strength from diversity inspiring students to become responsible global citizens the school profile...

Strength from DiversityInspiring students to become responsible global citizens

The School Profile 2011-2012

Higher Education Counsellors

Upper School Leadership

Ms Catherine Schofield [email protected]@ wis.edu.hkMs Ellie Tang

West Island School250 Victoria RoadPokfulam, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2819 1962Fax: (852) 2816 7257Website: www.wis.edu.hk

The School

West Island School, established in 1991, is part of the English Schools Foundation of Hong Kong (established in 1967); a group of multi-ethnic international schools funded by shared government and parental fee contribution. The School’s vision is to create an inclusive, dynamic and challenging curriculum which encourages students to become internationally aware citizens of the future.

The School comprises of approximately 1,225 co educational students from age 11 to 18 in Years 7 to 13 (equivalent to Grade 6 to 12 in the USA), comprised of over 40 nationalities: the largest population is Eurasian with strong representation from Indian, Japanese, Chinese, European and Australian origin. The vast majority of students come from homes where one or both parents have a professional background.

The School has a diverse faculty. There are 8 nationalities represented among the academic staff. The approximate number for the main nationalities of the academic staff is 62% British, 21% Australian and 6% Chinese. The overall teacher to student ratio in the Upper School is 1:11.

All students are residents of Hong Kong who are able to benefit from an education in the medium of English; there are no other entry requirements. Our students access universities worldwide including the UK, USA, Canada, Hong Kong and Australia.

Principal : Ms Jane Foxcroft [email protected] Vice Principal : Mr Rob Stitch [email protected] Head of Upper School : Ms Kim Isaac [email protected]

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The Curriculum

The School provides a broad and balanced curriculum from Year 7 to 13 with options available for students from Year 10 onwards. The School does not rank order students and provides performance grades within the year as appropriate to the programmes studied. We have an appointed Gifted and Talented co-ordinator at the school who creates appropriate programmes for the most able identified by benchmark testing data. The Mathematics department work closely with the main Hong Kong university to provide a gifted programme of education.

Middle Years Diploma From Years 7-11 the School has created a unique middle years diploma at West Island School. Students are accredited for core courses of creativity, action and service, a personal inquiry project in Year 9 and core PE. Students work in both disciplinary and cross-disciplinary subjects in Years 7-8 to ensure rigour and depth as well as critical thinking and inquiry. In Years 10-11 a number of IGCSEs are followed which equate to a total point score. At the end of Year 11 students are given a Middle Years Diploma at Pass, Merit or Distinction.

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School Profile


School Profile

Middle School Programme – Year 10 & 11 (Year 9 & 10 for US equivalent)

All students follow a two year course preparing them for IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations. This includes a compulsory examinable core of Mathematics, Science and English. Students choose other examinable electives in the areas of Language, Humanities, Technology, Sport and the Creative Arts. In addition all students follow a non examinable core of Physical Education, ICT and Learning Skills.

Grading of IGCSE

Most students will sit for 9 examinations at the end of Year 11, while some will complete 10 or 11. (Please refer to the certified photocopies of IGCSE certificates for examination board grading.)

IGCSE Grade Worldwide % 2011 West Island School % 2011A* 26.18A* to A Pending from 55.18A* to B CIE Examination Board 82.77A* to C 96.03A* to D 99.06A* to E 99.80A* to F 99.93A* to G 99.93A* to U 100.00

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Pre-university programme – Year 12 & 13 ( Year 11 & 12 for US equivalent)

The School offers two pathways for students in their final two years at the School. The first is the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) programme which was started in the School in 2009 and replaced the British General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A Level) programme. The second programme is the Business & Technician Education Council (BTEC) programme. Students in both pathways follow a sports programme and are expected to complete the CAS component of the IB pathway below.


School Profile

International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB)

The IB is a rigorous course of study designed to prepare students for university style study. IB diploma students study six courses, 3 at higher level and 3 at standard level. Students must choose one subject from each of groups 1 to 5, thus ensuring breadth of experience in languages, social studies, experimental sciences and mathematics. The sixth subject may be an arts subject chosen from group 6, or the student may choose another subject from groups 1 to 5, depending upon their preferences for university study.

In addition the programme has three core requirements that are included to broaden the educational experience and challenge students to apply their knowledge and understanding.

The Extended Essay (EE) is a requirement for students to engage in independent research through an in-depth study of a question relating to one of the subjects they are studying. The EE requires a student to write a 4000-word essay on academic research and develop independent primary/secondary research capabilities.

