Location – 10 Shek Kok Rd, Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong
Website – http://www.shrewsbury.edu.hk/
Contact – +852 2480 1500
1. Please mention about the school and its mission/vision and various infrastructural facilities.
Shrewsbury International School Hong Kong offers an inspirational English language education for carefully selected students in an organization committed to continuous improvement. We recruit the finest teachers and staff, providing them with the resources to nurture outstanding students and exemplify the pioneering spirit and traditions of Shrewsbury School.
Shrewsbury is established around an innovative, ambitious and dynamic international community and an embedded set of seven values: Selectivity, Exceptional People, Commitment & Renewal, Outstanding Opportunities, English Language, Care & Compassion, The Shrewsbury Way
The School is situated just 30 minutes from Central within a world-class purpose built campus which acts to support a unique range of opportunities and experiences for children between the ages of 3 and 11. Facilities have been designed to serve to the needs, interests and ambitions of young learners – they include:
- An Auditorium, able to accommodate almost 500 guests
- A Recital Hall, for more intimate performances
- An indoor Sports Hall, featuring a 90 meter running track
- An Aquatics Centre, containing two pools
- A Gymnastics Centre, equipped to Olympic standard
- A rooftop football pitch
2. Kindly mention about the prominent personality of the school and his/her role in the development of the school.
Our Principal, Mr Ben Keeling, was appointed 18 months in advance of our first school day in August 2018. As the first employee, he played a critical role in the development of our campus and the appointment of the full staffing team. He works closely with school leaders, families and students at all levels and recently announced the launch of a new Strategic Plan, designed to guide our progress over the course of the next ten years entitled Together We Flourish.
3. Kindly describe the various courses offered by the school and their salient features.
Shrewsbury International School Hong Kong provides a programme of study linked to the English National Curriculum. Unashamedly academic, it was developed especially to meet the
needs of our talented, multi-lingual, international student body and acts to support the achievement and successes of all Shrewsbury students.
Learning experiences are connected through a thematic framework. Chinese language, Music and Physical Education are taught by a specialist teaching team.
While all lessons in Primary School and Early Years are guided by an overarching theme, coverage can be broken down into the following areas:
– English Language
– Mathematics
– Chinese Language
– Science
– Geography
– History
– Drama
– Art & Design
– Design & Technology
– Citizenship
– Computing
– Music
– Physical Education
4. Please mention what steps are you taking beyond the traditional curriculum to ensure overall development of the students?
Our commitment to (subject and age) specialist teaching underpins the strength of our learning programme. Chinese language classes are undertaken every day by every child as part of a three tiered programme adapted according to prior experience. Physical Education lessons predominantly focus upon athletics, gymnastics and dance (disciplines which benefit from their own specialist facilities on campus, all equipped to ensure best possible engagement from learners as young as three) and Aquatics lessons encompass swim technique as well as water safety. The Performing Arts programme subsumes individualised music tuition and choral, as well as full theatrical delivery within our Auditorium, and ensures that students across the school engage and present in a variety of ways across the year.
Throughout their time at Shrewsbury, every student will also be given opportunities to take part in field trips outside of the school campus. These not only provide memorable experiences, but also give access to the wider range of resources, expertise and creative stimuli that are available in and around Hong Kong.
5. What steps does the school take to motivate and develop the students’ interest towards education?
Provision is built upon the benefits of individualised care and collaborative learning. We believe that children have as much to learn from one another as they do from their teachers and have planned to ensure that our students are well nurtured within a broad and representative community of peers. Shrewsbury students are highly motivated and broadly ambitious – they are also kind, considerate and respectful.
6. How are you providing financial assistance to the students in need?
The Bursary and Scholarship programme at Shrewsbury ensures that 10% of The School’s tuition fee income is set aside for qualifying students – it enables us to attract and retain students irrespective of their parents’ financial circumstances.
Bursaries are available to parents who share the commitment and ambition of the Shrewsbury family, if financial constraints affect their ability to pay tuition fees. Recipients of Bursaries remain eligible for the award of a Scholarship.
There are two forms of Scholarship available at Shrewsbury – both are strictly limited in volume and require those awarded to uphold the very highest standards of learning behaviour:
- Entrance Scholarships
Designed to recognise extraordinary potential, Entrance Scholarships are awarded to children able to present independently supported validation of their academic potential as they enter Key Stage 1. - Achievement Scholarships
Awarded to students on roll, Achievement Scholarships are awarded to students in Key Stage 2 able to present an outstanding record of achievement.
