BIS HCMC becomes first school in South East Asia to be awarded Centre of Excellence status for Geography Education

08 October 2018

In September 2018, the leading subject association for all teachers of geography; the Geographical Association (GA) awarded 11 schools across the globe with the Secondary Geography Quality Mark (SGQM) with Centre of Excellence status. We are proud to reveal that the British International School, Ho Chi Minh City is the first school in South East Asia to be awarded this prestigious status for Geography Education.

This esteemed award process raises standards and drives school improvement through the use of a robust framework which enabled the Geography Department here at BIS HCMC to evaluate, analyse and reflect on the quality of learning, teaching, leadership and curriculum development across our school’s geographical provision.

All of the award winners undergo a rigorous moderation process. The team of assessors were especially impressed with the vibrant, stimulating and high-quality teaching and learning evidenced in Geography at BIS HCMC, and recognised that teaching and learning is “challenging and engaging, focused on contemporary thinking in Geography” and “at the cutting edge of pedagogical thinking”.

This is an incredible achievement for the Geography Department and a testament to their dedication and commitment to furnishing BIS students with the learning skills they need to become responsible and caring global citizens. It is fantastic for the Geography Department to be recognised for their collaborative approach to the development of our Geography curriculum and the constant self-evaluation processes they participate in to ensure that all geographical learning is innovative and high quality.

The team of assessors were especially impressed with the vibrant, stimulating and high-quality teaching and learning evidenced in Geography at BIS HCMC, and recognised that teaching and learning is “challenging and engaging, focused on contemporary thinking in Geography” and “at the cutting edge of pedagogical thinking”.

We were awarded Centre of Excellence due to the dissemination of quality practice in geography in a wider, global context. This was achieved through extensive involvement in the development of the new International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) Geography curriculum. This began with Ms Archer’s involvement in developing Teacher Support Material for the global IBDP Geography community, and continued as she created professional development opportunities for the Internal Assessment, Approaches to Teaching and Learning and how Sustainable Development Goals can be incorporated into fieldwork in local areas. We then used this to set up the IBDP Geography Teacher Network here in Ho Chi Minh City, to collaborate and support other Geography teachers in the city.