaboration allows students to absorb the fundamental qualities that make MIT’s STEM graduates so successful in their respective fields.
This year, Kenny Duncan, the current Principal at NAIS HK said “Over the 10 years, we have built a reparation, we have built a curriculum, but we have also built incredibly confident and resilient human beings. Our children our now spread across the world, and with them goes the quality of the education they received here at Nord Anglia International School Hong Kong”.
Happy 10th Anniversary NAISHK
As we look to the future, NAIS HK’s vision is to continue to shape a generation of creative and resilient global citizens who will change our world for the better. With the world around us at an increasing pace, it is vital to ensure the education we provide our children enables them to manage the challenges and opportunities they will meet as adults. NAIS HK has been striving to integrate cutting-edge technologies with learning practices, continue to expand extracurricular offerings, and strengthen partnerships with global educational institutions.
A 10-year-old school, in any other case, would be in its fledgling years, still learning to walk before it can fly. However, NAIS HK has proved that hitting the ground sprinting has been an upward path to success for their institution. Providing collaborative facilities, combined with nurturing teaching styles, to empower students to be the forward-thinking, socially conscious, and change-making trailblazers they inevitably grow to become. NAIS HK have mastered the art of fostering a community built on the values of respect, empathy and global citizenship. Expanding, growing and blooming are themes that NAIS HK has taken and run with, and if the last 10 years are any indication for what is to come, then NAIS HK will be looking forward to an incredible future.
Happy 10 Years NAIS Hong Kong, and here’s to many more.
If you are a new parent in HK or looking for a revolutionary education for your child to springboard to the future that awaits them, please visit their website here for more information or contact [email protected] or +852 3958 1428 for application enquiries.
“I would like to thank everyone for everything that they do to make our school such a vibrant, energetic and enthusiastic place to learn and to work. I thank our parents for their confidence in the school and their support over many years in contributing to what is now a fabulous school” – Kenny Duncan
