The buzz on Hong Kong Academy
Hong Kong Academy moves to Sai Kung in 2013. HKA parent Jennifer Barnes Eliot explains what the school is all about.
Progressive international school Hong Kong Academy is moving to a purpose-built campus in Sai Kung for the 2013-2014 school year.
Designed as a model for sustainable schools, the new buildings will sit at the junction of Wai Man Road and Mei Yuen Street, near the car park for the Kai Sau Chai golf course.
Founded in 2000, Hong Kong Academy is an independent, non-profit international school for pre-kindergarten through secondary, which follows the IB curriculum (it will graduate its first class in June 2012) and the latest international teaching methods. It supports the child’s individual learning style and natural strengths, providing a well-rounded, student-centered program with a teacher-student ratio of 1:6, a maximum class size of 18 and just two classes in each year group. It offers a differentiated educational program to meet the needs of accelerated learners as well as special-needs students who can participate and contribute to a mainstream classroom setting.
Currently housed in the former Lingnan College Campus on Stubbs Road, Hong Kong Island, HKA has grown by more than 20 per cent a year thanks to the school's reputation as a "hidden gem". It has students from more than 38 nationalities, with no one country representing a majority, and a committed and involved parent community.
Since its inception, the community has been looking for a permanent home that would allow greater outdoor and sports areas and improved facilities to match the exciting developments in the classroom. Last August, at the end of a highly competitive tender process involving other international schools, HKA was granted rights to build at the Sai Kung site.
The entire Hong Kong Academy community is enthusiastic about the move to Sai Kung. Its permanent home will be a model for green building and education, using environmentally sound building materials, conserving energy, water and other resources and promoting a healthy learning environment for children. It also offers HKA the opportunity to develop an extensive outdoor education programme as well as space to construct separate primary and middle/high school buildings with shared facilities. Scholarships are available for several selected students in each year from grade 3.
To learn more about the school, visit its website at www.hkacademy.edu.hk, or call 2575 8282. Open house visits run every other week or so.
