Primary Curriculum

At BIS Hanoi, we consider ourselves to be a learning-focused international school which aims to provide the skills, knowledge and understanding our pupils need to become successful life-long learners. In order to do this we define what good learning is, how we achieve it and for what purpose. We ensure that this is shared with the whole school community.

The English National Curriculum at the Primary Level

English, Maths and Science are regarded as core subjects and receive the largest time allocation from the class teacher at our Hanoi primary school. The class teachers also use IPC (International Primary Curriculum) topics and themes to deliver the National Curriculum for England in History, Geography, Design Technology and Art. There is also a programme of personal, social and health education for the children. Music, ICT, Vietnamese culture and PE are taught as discrete subjects by specialist teachers. Vietnamese language can be studied through an extra-curricular club.

The International Primary Curriculum (IPC)

In addition to the English National Curriculum, at BIS Hanoi we teach the International Primary Curriculum (IPC), which is a thematic, creative curriculum for 3 to 12 year olds. The main subjects taught through the IPC are History, Geography, Art and Design Technology, however, there are links with Science, English and Mathematics too. The IPC curriculum involves a clear learning process, with specific learning goals for every subject, as well as for international mindedness and personal learning.

The IPC is used by schools in more than 90 countries around the world. The curriculum has been designed to ensure rigorous learning but also to help teachers make all learning exciting, active and meaningful for children. The IPC takes a global approach to learning, helping children to connect their studies to where they are living now but also to look at learning from the perspective of people in other countries.