Theory of Knowledge (TOK) is a course designed to encourage each student to reflect on the nature of knowledge by critically examining different ways of knowing (perception, emotion, language and reason) and different kinds of knowledge (scientific, artistic, mathematical and historical). TOK provides a forum for research, discussion, introspection and learning that enhances the development of multi-disciplinary understanding.

Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) requires that students actively learn from the experience of doing real tasks beyond the classroom. This requires a minimum of 150 hours of extra-curricular activities. Students can combine all three components or do activities related to each one of them separately.

Typically between 85% and 90% of WIS students follow the IB pathway.

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IB course listing provided by the School Note: Unless indicated all subjects are offered in Higher Level (HL) and Standard Level (SL)

GROUP 1 English 2 Chinese, French & Spanish 3 Economics, Geography, History, Philosophy, Psychology, Business & Management,

Environmental Systems and Societies (SL only) 4 Biology, Chemistry, Design & Technology, Physics 5 Mathematics, Computer Science 6 Theatre Studies, Visual Arts, Film Studies, Music or a subject from Group 3 or 4 (if needed for university entrance requirements)


School Profile

Grading of IB diploma

The IB diploma is scored out of a maximum of 45 points. Each subject is scored from 1 to 7 (with 7 being the highest score), and the core (Theory of Knowledge, Creativity, Action & Service, Extended Essay) is awarded up to 3 points extra.

A score of above 24 points is awarded the IB diploma. Grades are based between 20% and 30% on internal assessments and between 70% and 80% on externally-marked exams taken at the end of Year 13. Scores below 24 are awarded IB certificates and the English Schools Foundation (ESF) diploma.

During Year 12 and 13 students are evaluated on an ongoing basis on the IB grading scale of 1 to 7 for all six subjects. Additionally teachers predict students’ final grades at the end of Term 1 of Year 13. These predicted grades are sent to the universities to which the students apply along with their transcripts.

Class rank

The School does not rank its students. In 2010 academic honours were introduced for Year 13 students in the top 5% of each Higher Level IB subject.

GPA calculation

The schools of the English Schools Foundation do not use the US system of GPA grading. WIS follows the IB grading system of 1 to 7 for each subject.

International Diploma

Students following this pathway elect specialist subjects accredited by the Business and Technician Education Council (BTEC). Students choose from a range of Award (equivalent to one British GCE A Level) and Certificate (equivalent to 2 British GCSE A Level) courses which are widely accepted university entrance qualifications in the UK and other countries. In addition all students complete a GCE AS equivalency in research skills and a BTEC work skills with equivalent to a GCE AS to augment their specialist subject areas. These may be augmented by individual subjects from the IB programme.

Grading of International Diploma

BTEC Award and Certificate programmes are graded at Distinction, Merit and Pass levels. Distinction level is equivalent to British GCE A Level Grade A (120 UCAS tariff points), Merit level is equivalent to A Level Grade C (80 UCAS tariff points) and Pass level is equivalent to A Level Grade E (40 UCAS tariff points). A British GCE A Level pass is Grade E. 5



School Profile

Standardised test results

Highlights of 2009-2011 IB results

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Note: Cumulative statistic as calculated by IBO


Year No. of IB diploma students

% passed diplomas

WIS average diploma

score

Worldwide average diploma scores

2009 117 95.7 33 29.5

2010 128 96.9 34.1 31.8

2011 125 100.0 34.6 Pending. Please refer to the IBO website for latest score

IB Points WIS 2011 Cumulative IB Points WIS 2011 Cumulative IB Points WIS 2011 Cumulative

45 0 0 37 11 50 29 4 113

44 1 1 36 6 56 28 7 120

43 2 3 35 7 63 27 1 121

42 1 4 34 9 72 26 2 123

41 5 9 33 9 81 25 2 125

40 8 17 32 10 91 24 0 125

39 7 24 31 11 102

38 15 39 30 7 109


School Profile

Highlights of 2009-2011 BTEC results

WIS students 2009 GCE A Level equivalent Number of studentsDistinction plus Distinction A and A 10Distinction plus Merit A and C 3Merit plus Merit C and C 2Merit plus Pass C and E 1Pass plus Pass E and E 3

SAT Scores Summary Data for Class of 2011

WIS CEEB Code: 670777

WIS students 2010 GCE A Level equivalent Number of studentsDistinction, Distinction plus Distinction A, A and A 2Distinction plus Distinction A and A 9Distinction plus Merit A and C 3Merit plus Merit C and C 3Merit plus Pass C and E 1Pass plus Pass E and E 2

