British International School Vietnam

The British International School (BIS), Ho Chi Minh City 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). One Primary campus is located in District 3 of the city, whilst a second Primary campus and a Secondary campus are located in the residential area of District 2. BIS 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. Both Primary campuses cater for students from the Foundation Stage (Pre-school) through to Year 6 and the Secondary campus caters for students from Years 7-13. BIS has 161 full-time teachers, most of whom are British qualified.^[2] BIS teaches the National Curriculum of England 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 (FOBISSEA).

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 of 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]

Facilities

All of the school campuses have:

• Libraries
• Music suites
• Computer suites
• Indoor 25 m swimming pools
• Sports halls
• Cafeterias

Early Years Foundation Stage

Both primary campuses also have:

• Mini swimming pools
• Sand pits
• Dedicated playgrounds
• Climbing apparatus
• Indoor Soft Play Area

^[3]

Secondary

The Secondary Campus has further facilities, including:

• An auditorium
• A 250 seat theatre
• Science laboratories
• Drama studio
• Dance studio
• Recording Studio
• Art suite
• Design technology workshops
• Sixth Form Centre
• Fully Equipped Language Facilities
• Careers and University Guidance Department
• Grass playing fields shared with the Primary campus

^[3]

Extra Curricular Activities

BIS offers numerous extra-curricular activities from Year 1 onwards.^[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 South East Asia (FOBISSEA), 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 FOBISSEA 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.

See also

• British Vietnamese International School
• International school

References