British International School Ho Chi Minh City

The British International School Ho Chi Minh City (BIS HCMC) is an international school in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, offering a British style education. The school has three campuses located in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). There is a Primary campus, a Secondary campus, and an Early Years & Infant Campus. They are located in the residential area of District 2 (Thao Dien). The British International School Ho Chi Minh City was founded in 1997 as Tiny Tots, a Kindergarten.[1] Beginning with only two classes, two overseas teachers and 40 toddlers, it has since grown to become a private day school with over 1,800 students from 52 countries. The Early Years & Infant Campus caters for students from the Foundation Stage (Pre-school) through to Year 2, the Junior Campus (Primary School) caters for children in Year 3 through to Year 6 and the Secondary campus caters for students from Years 7-13. BIS HCMC has 161 full-time teachers, most of whom are British qualified.[2] BIS HCMC teaches a combination of the National Curriculum of England and International Primary Curriculum (IPC) for the primary students and students take both the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examinations and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. BIS is accredited through the Council of International Schools (CIS). The school is a registered centre for the UK examination boards, Cambridge International Examinations. It is also designated as an IB World School. It is a member of the Federation of British International Schools in South East Asia (FOBISIA) with the Principal Mr Anthony Rowlands currently holding the position of Chair of FOBISIA.

British International School Ho Chi Minh City
Location
Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam
Information
Type	International, Private
Motto	Crescat Scientia
Established	August 1997 [1]
Faculty	161
Grades	K–13
Enrolment	1,800[2]
Average class size	18

History

In August 1997, a pre-school named Tiny Tots was established in a villa on Nguyen Van Thu Street in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City - starting with just two classes, two teachers from overseas and 40 toddlers. Building on this success, a second pre-school named Fundino was soon established in District 3. The original Tiny Tots villa was extended in 2000 to accommodate 10 additional primary classrooms, bringing the total number of students to 300 children. This was the first year the school was officially called the British International School, with Marjorie Hunt being the first Head Teacher.

Two years later, a new Primary campus was built in the residential An Phu area of the city. Alun Thomas was appointed as Principal of the three campuses and enrolment reached 600 children. In August 2005, a purpose built Secondary campus was opened on land very close to the new Primary campus in An Phu.

In August 2007, another new Primary campus was built on Tu Xuong Street in District 3, combining the Nguyen Van Thu campus and the Fundino campus into one new school. Mr Shaun Williams was appointed as Principal, and the school roll rose to 1,350 children, with ages ranging from 2 to 18.

In 2008, an extension to the An Phu Primary campus was opened followed by an extension to the An Phu Secondary campus in August 2010. These extensions provided additional classrooms and specialist facilities allowing the school to grow towards its projected target of 2,000 students.[1]

In 2015, the British International School Ho Chi Minh City merged with Nord Anglia Education (NAE), a schools organisation located across China, Europe, the Middle East, North America and Southeast Asia. 

In 2018, BIS HCMC opened their specialist Early Years & Infant Campus facility down the road from the Junior and Secondary Campuses in District 2, closing the Tu Xuong Campus in District 3 and uniting the whole school community in one central location in Thao Dien.

Facilities

There are three campuses: BIS Secondary Campus, BIS Junior Campus, and BIS Early Years & Infant Campus, all located in District 2.

🌍

Campuses

All of the school campuses have:

• Internet access in all classrooms

• Brand new libraries
• Music suites
• Computer suites
• Dreams lab with STEAM facilities including 3D printers, micro processors and a makerspace
• Indoor swimming pools
• Large sports halls
• Large cafeterias

Each individual campus has excellent additional specialist facilities designed to support and enhance learning.

