Admissions FAQs

Learning and school life

What are your average class sizes?

Our small class sizes enable us to provide a personalised learning experience for your child in an engaging environment. On average, the number of students in each class is:

• Early Years Foundation 1: 20

• Early Years Foundation 2 & 3: 22

• Primary: 24

• Secondary: 24

What curriculum do you offer at each age?

Our curriculum has been carefully designed to broaden students' horizons and instil a lifelong love of learning in each child.

Early Years: we offer a child-centered, play-based preschool curriculum that uses teaching and learning materials from the renowned English National Curriculum’s Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. 

Primary: our curriculum: (Year 1 – Year 6) combines the respected English National Curriculum and International Primary Curriculum to create rigorous and engaging learning for our students. 

Secondary:

• Students in Key Stage 3 (Year 7-9 or Grades 6-8) follow a curriculum with roots in British academic excellence enhanced with international mindedness and key 21st Century skills.

• At Key Stage 4 (Year 10-11 or Grades 9-10), your child prepares for IGCSE qualifications.

• In Key Stage 5 (Year 12-13 or Grades 11-12) they will study with renowned International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. 

Do you focus on academic success? 

Our students leave school prepared to enter a very competitive world where they will need all their academic ability, strength of character and personal skills to be happy and successful. Therefore, we do focus on academic success but also emphasise key 21st century skills such as creativity, perseverance and collaboration which will support your child’s academic progress and future career success.

Do you have a pastoral care system? 

Yes, pastoral care is an important aspect of your child’s education and we strive for every student to feel happy, confident and secure at BIS. We have created a caring and supportive environment where students can thrive and we offer a well-developed programme to support their emotional, physical and social growth, in turn supporting their academic achievement.

How do you personalise learning?

Small class sizes mean that our teachers know every child individually and can respond to your child’s strengths, adapting our learning model to help them overcome challenges. We nurture essential skills to equip your child to succeed in every aspect of their education.

What support programmes do you offer? 

BIS Hanoi offers additional support programmes for those students learning English as an Additional Language and those who require additional support to achieve their learning goals.

Do you offer ECAs? 

Yes, extra-curricular activities are a great way for students to discover new interests, practise current talents and make new friends. We encourage all our students to participate and offer a broad range of clubs and activities that cater to different age groups, interests and abilities. Many of our ECAs are free for students. Learn more here.

What excursions / trips do you offer? 

At BIS, students of all ages participate in trips and expeditions which build on classroom learning as well as help students develop key 21st century skills. From Year 3, students have the opportunity to participate in residential activities starting with a sleepover in school and building to 5 days in Mai Chau. Our students also have the opportunity to join global expeditions at Nord Anglia’s centres in Switzerland and Tanzania and participate in summer programmes with students from Nord Anglia’s family of schools.

What are the school hours and where can I find the calendar? 

School hours are from 8:30 – 15:05, Monday to Friday, and the day is separated into 6 periods with a morning and lunch break. 

You can find this year’s school calendar Term Dates.

Do you offer lunch?

Yes, our canteen offers a range of healthy, nutritious meals for our students and staff daily. Our school’s Food Safety Officer regularly inspects the kitchen facilities to ensure the highest standards of hygiene. There are no additional fees for lunch – it is included in our tuition fees. Read our menu here.

Do you offer transportation?

Yes, we operate school buses in the morning and afternoon to many districts within Hanoi. Learn more here and our admissions team can provide further details about the service and associated fees.

Do you have a uniform?

Yes, our school uniform as a means of showing our identity and pride in BIS to the wider community as well as being practical school-wear. All children from F1 upwards are expected to wear the school uniform every day. Uniforms can be collected at the uniform shop located on campus – our Admissions officers can provide further information.

Admissions

Why do you assess applicants?

Every child who applies to our school undertakes assessments as part of our admission process. These assessments ensure we can meet your child’s learning needs and offers the appropriate level of support and challenge to accelerate their learning. The assessments and interviews are age appropriate and may include class observations and tests of your child’s English language fluency, writing and cognitive abilities. 

We assess your child’s command of the English language since it is the language of communication throughout the school and in all lessons. All prospective students must therefore demonstrate that they are sufficiently fluent in the English language to be able to communicate and learn effectively. We are able to provide some help for children who may need initial support with their English or children with minor specific learning difficulties at an additional fee.

Do you accept all nationalities? 

Yes, we welcome all nationalities at BIS Hanoi. We are very proud of the diversity of the school community which currently includes students of more than 33 nationalities. 

What is included in the fees?

Your child’s school fees include their lunch, uniforms, local trips, school materials, most ECAs, and Secondary examinations, where applicable.

How quickly will we hear from you at various points in the process?

We aim to respond to all enquiries within 24 hours, except on the weekend and national holidays when we aim to respond on the next working day. 

Do you have rolling admissions?

Yes, we accept students throughout the school year, as space in each year group permits. If a year group is currently full, we can add your child to our waiting list and will keep you updated on any movement.

I have younger children – do siblings get priority? 

Yes, we give priority to siblings of current students. For example, if there are two applicants and only one space left, the child who has a sibling at our school will be given priority and offered the place. We also offer a 10% discount on the tuition fees of the youngest children where a family has three or more children studying at BIS.

Community

What is your community like? 

Our parent group is called ‘Friends of BIS’. Its purpose is to create opportunities for our parent community to come together. Some people attend many events and others can only make it periodically, but everyone is welcome in our school at any time! 

How do you communicate with parents? 

We encourage two-way communication with our parents and use a variety of channels throughout the school. The main channels used are email, social media (BIS Hanoi Facebook page and Friends of BIS Facebook Group), and through our school officers. 

Our teachers will also communicate directly with families through emails, student diaries, parents’ evenings, individual meetings and we use a platform called Class Dojo for primary students.

Are parents involved in school life?

Parents are important members of our school community and we work closely with Friends of BIS (link if possible) to host fun and interesting activities for our parents throughout the year. For example, parents can participate in fitness classes, learn Vietnamese language and culture, music or cooking, Take Action to support the local community or join our many social events which include brunches and tours of Hanoi. 

Parents also join our students for celebratory events such as International Week. Over the years, parents participated in the parade, created a ‘Vietnamese Experience’, gave presentations about their culture, shared traditional foods and taught students new games and activities.