Event recap: UK Curriculum Forum
Ensuring their children benefit from a school curriculum that prepares them for university, a successful career, and life in general, is a key priority for most parents. But when it comes to selecting a school that offers a curriculum that meets a child’s needs, the choices parents face can be daunting. This is especially so in Hong Kong, where school options are steadily expanding, and now include international schools that offer the National Curriculum for England.
The key areas parents should be looking for when evaluating the merits of different curriculums, and the schools that offer them, was the theme of the “Understanding the UK Curriculum – Opportunities, Challenges and What It Means to Your Child” forum, which took place March 26. The forum featured a panel of experienced education professionals and school leaders, who offered useful tips and insights. Organised by Education Post with event partner Top Schools education consultancy, and sponsored by Mount Kelly Hong Kong, the forum was the third in a series of education events designed to provide parents with suggestions for navigating their children’s journey through education.
The panel was asked by moderator Ruth Benny, founder of Top Schools, to explain the difference between the National Curriculum for England and the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme. Panel members agreed that both curriculums are respected internationally and offer widely-accepted entry routes into university. When it comes to selecting exam topics, students studying the English curriculum typically take three or four subjects at A-level. These can be exclusively focused on one area, such as science or the humanities. “A-levels are ideal for students that know what they want to study at university, or have a particular career in mind,” said Ian Clayton, head of the international stream at the French International School.
Clayton noted that while the National Curriculum for England is popular with parents and teachers because of its clear structure and sequential framework, the IB programme also has its strengths. These include a broad-based approach to learning. IB diploma students take six subjects, which must include a mix of science and humanities, plus three other elements. Typically, these consist of theory of knowledge, creativity and activity, service (which involves artistic, sport and voluntary work), and a 4,000-word extended essay.
Clayton stressed it should not be a case of one curriculum versus the other. “Good schools should provide their students with the education they need, regardless of the curriculum they use," said Clayton, who added that international schools have the benefit of being able to adjust curriculums to meet the needs of their students. “A huge advantage of being an international school is being able to ramp up the best bits of a curriculum, while ignoring the less relevant areas,” said Clayton.
Panel members suggested parents should ensure a curriculum includes relevant global perspectives, and is able to develop the personality of a student, as well as meet their academic learning requirements. Panel members stressed a priority question that every parent should ask before they enrol their children into any educational system: “Is the choice of curriculum and school the best fit for my child?”
Gary Wright, founding headmaster, Mount Kelly School Hong Kong, is a firm advocate of the National Curriculum for England. He said the programme supports a holistic education which includes activities outside of the classroom. Wright described the National Curriculum for England as an internationally recognised “blue-chip” programme, and A-levels as the “Gold standard” entry pathway to university. Wright said the curriculum is also structured to promote independent critical thinking, embrace creativity, and to develop important life skills including confidence and self-expression.
“The structure of curriculum offers synergy with schools in the UK, and those in other parts of the world, which offer a British style education,” he said. “But there is room to make tweaks to suit the local environment.” The daily Chinese-language classes offered by the Mount Kelly Hong Kong branches are a good example of this, he said. Such lessons will available at the Tuen Mun campus when it opens in September 2018.
The Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) is another popular curriculum choice for international schools. This offers more than 70 worldwide programmes and qualifications for students between the ages of five and 19. Eric Ding, Cambridge International Examinations regional director, said CIE provides qualifications and programmes for about 12,000 schools in 160 countries, including the Korean International School in Hong Kong.
Ding said flexibility is a key characteristic of CIE programmes. “We believe our programmes should support and complement individual schools teaching models, and learning objectives, for their students. Therefore schools have the flexibility to choose the parts that best suit their situation,” said Ding, who added that CIE qualifications are accepted and valued by universities around the world, including MIT, Harvard and Cambridge.
Chris Chadwick is principal of the International Section of the Korean International School, which follows the National Curriculum for England through the Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) programme. Chadwick said the checkpoints the school uses to gauge a student’s progress in core subjects like English and maths are valued by parents and teachers. “Checkpoints provide a marker to see if students are ready to move to the next stage of their education,” explained Chadwick, who said any disparities between curriculums will have levelled out by the time students are ready to attend university.