7. What are the career opportunities available to the students after completion of their courses?
Shrewsbury students graduate at the age of 11. The experiences on offer at Shrewsbury International School Hong Kong provide each of our students with the attributes to thrive both within and beyond their primary years.
While we do not offer careers advice, we do support onward transition through a selection programme offering individualised support to families based upon a shared and growing knowledge of each child’s academic and social profile. With a vast range of options available to parents, our Secondary School Selection Programme stands as one of the key advantages of a Shrewsbury education.
Three distinct phases, delivered over the course of a student’s final three years of primary education, shape the process of Secondary School Selection at Shrewsbury – for some families, they offer a supported route through to boarding education at Shrewsbury School in the UK.
The journey of each family is mapped through a personalised Action Plan, which is extended and revised as it unfolds. Action Plans are reviewed and tracked by a specifically appointed School Partnership Coordinator. School guidance draws upon a centrally held database developed and is overseen by the Director of Admissions.
Over the course of three years, we have developed an outstanding track record for successful placement that attests to the strength of the service available. We retain close connections with our alumni and have plans in place for the launch of an annual evening gala.
8. Please enlighten us about the school’s major awards/achievements, its accomplished/renowned alumni, remarkable collaborations, and major accreditations.
Shrewsbury International School Hong Kong was allocated a greenfield site by the Education Bureau in 2014 following an extensive and highly competitive round of bidding. Standing as a demonstration of our commitment to delivering region leading standards, Founding Principal, Mr. Ben Keeling, was appointed a full eighteen months prior to opening in August 2018. In 2020 we received commendation from both the Council of International Schools and the Federation of British International Schools in Asia.
During our two day visit, it was possible to see the vibrant school in action, to meet with a significant number of the constituents, and to triangulate documentation and evidence in situ, which made it a worthwhile and enjoyable experience. The evaluator gained a strong sense of the commitment and energy which permeate SISHK and characterise its values-based ethos as a member of the Shrewsbury family of schools.
The combination of an ambitious and committed board that invested in an intentional pre-operational preparation phase, visionary drive of the founding principal who started January 2017 and the careful recruitment, deployment and dedication of quality staff have enabled SISHK to achieve a fantastic founding year.
CIS Evaluative Report Summary
Overall, there is substantial evidence that Shrewsbury International School Hong Kong has comfortably met the requirements for membership. The school has a clearly defined mission and set of values statements common across the Shrewsbury family of schools. Safeguarding, Governance, individual needs, language teaching and an overall teaching and learning environment that promotes high academic standards is extremely impressive. The Principal and his leadership style is seen as outstanding and has contributed enormously to the schools successful launch.
FOBISIA Evaluative Report Summary
Shrewsbury benefits enormously from a warm, sincere and deeply embedded relationship with both our host school in the UK and sister schools in Thailand.
The Shrewsbury Parents Association acts to deliver community centred events and The Friends of Shrewsbury supports connection between Hong Kong based families soon to join Shrewsbury School and those already based in the UK.
Shrewsbury also acts as the flagship partner of Eliteswim Academy, founded by Hong Kong champion swimmers and record holders Mr Kent Cheung and Mr Gary Wong.
9. Kindly elaborate about the future plans of the school in the same.
The recent launch of a new strategic plan entitled Together We Flourish lays out the ambitions of our school marked over a period of ten years.
A celebration of connectedness and community, Together We Flourish stands in recognition of the inherent privilege we are afforded in working to harness the enthusiasm, initiative and enterprise of young people. Arranged over four themes, twelve individual strands shape our focus.
In order to Embed, we will place explicit focus upon:
- School Culture
- Routine and Tradition
- Organisational Stability
In order to Enhance, we will place explicit focus upon:
- Opportunity and Experience
- Breadth of Expertise
- Reputation
In order to Connect, we will place explicit focus upon engagements with:
- Parents, Students and Alumni
- Our Professional Network
- The Growing Shrewsbury Family
In order to Achieve, we will place explicit focus upon:
- Formal Accreditation
- Regional Recognition
- Collectively Defined Targets