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Focus on all-round achievements

[Sponsored Article] Harrow International School Hong Kong is committed to offering an all-round education, which develops leadership qualities and strong characters, as well as setting high academic standards and offering an extensive selection of extra-curricular activities.

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[Sponsored Article]

Harrow International School Hong Kong is committed to offering an all-round education, which develops leadership qualities and strong characters, as well as setting high academic standards and offering an extensive selection of extra-curricular activities.

On the public examination front, the school again celebrated another year of an excellent set of A-Level and GCSE results this year. Indeed, 67 per cent of all A-Level grades were A* or A, and 32 pupils achieved straight A*/A grades in all their subjects. 

The School’s Head Ann Haydon notes that this record of success obviously helps when applying to prestigious universities in the UK and elsewhere.  

As for the GCSE results achieved by the 87 pupils in Year 11, 83 per cent of all grades were A* or A.   

“We saw a fantastic set of results across all subjects,” says Haydon, highlighting in particular the performance of GCSE in Science, History and Spanish. “These achievements show our pupils are excelling in a range of subjects across the curriculum.”   

She adds that activities outside the classroom give pupils different types of experiences, broadening their horizons and teaching other essential skills. This summer, for instance, two overseas trips were organised. One saw 13 upper school pupils, accompanied by two teachers, volunteering to build a house with their bare hands, without the help of machines, for rural people in Kerala, in southwest India.

“The aim of the trip was to give the team a positive educational experience through lending a hand to people in need in another part of Asia,” Haydon says. In advance, the pupils used their entrepreneurial skills to raise HK$100,000 to purchase building materials, and every dollar raised went to that end. “It was an impressive sum and, importantly, marks the success of a year-long commitment. They also had to show resilience because they faced genuinely hard work at every stage of the projects”        

A separate activity in August saw nine pupils competing in the Global Round of World Scholar’s Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. They were up against 163 teams from 32 countries and, as result, got to meet fellow pupils from around the world, while also learning about other cultures and perspectives.

“They were truly excellent ambassadors for the school and qualified for the Yale round of the competition,” Haydon says.

Leadership in action

A varied extra-curricular programme has always been an essential part of a Harrow education. In Hong Kong, that includes a “leadership in action” programme involving all pupils from Year 1 up to Year 13. The activities are integrated into the longer than normal school day and provide opportunities to develop skills and attain excellence in areas which are not part of the formal academic curriculum.

“We want pupils to engage in a broad range of activities associated with six key themes: service, charity, teamwork, creative expression, leadership and challenge,” says Head of Harrow Hong Kong Ann Haydon.   

As an example, she notes the ongoing partnership with Everton In The Community, the charity team of Premier League Football Club Everton. Since November last year, this has seen a co-organised community soccer programme in which sports teachers and pupils from the upper school coach children from local primary schools. More than 200 six- to 10-year-olds have joined the programme so far.  

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