FIS's International Stream lays the foundation of academic excellence through holistic education

Long regarded as one of the leading international schools in Hong Kong’s education landscape, the French International School (FIS) has a long history of academic excellence with their English speaking curriculum.

Since its opening as the first international school in the territory in 1963, FIS has always been an international education pioneer with a unique outlook on schooling. At the heart of the learning environment in FIS is the bilingual education of French and English, which aims to ensure students finish the course of studies with native level French and English.

The embrace of bilingualism underpins the multicultural nature of the FIS community, where over 2,700 students hail from more than 40 countries and learn from each other across streams and year groups. “That is a real bonus for those parents who are looking for an entirely true international setting for their children to come to,” says Mark Williams, Head of Secondary, International Stream.  

The curricula offered at FIS reflect such diversity of nationalities within the student body, in particular the International Stream, which is a growing section of the school. While the French Stream follows the French national curriculum, the International Stream offers a mix of the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) in lower and upper secondary.

An illustrious track record of examination success is a testament to more than 50 years of excellence in education at FIS. With a total of 52 students at the IGCSE programme and an average class size of 46 at the IBDP, Mark emphasises that it is a distinguishing feature of FIS to maintain an intimate feel to the school so that “students don’t get lost in larger numbers” and it enhances teachers’ individual attention to students.

Character development through the IBDP

The IBDP is gaining popularity in Hong Kong and around the world in recent years, as an increasing number of students and parents opt for the diploma rather than other foremost pre-university courses such as the Advanced Placement (AP) and A Levels. Yet, the diploma programme is not something new to FIS. “We’re very proud to have been the first school in Hong Kong to be awarded IB World School status in 1988. For me, and for many other educators who really subscribe to the IB philosophy, a lot of it is about the emphasis on the development of the students’ character, which comes through the core of the IBDP,” Mark explains.

Other than the six subjects that underline academic rigour, the IBDP curriculum also includes three core elements: the Extended Essay; Theory of Knowledge; and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS). “This highlights the IB diploma’s versatility especially in nurturing critical thinking and questioning skills, which are encouraged from students throughout the two years of the diploma,” he stresses.

Mark continues that his IB diploma graduates have shown appreciation for the breadth of knowledge provided by and the academic rigour required in the IB curriculum, through which they cultivate organisation skills and resilience along their learning journey. “Students have to be well-organised in order to achieve even an average point score by prioritising their studies, hobbies and leisure activities. There’re ups and downs in their academic endeavour. In times when things won’t go well, it’s the ability to bounce back, and to just keep carrying on that matters.”

In comparison to other higher secondary courses, Mark believes that the IBDP equips students with the necessary skill sets to undertake degree courses. “According to statistics from universities, the result is coming out firmly in favour of IBDP students that they have the least percentage of dropout, as opposed to learners from other pre-university courses. Essentially the IB diploma prepares the students to be university-ready and hit the ground straightaway.”

IGCSE prepares a good body of knowledge for the IBDP

While the IB programme is becoming the preferred curriculum among international schools in Hong Kong, and many of them have switched to an all-through IB programme school, FIS maintains a mix of the IGCSE and the IBDP in their secondary after internal review. Mark illustrates the reason behind this variation with the IGCSE’s focus on developing a deep knowledge base.

“Combined with that depth of knowledge on a basis of nine subjects which can be added up to 12 in total, students hone their skills through Cambridge IGCSE syllabuses, and become highly proficient and all-round in the subjects they decide to take. Laying a solid foundation of knowledge with the continuing skills development in each of the subjects is the ideal combination for our students to be successful at the IB diploma.”

Prior to starting the IB course, the IGCSE provides the benchmarking that allows students to have a good gauge of their knowledge and skills levels in subjects. “By taking the IGCSE and being awarded a grade, students can understand how well they achieved. It helps them make informed choices as to what they would take at the IBDP, and they reap confidence when they reach the next stages of their studies now with us,” notes Mark.

In an effort to improve students’ chances of being accepted into their first choice university, FIS introduces the ‘homemade’ Super Curriculum to enrich academic life on and off campus. The supplementary offering comes as an optional, flexible hour per week in Year 10 where students work on a specific skill or project, such as a personal research project, presentation and public speaking skills, a media literacy course, accessing international competitions or coaching and mentoring younger peers.

“This is akin to some of the key aspects in the IB diploma such as the Extended Essay and the Theory of Knowledge. Students choose to investigate and write up something that they’re passionate about, where in the process they build up their research and essay writing skills,” Mark remarks. “By having a discrete emphasis, the Super Curriculum does give the students a headstart and help them cope better with the IB diploma.”

University guidance

Each year FIS produces around 130 graduates, combining the French and the International Streams. Destinations of FIS graduates span across the globe. Aside from traditional places like the UK and the US, Asia and Europe are on the rise, especially the latter with increasing options of English-language courses being offered due to Brexit, says Mark.

“Our university counselling team starts to talk to the students at the age of 14 as well as their families on an individual basis about what their choices would be at universities, and that dictates where to go. Counsellors help them with looking through application processes for different countries and provide guidelines on writing personal statements. What makes us proud is to get the students into their optimal choice of university course, and we have a high success rate in terms of that,” Mark notes.

He further elaborates that the feedback from graduating students and alumni is always very positive, as they are keen to return to their alma mater and share their experiences in alumni events. “By being international students, they feel that it’s fine for them to move to another country and to settle in fairly quickly. They’ve built up that resilience through the IBDP to cope with things when they don’t go right all the time.”

University offerings include top-tier institutions such as the University of Oxford, Cambridge University, University College London, Imperial College and Durham University from the UK; Harvard University, New York University, and UC Berkeley from the US; the École Polytechnique and Sciences Po from France; McGill University and the University of Toronto from Canada; and the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from Hong Kong.

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French International School of Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2892 3677

Email: admissions@lfis.edu.hk

Website: www.fis.edu.hk