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SAT 1 scores Middle 50% Mean No. of students tested

Critical Reading 520-670 596 37

Mathematics 610-720 660 37

Writing 540-670 611 37

WIS students 2011 GCE A Level equivalent Number of studentsDistinction, Distinction plus Distinction A, A and A 5Distinction plus Distinction A and A 11Distinction plus Merit A and C 2Merit plus Merit C and C 2Merit plus Pass C and E 0Pass plus Pass E and E 3


School Profile

University Placements 2008 – 2011

West Island School students have been accepted into the following institutions:

UK institutions:Aberystwyth, Aston, Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Brighton, Bristol, Britannia Royal Navel College, Brunel, Cambridge, Cardiff, Central School of Speech and Drama, Central St Martins, Chelsea College of Art & Design, City University London, College of St Mark & St John, Coventry, De Montfort, Dundee, Durham, East Anglia, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Napier, Exeter, Glasgow, Goldsmith’s College University of London, Hertfordshire, Hull, Imperial College University of London, Keele, Kent, King’s College University of London, Kingston, Lancaster, Leeds, Leeds Metropolitan, Leeds Trinity & All Saints, Leicester, Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores, London College of Communication, London School of Political Science & Economics, London School of Fashion, Loughborough, Manchester, Myerscough College of Higher Education, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northampton, Nottingham, Nottingham Trent, Oxford, Oxford Brookes, Peninsula Medical School, Portsmouth, Queen Mary University of London, Royal Holloway University of London, Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam, Southampton, St Andrews, Stirling, Strathclyde, Swansea Metropolitan, Sussex, University College London University of London, University of the Arts London, University of Creative Arts, University of Wales Institute Cardiff, University of Wales Swansea, University of West England, Warwick, Westminster, Winchester, York

US institutions: Academy of Art University San Francisco, American University, Bates College, Boston, California Institute of Technology, California Polytechnic, California State, Chicago, Cornell, Duke, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Emory, Endicott College, Georgetown, George Washington, Illinois Urbana Champaign, Massachusetts Amherst, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Miami, Michigan-Ann Arbor, Mills College, Mount Holyoke, Montana State Bozeman, New York, New York Steinhardt, North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Northeastern, Ohio State, Oregon, Parsons New School of Design, Pennsylvania State, Purdue, Rhode Island School of Design, Rochester Institute of Technology, San Francisco, Savannah College of Art & Design, School of Visual Arts, Smith College, Stanford, Texas-Austin, Texas-Dallas, Tufts, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles, University of California San Diego, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, Virginia, Washington Seattle

Canadian Institutions: Alberta, Alberta College of Art & Design, George Brown College of Applied Art & Technology, Guelph, McGill, Ontario College of Art & Design, Ottawa, Queen’s University, Simon Fraser, Toronto, University of British Columbia, Vancouver Film School, Western Ontario

HK institutions: Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Hong Kong Community College Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, University of Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong School of Professional & Continuing Education

Australian institutions:Australian National University, International College of Hotel Management Adelaide, Monash University, Queensland University of Technology, University of New South Wales, University of Sydney

Other institutions: Beijing Language University, Hotel School of the Hague, Les Roches International School of Hotel Management, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, St George’s Medical School Grenada, University of Delhi, Stellenbosch University, University of Pretoria, Waseda University

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School Profile

Beyond the Classroom

Leadership and Activities

The School offers a broad and dynamic range of leadership opportunities for students. The student body is divided vertically into six “dynasty” houses to engage in competitive sports, service, fund raising and creative activities. Students are elected as Dynasty Leaders and Head Students to oversee for example, service committees. Students are also chosen to lead sports teams, organise an annual cultural evening, school performances and mentor younger students. We offer a model United Nations experience, Amnesty International involvement, debating teams, academic competitions in Maths and creative writing as well as in chess and design, and engage in a wide range of competitive sports tournaments across Hong Kong, and within the region.

Community Outreach

Upper School students are encouraged and committed to taking responsibility within the immediate community as leaders and as active mentors to younger students in the wider Hong Kong community through a strong programme in areas such as aiding street sleepers; teaching in a partner school for the blind and the disabled and in a refugee centre and in environmental projects.

Internationally students have links with Cambodia where the School has built scores of houses, an orphanage in Thailand, partner schools in Laos and Aceh. The School is committed to service in each trip arranged. The School holds an annual Horizons Week where students can extend their commitment to the areas of Action, Service and Creativity in Hong Kong and abroad to strengthen these communal ties. All students in the Upper School must log their involvement as an expectation.

Jane FoxcroftPrincipal

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