Early Years and Infant Campus

• Outdoor splash pool
• Creative shared learning spaces
• Dedicated playgrounds
• Climbing equipment
• Indoor soft play area
• Sensory walkway

Junior Campus

• Music rooms with soundproof peripatetic rooms and band practice room
• Shared learning spaces for collaborative learning
• Multi-functional Juilliard creative space
• Outdoor play and climbing equipment
• BIS garden
• Large playgrounds
• All weather outdoor astro-pitch
• Outdoor basketball court
• Real grass playing field shared with the Secondary Campus

Secondary Campus

• An auditorium with full stage and lighting/sound system
• A 250 seat theatre
• Science laboratories
• Drama studio
• Dance studio
• Music technology suite including individual practice rooms
• Art suite
• Design technology workshops with STEAM facilities including a makerspace, 3D printers and laser cutters
• Brand new Sixth Form Centre
• Careers and university guidance department
• Real grass playing field shared with the Junior Campus

[3]

Extracurricular activities

BIS offers numerous extracurricular or co-curricular activities for all ages.[4]

• Volleyball
• Orchestra
• Jazz band
• Student Leadership Team
• International Award
• Expressive Arts
• Chess
• Photography
• Swimming Club
• Concert Band
• Choir
• Model United Nations
• Athletics (track and field)
• Student Council
• Fencing Club
• Running Club
• Reverse Psychology club
• Vietnamese Learning Club
• Harry Potter listening club
• Technology Appreciation club
• Advanced Counting Club (Big numbers)

and many more.

Curriculum

The British International School Ho Chi Minh City teaches children from the ages of 2 years old (Pre-Nursery) through to 18 years old (Year 13). These are split into three areas of learning, Foundation from age 2 to 4+, Primary from age 5 to 10+ and Secondary from age 11 to 18.

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), for children under the age of 4, provides a base from which students can move into primary school. An adapted form of the National Curriculum for England. In our Primary campuses this is achieved through the use of the International Primary Curriculum (IPC), which is a modified curriculum for schools wishing to place the National Curriculum for England into an international context.

Secondary education consists of three distinct, consecutive phases:

Year 7 (age 11-12), Year 8 (age 12-13) and Year 9 (age 13-14). The English National Curriculum is taught with the following subjects offered - English, Mathematics and coordinated Science (Biology, Chemistry and Physics) French/Mandarin/Spanish, Geography/History, Art/ICT, DT/Music, PE/Vietnamese, and ILS/Assembly/Drama.

Year 10 and Year 11 (age 14-16). Students study for the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examinations. Students follow the IGCSE course, provided by Cambridge University, UK which includes the compulsory subjects of English, Mathematics and coordinated Science in addition to four subjects chosen from a selection of options.

Year 12 and Year 13 (age 16-18). Upon successfully completing their IGCSE's, students then enter the IB Diploma Programme (IBDP). Compulsory subjects for this course are Mathematics, English and a second language. Students then choose three further subjects from a list of options that are provided each year. The IBDP is internationally recognized and allows students access to the very best universities worldwide.

[5]

Inter-school involvements

Inter-house sporting competitions and fixtures against other schools in Ho Chi Minh City occur on a regular basis as well as regional games. The school is also involved in the Federation of British International Schools in Asia (FOBISIA), with sports and music.[6]

BIS was the founding school of SAIMUN (HCMC Model United Nations).[7] SAIMUN is the only MUN conference held in Vietnam, and was established in 2009.[8] In addition, BIS established and hosted the 1st Annual FOBISIA MUN 2010.

BIS is also the host of the annual ABRSM High Scorers' Concerts in Ho Chi Minh City, which feature the top 25 scoring musicians.

References

1. "BIS Vietnam History". British International School - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Archived from the original on 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
2. "Description of the school". British International School - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Archived from the original on 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
3. "BIS Vietnam Facilities". British International School - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
4. "Extra Curricular activities introduction". British International School - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
5. "The BIS curriculum". British International School - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Archived from the original on 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
6. "News/Events at BIS". British International School - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
7. "HCMC Model United Nations". British International School - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Archived from the original on 2010-04-30. Retrieved 2010-04-07.
8. "HCMC Model United Nations". British International School - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Archived from the original on 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2010-04-07.