Imagination and Innovation
Aug 9, 2024
Welcome to the 2024-25 Academic Year!
We commence our third decade of institutional history encouraged by the warm memories of the celebrations last year to mark our 20th anniversary and inspired with renewed commitment to make the next decade even more memorable for our community and successful for our students. It will be a full and very busy year at ISF!
This past summer has seen the welcome return of a full range of experiential and experimental academic programs conducted on location across the globe, from Southeast Asia to the United Kingdom, and the United States. Participating students engaged in academic research and experiential fieldwork to gain uniquely powerful learning in different settings. Participating institutions supporting these programs included the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and Columbia University. Research findings and articles produced by students during these programs will be shared with the ISF community in due course. It is important to note, with gratitude, that these programs are made possible by the many volunteer faculty members who give up part of their summer vacation to support these ‘unique to ISF’ programs.
While construction work has been a much less visible (and audible) feature this summer, we are very proud of the completion of the new Molecular Biology Laboratory 2.0, which adds further capacity to the existing laboratory. Featuring a remodeled entrance, the laboratory precinct adjacent to the Clifford C. F. Wong Secondary Library boasts world-class university standard facilities. Under the supervision of a highly qualified (and now enlarged) team of scientists, ISF student researchers will now have even greater opportunity to explore the microscopic world and publish their findings through international scientific conferences and journals. Images of the new laboratory will be shared at the first Head of School Coffee Morning.
One key indicator of academic outcomes annually is the all-important International Baccalaureate’s (IB) Diploma results, announced in early July. While a preliminary set of results was shared with the community at the time of the initial release, the usual process of result reviews has seen the overall average for the graduating class, our largest cohort to date, reach 38.8 points (against a world average of 30.3), with just under half of the 83 graduates scoring 40 points or above. This average matches the achievements of the Class of 2020, which was assessed under pandemic conditions. A total of 2/3 of graduates qualified for the prestigious Bilingual Diploma, well above the global average. A total of 539 tertiary places were offered, with all students receiving offers (an average of 6.5 offers per graduate); nearly 92% of this year’s graduates were successful in gaining entrance to their first-choice university or college. At the time of writing, some alumni are pursuing options to study in Australia, so the results of those applications will not be known for some time.
After a year of celebratory milestones in 2023-24, we return to tackle the very practical and formidable twin challenges of re-accreditation through the Council of International Schools (CIS) and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), and renewal of our five-year service agreement with the Hong Kong Government. Both tasks have been underway for more than a year and appear to be on track for success when the final outcomes are announced in early 2025.
The CIS/WASC re-accreditation process, undertaken on a five-year cycle, initially required a preliminary evaluation in 2023 to assess our institutional preparedness to undertake re-accreditation. Following approval to proceed to full re-accreditation, we have undertaken a thorough ‘self-study’ over the past year; the first section was submitted before the summer vacation, with the final complete report due in September. The full team evaluation will take place in November 2024.
Over the past 20 years, the Education Bureau (EDB) of the Hong Kong Government has progressively implemented service agreements with independent and international schools. These agreements commit individual institutions to achieve certain performance benchmarks, most notably targets for enrollments and financial aid. They are aimed at sustaining and enhancing the quality of education offered by non-government schools. During the final 18 months of an expiring service agreement, the target institution provides a comprehensive ‘School Performance Report’ against benchmarks set in the service agreement; a plan for school development in the new service agreement, if offered, is also submitted at this time for review by EDB. For The ISF Academy, these documents were submitted in timely fashion, and we expect to receive an offer of a renewed service agreement, most likely towards the end of the 2024 calendar year. The current service agreement expires on 6 February 2025.
We commence the new academic year with a record enrollment across our three schools – Pre-School, Primary School, and Secondary School, of more than 2,600 students. ISF faculty and staff now exceed 500. By all measures, ISF has grown to become a significant institution in the educational landscape in Hong Kong.
Our retention of experienced faculty has been a laudable feature of our efforts in human resources management over the past few years and this year is no exception, with retention well over 95%. Having said that, we will still be welcoming a new cohort of teachers to join our community this week. Their induction commenced last Sunday and the days since then have been filled with briefing sessions, team planning, and familiarization with ISF policies and procedures. I wish to extend to each and over one of them a warm welcome to ISF!
Similarly, both the ISF Pre-School and The ISF Academy will welcome many new students next week. The Pre-School will welcome a new intake of over 100 of our youngest learners and Foundation Year in the Academy will welcome a new intake of 200 students, mostly from the Pre-School. A smaller number of students will transfer into higher grades. It is worth noting that most grade levels across ISF now have lengthy waiting lists. The graduating class this year, the Class of 2025, currently stands at 106. It will be our largest graduating class ever.
I am pleased indeed to offer a warm welcome to one and all, returnees and newcomers, for the start of the 2024-25 Academic Year!
Dr. Malcolm Pritchard
Head of School
