Inspiring Students to become responsible Global Citizens

Welcome from the Principal

Inspiring Students to Become Responsible Global Citizens

I am extremely proud to be the Principal of West Island School. Our school has been established in the best traditions of the English Schools Foundation (ESF) to provide excellence in education of students from eleven to eighteen years of age who want an English medium education. We are housed in an exciting and innovative building from where we can see the University, Hong Kong’s biggest teaching hospital, the new Cyber Port and the busy shipping lanes that demonstrate the key position of Hong Kong on the Pacific Rim’s superhighway. We have an outstanding record of academic attainment and we welcome students of all races to join us on what we believe is a learning superhighway connected to prestigious destinations all over the world.

Our distinction lies in the pursuit of high academic attainment through support, encouragement, praise and motivation. The quality of the relationship between students and teachers is outstanding as is the quality of teaching and learning. We believe in partnership between students, parents, teachers and support staff and view our cultural diversity (we have over 37 nationalities represented) as a means of enriching the life of the school. The school has a strong sense of deep links to the local community and engages in global action to aid others as a central mission hence “Inspiring students to become responsible global citizens”.

Above all else, West Island is a happy community focused school where people are valued and can fulfill their potential both as teachers and learners. We believe fundamentally that the school has a duty to create students who embody the West Island School Learner Profile and we strive to develop these attributes in our students during their time at WIS. We are at an exciting time as we are in the first few years of students entering into the ESF diploma in our upper school. In year 10 and 11 we continue to offer a breadth of opportunity with GCSEs. In our upper school we move into three educational pathways: the International Baccalaureate (IB), the Advanced and the Intermediate diploma. All three embrace the notion of international mindedness and have at their heart a commitment to creativity, action and service and as well as project based work which will lead to extended essay skills, and teaching of the Theory of Knowledge. All courses focus on the skill of becoming independent learners vital to the 21st century student and adult. We pride ourselves on using best educational practice with an increasing focus upon embedding technology into the learning experience. We also provide for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and other requirements for university admission. Breadth and balance matter to us.

Schools are more than the sum of their lessons and at West Island we offer a wide range of extra-curricular activities and opportunities so that students can display responsibility and leadership. These include the Upper School Council, Student Leaders, mentoring programmes, the Dynasty (House) system, debating, Model United Nations, local and international field trips, sporting activities of every type, music and drama, ICT clubs and work experience. A particular focus is upon developing genuine and deep service which compacts upon our community and challenges our students. In short, life at West Island is full of challenge and opportunity - both academic and personal. Jane Foxcroft