In Years 7 to 9, students learn through the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) which is a challenging framework that encourages students to make practical connections between their studies and the real world.
The Year 7 and 8 students are vibrant and important parts of our school as students bring energy and amazing range of skills and abilities as they establish themselves in the school community. We have two primary feeder schools (Bradbury School and Quarry Bay School), but also have many entrants that come from other ESF, non ESF schools or are new to Hong Kong.
We make every effort to assist in the transition process from primary to secondary school with a comprehensive liaison programme to which all students are invited. Through the links with primary teachers we aim for continuity and progression in learning and also self-esteem and confidence of an individual student.
Students in Years 7 and 8 belong to Learning Family Bauhinia and are placed into a tutor group of 16-20 and through our Years 7 and 8 Learning Family. Information transferred from the primary schools is used to support and develop the students learning further in Year 7. To support the students transitioning to South Island and their new learning environment, we provide a strong transition programme in the first 2 years at SIS.
When the students enter Year 9, this support continues through the House System.
IB Middle Years Programme (MYP)
The MYP curriculum framework comprises of 8 subject groups, providing a broad and balanced education for Years 7 to 9. At SIS, we have included an interdisciplinary learning course (InterD) to support the development of skills such as communication, social interaction, self-management, research and thinking. The Community Project is taught through this particular course.
In Years 10 and 11, all students study a common curriculum in addition to a range of option choices. The allocation of time is shown below:
Students sit GCSE exams offered by two exam boards: Cambridge Assessment International Education (formerly known as CIE) and Edexcel. Edexcel report IGCSE grades on a scale 9-1, whereas Cambridge Assessment International Education continue to report IGCSE grades on the A*-G scale with which most parents and students will be familiar.
IB Diploma
The IB Diploma is a broad academic pathway taken by around 83% of students at South Island School. It offers breadth and provides students with the opportunity to study a broad range of academic disciplines, chosen from those shown in the diagram below.
To gain entry to the IB Diploma pathway grades C or better are required in at least five subjects at GCSE, including English, Maths and Science. For some subject combinations, particularly at Higher Level, a grade B or above is strongly recommended and, in some cases, may be a condition of enrolment. Placement in Group 2 is subject to the school’s Langauge Policy which can be found here.
The SIS Diploma
The SIS Diploma provides a breadth of learning and practical experience. There are no GCSE requirements. The progression for these students is meant to be towards further learning, work experience and preparation for fully enhanced adult living.
IB Career-related Programme
The IB CP is a programme of international, career-related education founded on the IB mission and philosophy for 16-19 year olds.
The IB CP provides a flexible framework of education which blends “academic” and “career-related” learning. From the start of the 2017 academic year (pending authorisation) students at South Island School will be able to opt to pursue BTEC courses and IB Courses (as found in the IB DP). In addition they will complete four core components of the IB CP. These are a reflective project, service learning, language development and the personal and professional skills course.
